One billion digitally identified Indians.

A documentary presented by Mukti Jain Campion which assesses the threats and opportunities of India's ambitious unique identification scheme (UID) and the lessons it may offer to other countries. Campion visits a district registry office in a New Delhi suburb where residents are being enrolled in the scheme. Millions of Indians lack a passport, driving license or birth certificate, and other forms of ID can only be used locally. The new scheme is intended to provide a reliable way of proving identity anywhere in the country. The process involves taking photographs, fingerprint and iris scans and takes around 15 minutes; 400 million people have already signed up. The aim is to generate a unique identity number (AADHAAR) for India’s entire 1.2 billion-strong population. ‘No country has ever tried to collect this much information in this short a period of time, with this new a technology,’ claims American researcher Tarun Wadhwa. But the project has also prompted concerns over data protection. Similar worries led to the rejection of the National Identity Scheme in Britain, so why has the AADHAAR been so readily accepted in India? Nandan Nilekani, chair of the Unique Identification Authority of India, believes it is because the data will be used to improve public services. Campion is taken to a slum by Manisha Priyam, poverty alleviation advisor to the New Delhi government. Due to embezzlement, euphemistically known as ‘leakage’, it’s estimated that only half of the £40 billion India spends on welfare every year reaches its intended beneficiaries. Priyam feels that the poor are most likely to benefit from the UID; the majority of those living in the slum have already joined the scheme in anticipation of potential benefits. But as she points out, it will be the government’s responsibility to put this information to effective use. The next stage will be to link the AADHAAR to the delivery of welfare benefits; money will eventually be transferred directly to recipients’ bank accounts. Wadhwa believes that that if the system can work in India it can be replicated anywhere. The use of multi-modal biometrics ensures that there are no duplicate numbers issued; Nilekani claims the system is 99.99% accurate. But not everyone is as convinced. Usha Ramanathan, independent law researcher, is of the scheme’s most vocal opponents; she questions the decision to use biometrics without having first proved its viability in a country of such diversity. Campion meets Ganesh, a manual labourer, who has not yet been able to enrol due to his worn and scarred fingers. Nilekani remains confident that the multi-modal nature of the system, and the possibility for ‘biometric exception’, for those who cannot provide fingerprints and iris scans, will ensure that no one is left out. Enrolment is not compulsory but may become unavoidable; Ramanathan fears that services will not be offered to those without a number. The scheme was introduced without the passing of parliamentary bills to establish terms and regulation. A cost-benefit report published by the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy estimated the total cost at £5 billion over 11 years, half of which, it was claimed, would be recovered in savings. Residents describe their motivations for obtaining the AADHAAR, which range from security to national pride. In her travels around the country, Campion encountered few concerns about data privacy. Journalist Saritha Rai points out that to a person who has struggled to prove their existence, privacy means little. Although Nilekani insists that the risks are minimal, as the system only provides ID verification, Wadhwa remains concerned that it will ultimately allow personal information to be linked across multiple platforms, without legislation to prevent misuse. The worst case scenario for biometric systems is identity theft, as the data can never be altered. Nilekani is confident that his system is robust enough to prevent breeches. For him, the benefits far outweigh the perceived risks; he proudly shows Campion his own UID card. The scheme is now attracting considerable interest from other countries worldwide.