The UK government is advancing plans for a digital identity system, citing India's Aadhaar program as a model of success that reduces fraud and streamlines welfare distribution. However, research on Aadhaar reveals significant social costs, with millions of Indians denied legitimate benefits due to technical failures or rigid digital requirements.
Aadhaar, launched in 2009, provides a unique digital identity number linked to personal data, intended to improve welfare efficiency. Despite claims of substantial savings by eliminating ineligible recipients, evidence suggests that many legitimate beneficiaries have been excluded due to verification issues, such as system errors, internet outages, or data inaccuracies, leading to prolonged denial of essential services like food, pensions, and wages.
The shift to automated, Aadhaar-linked benefits has removed the discretion of local officials, leaving claimants with limited recourse when systems fail. This has had severe consequences, including reported deaths from starvation and exclusion from healthcare, particularly affecting vulnerable groups.
Women can be disadvantaged if their identities are linked to male relatives, and the system can replicate existing social hierarchies, disproportionately impacting the poor, elderly, and less literate. Aadhaar's aim to make identity portable has also faced challenges, with individuals losing access to benefits when moving between states due to data synchronization issues.
Similar data mobility problems are anticipated in the UK's proposed system, which aims to connect various government databases. Furthermore, fears surrounding cross-border migration in India have led to identity verification blurring with citizenship, causing administrative limbo for residents with minor data discrepancies.
While the UK's system may differ, the underlying rationale and potential governance issues mirror Aadhaar's challenges, risking the exclusion of those with unstable circumstances or limited digital literacy.
