Aadhaar: India’s massive digital inclusion project

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India is the second largest country in the world in terms of population. India has also a large number of villages; more than 600.000 villages with poor transport infrastructure making movement of goods and people extremely difficult.

The idea of a universal electronic ID was proposed by the Indian Department of Information Technology in 2006. Immediately, an organization was given capital and resources to implement a large-scale program with the objective to include all Indian residents in a single ID system housed in an electronic repository. 

They called it: Aadhaar, which means base or foundation in Hindi language. 

India’s program to provide a unique identity number for every resident was created; the largest biometric identification program in the world. Launched in 2008, the program has created biometric identities for over one billion people. The program also aims to achieve social inclusion and more efficient public and private service delivery. 

Aadhaar has also started to be used for several public purposes, such as digitizing government subsidy flows (government-to-person payments); financial services; recording attendance for government employees to reduce 'absenteeism'; and issuance of passports and voter identity cards. The impact of a strong digital identity scheme affects banks, payments, security, compliance and financial inclusion

How does it work?
Indian residents can apply for an Aadhaar number by submitting their proof of identity, proof of address and registering their biometric (fingerprints and iris scan) information.

What's in it for banks?
Money transfer is widely used through traditional brokers and biometric capabilities are turned on in India, so when someone wants to initiate a money transfer through an agent, they can identify and verify themselves using their biometric fingerprint, without showing any paper or plastic documents.
And nowadays, people are spending more time online or on mobile whether they’re on social media, they’re shopping, or even paying their bills and transferring money.

A great inclusion example for public governance 

Aadhaar is a great inclusion example of how a government-mandated program could work at scale to create positive impact and create sustainable development.
The impact of a strong digital identity scheme affects banks, payments, security, compliance and financial inclusion -- and Aadhaar's is already seeing results.

Although the value of this project is obvious in terms of digital inclusion, still macroeconomic studies need to be engaged in order to quantify the real economic value of such an effort, and its GDP impact on India's economy.

Finally, recently Aadhaar leadership initiated discussions with public institutions in African and Asian countries in order to support and replicate such a great inclusion project.

Aadhaar organization, website: https://uidai.gov.in/