Should Aadhaar, the world's largest biometric system, be on blockchain?

Opinion on the issue is divided, with some saying the move would protect privacy, and others saying the technology is very expensive

While Aadhaar, the most comprehensive adoption of biometrics technology by any government in the world, has been championed by groups like the World Bank as having noble goals, saying it “helps willing governments to promote the inclusion of disadvantaged groups,” its critics have been vocal about its infrastructural flaws for years. 

Security breaches have reportedly kept growing and “Big Brother” fears linger. Could blockchain help solve this problem? If Aadhaar is put on a blockchain, it would be a distributed database, not a central one. But could this work?

For the uninitiated, imagine the blockchain is a double-locked door that