 "Aadhaar")
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has generated one billion Aadhaar numbers, Ravi Shankar Prasad, minister for communications and IT, has said. "It is an instrument for good governance. Aadhaar is a mode to reach the poor and needy without the middlemen."
According to Prasad, this will give a boost to the government's initiative to effect a systemic change in the delivery of subsidies and benefits to the masses.
The development comes days after the government notified Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits, and Services) Act 2016.
Aadhaar coverage now is at 93 per cent among people above of 18 years (according to projected population figures of 2015). As on date, in 13 states and Union territories (UTs), Aadhaar saturation has crossed 90 per cent, while in 13 other states and UTs, it is between 75 and 90 per cent, according to an official statement.
UIDAI authenticates around four million transactions a day. The Authority has the capacity to generate and dispatch around 1.5 million Aadhaar cards a day. It has 37,304 enrolment stations spread across the country, manned by 376,543 certified operators.
"Every day, 500,000-700,000 people get enrolled for Aadhaar. It is now the largest online digital identity platform in the world," said Prasad.
According to the minister, the Aadhaar data is secured. Privacy is protected in a reasonable, fair and objective manner, the minister added. So far, 254.8 million bank accounts, 71 per cent of the total cooking gas connections and 45 per cent of all ration cards in the country are linked with the identification programme.
The government said the total number of Aadhaar-enabled payment system transactions has gone up to 107.6 million as on March 31, 2016, up from 4.6 million on May 31, 2014.
Prasad also said the government would try to inform the Supreme Court to allow Aadhaar in other schemes, apart from the five for which the court has given permission.
On the financial impact of Aadhaar on various social-sector schemes, the minister said the direct benefit transfer for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) scheme led to savings worth ~14,672 crore for the government. Under the public distribution system (PDS), the estimated savings are ~2,346 crore across Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Puducherry and Delhi.
The Supreme Court had permitted voluntary use of Aadhaar cards in welfare schemes including rural employment programme, pension and provident fund schemes besides the ambitious flagship programmes such as Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. The social welfare schemes were in addition to LPG and PDS in which the apex court had allowed the voluntary use of Aadhaar cards.
The Supreme Court-mandated standards to ensure privacy have been placed in the Aadhaar Act, Pradad added.
