Tarnishing Aadhaar

Govt should not overuse the Unique ID

The use of the Unique ID programme, or Aadhaar, has yet again raised tempers. Issues are being raised about the lack of privacy of an individual’s biometric information if they are part of the Aadhaar database. These concerns are certainly valid. Much evidence has emerged of government agencies being lax with such data. In some cases, users’ Aadhaar numbers and associated data have been discovered to be freely available on the internet — from official government websites, among other sources. The numbers of such leaks being claimed by activists are mind-boggling. By some estimates, as many as 130 million Aadhaar