News Deeply. India
WHEN INDIA INTRODUCED the Aadhaar biometric identification system, the government touted it as a cutting-edge innovation in digital governance that would make it easier and faster to distribute state services.
But the system has proved controversial, with a chorus of critics saying it infringes on privacy and equality rights. The government’s move to require citizens to sign up to the Aadhaar system to access a growing number of services – including access to social welfare benefits and opening a bank account or mobile phone account – has gone all the way to the Supreme Court, which in January will rule on the legality of making enrollment mandatory.
