UIDAI slams enrolment software breach reports, says stringent processes in place; Gates bats for Aadhaar

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), on Thursday, said it follows a “stringent enrolment and updation process” for issuance of Aadhaar cards, and that it has blacklisted over 50,000 operators for various violations, amid reports of a breach in its enrolment software.

The UIDAI said its enrolment software incorporates the necessary safeguards and checks to protect against any manipulation, and the Authority discredited claims in the report as “baseless and false”.

The statement follows reports of alleged tampering of the Aadhaar enrolment software, supposedly being sold in the black market, which purportedly bypasses operators’ biometric authentication and facilitates issuance of Aadhaar cards without any documents.

Emphasising its “zero tolerance policy” when it comes to ensuring security and safety of its processes, the UIDAI said that any operator found to be violating its stipulated processes, or those indulging in any type of fraudulent or corrupt practices, are blocked, blacklisted and also face a stiff penalty of up to Rs 1 lakh per instance.

“Also, all such enrolment attempts get rejected and Aadhaar is not generated. As on date more than 50,000 operators have been blacklisted,” the UIDAI added in a statement.

The UIDAI said its system matches all 10 fingerprints and both irides of a resident enrolling for Aadhaar with the biometrics of all Aadhaar holders before issuing the 12 digit unique identifier.

Bill Gates endorses Aadhaar

The Aadhaar technology does not pose any privacy issue and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has funded the World Bank (WB) to take the approach to other countries as it is worth emulating, Microsoft founder Bill Gates has said.

The 62-year-old multi-billionaire philanthropist said Nandan Nilekani, the Infosys co-founder who is considered as the chief architect of Aadhaar, is helping the World Bank on the project.

Asked if India’s Aadhaar technology is worth emulating by other countries, he replied, “Yes”. “The benefits of that (basic ID – Aadhaar) are very high,” he told the PTI this week

“Yes, countries should adopt that approach because the quality of governance has a lot to do with how quickly countries are able to grow their economy and empower their people,” Gates said in response to a question. “We have funded the World Bank to take this Aadhaar approach to other countries,” he said.

“Aadhaar in itself doesn’t pose any privacy issue because its just a bio ID verification scheme,” Gates, the head of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, said when asked about the concerns about privacy issues raised by certain quarters in India.