HT Leadership Summit: Ravi Shankar Prasad discusses the importance of digital inclusion and the role of Aadhaar

Law and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad spoke about the “irreversible rise of India” and the role of Aadhaar in achieving this goal at the ongoing Hindustan Times Leadership Summit . [caption id=“attachment_4237313” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of India’s Law and IT Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad. Image: Reuters[/caption] While many of the questions addressed to Prasad focused on law and the elections, the Minister did have an opportunity to speak on Digital India and Aadhaar. At the summit, Prasad extolled the virtues of the various government initiated programs like ‘Make in India’ and ‘ Digital India ’, calling them technology-based programs designed to empower Indians and India. One of the most important factors to consider, says Prasad, is the fact that Digital India is about digital inclusion. The various government schemes and plans under the Digital India banner are designed to help the poor and under-privileged gain access to the best that the digital world has to offer. The purpose, says Prasad, is to bring low cost and inclusive technology to everyone. Speaking of Aadhaar, Prasad repeatedly pointed to the fact that over 18 crore Indians are now enrolled with Aadhaar, a platform that he describes as “safe and secure” and backed by the law. He placed emphasis on the fact that the Aadhaar card contains no information save for name, age, address and parental names. Details like caste and income tax are not listed, says Prasad.

At the same time, he spoke of linking, say, your driving license to Aadhaar, a move that would prevent criminals from escaping to another state and, say, getting a new license. He also pointed out that over four crore Aadhaar-based authorisations are performed every single day, and that over Rs 57,000 crore has been saved just because of the implementation of Aadhaar. The platform, in his view, will make six crore Indians digitally literate. Moving on from Aadhaar, Prasad also touched on the improvements to our business and manufacturing economy. He points out that startups are blooming, that mobile manufacturing facilities have grown by 20 times and that at this rate, India will have a $1 trillion digital economy in just 8-10 years. Prasad also added that privacy matters very much and that India’s data protection law will be a ‘beacon for the whole world’. He spoke about how privacy law needs to be inclusive of technology and innovation. “We respect privacy. But privacy should not be used to prohibit innovation. It also can’t become the shield of the corrupt and terrorists,” says Prasad. The Minister likened the coming digital age and Aadhaar to a highway. You don’t ban the use of a highway just because there are accidents, says Prasad, you take precautions. Finally, As the Law and IT minister, Prasad promised to take any steps that are necessary to protect citizens and uphold the principles laid down by the constitution.