The UID project has both ‘security' and ‘developmental' dimensions. The former leads to an invasive state; the latter leaves us with a retreating state. Is identity the “missing link” in India's efforts to rise as an “inclusive” economic superpower? Can an identity-linked and technology-based solution change the face of governance in India? Given the euphoria around the Unique Identification (UID) project, one is tempted to believe so. However, a careful look...

The Assam government will introduce biometric smart cards for beneficiaries in three districts of the state on a pilot basis in order to make the public distribution system more transparent and efficient. Assam food and civil supplies minister Nazrul Islam today announced that the Centre has cleared a Rs 8-crore proposal submitted by the government to computerise the system in three districts. Under the scheme, the beneficiaries will be issued biometric ration...

The Aadhaar or UID project has grave implications for every Indian. It will enable the government to profile every citizen and track their movements and transactions. There is no guarantee that intimate personal information -- pre-existing illnesses, romantic relationships etc -- won't be shared with other agencies, warns Praful Bidwai. An elaborate charade has begun with the rolling out of the first Aadhaar unique identity numbers in a tribal district of Maharashtra by...

Bhaggu, 65, says he can trace his memory back to when he was five. And he remembers the paradox that’s taunted him since: Of his village — Sohras, in northern Uttar Pradesh — being flooded every year and him having no water to drink. “They (government) distribute food, tarpaulin, kerosene, matchboxes but never made any arrangement for water,” says Bhaggu, a farm worker who goes by one name. “I think no...

To avoid a big burden on the exchequer from the proposed food security law, the Planning Commission will propose some key changes to the plan, including a virtual abandonment of the concept of universal public distribution system (PDS) endorsed by the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC). Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia in a presentation to Gandhi later this week would suggest that under the proposed scheme, grain be...