The Nandan Nilekani-headed Unique Identification Authority of India (uidAI) is set to replicate, at the national level, Jharkhand's success in disbursing money to people at their doorsteps. On Tuesday, the uidAI launched its unique identification or Aadhaar-based platform to link public entitlements to Aadhaar-linked bank accounts. It would mean that governments would be able to directly deposit subsidies into the bank accounts of beneficiaries of schemes such as the Public Distribution System, old-age...

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee took on the food ministry and publicly backed uidAI chairman Nandan Nilekani's proposal to set up a new independent agency manned by professionals to computerise the public distribution system (PDS) as part of the reforms agenda and use the Aadhaar number as a base for the changes. Mukherjee was speaking at the meeting of state agriculture and food ministers in Delhi on Wednesday. TOI had earlier reported how...

-The Hindu   The services will enable transfer, application procedures to be brought to one's door Last Christmas Eve, 35 people in a remote village of Jharkhand received a unique present. They became the first Indians to access their Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme bank accounts on their doorstep, having had their identities authenticated through their Aadhaar numbers. They are among the earliest beneficiaries of the next phase of the ambitious —...

-PTI Faced with strong objections from the Home Ministry, the Unique Identification Authority of India (uidAI) has decided to do a complete review on the procedure and processes of collecting biometric data of 60 crore resident Indians and address all security concerns. Home Minister P Chidambaram today said uidAI chairman Nandan Nilekani conveyed that he would spend the next two months doing a complete review and it would resume biometric capture only...

-The Business Standard   Its guarantee of non-duplication can have far-reaching cost benefits but it has deep design flaws that can be compromised. PRAVEEN CHAKRAVARTY Former Volunteer, Financial Inclusion, uidAI* “Aadhaar is an unadulterated identity programme that answers the question: Is the individual who he or she claims to be?”   The word “unique”, and not “identity”, is central to the unique identity programme or Aadhaar. It may be true that the vast majority of people possess some...