Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) requires facial recognition for Aadhar authentication. UIDAI circulars have been asking for Aadhar authentication to be made “more inclusive”. That means facial recognition in addition to fingerprints/iris scans. There have been too many failures in fingerprints/iris scans and the Supreme Court had been apprised of that. These failures could have happened due to people accessing rations or purchasing new SIM cards. Aadhar is expected to deliver welfare. It is extending its sway everywhere. It has to be limited to welfare and the glitches should be fixed. The trust in Aadhar is falling. Earlier, one was told that fingerprints could be almost foolproof. However, iris scans were added to make it fully authentic. The objectives seemed to recede in fulfilment.
UIDAI submitted to the Supreme Court a proof of its concept study. It showed Aadhar authentication had risen from 83% to 99% among elderly people. Face recognition supplemented fingerprints. Experience is varied in other countries. Agents have misused Aadhar cards. That causes worry. There is no magic solution of the authentication problem which eliminates inclusion and exclusion errors. Prevention of theft, hacking, breach of privacy and criminal misuse may not be possible. Besides, internet connectivity in India is poor. The use of Aadhar should be limited and there should be other backup systems.
The revelation some months ago by a journalist that the personal information of an Aadhar card holder could be accessed by paying a certain fee to the agents to which the process of Aadhar enrolment was entrusted to, has raised the hackles of many. Edward Snowden, the noted whistle blower and former CIA agent who is now seeking refuge in Russia has been warning the citizens of India time and again that their private information including details of their bank accounts and other financial details were available to anyone who seeks to access them. Those in the Government have chosen to brazen it out but it is the privacy of the citizen that is being breached here and this is a serious matter. The system it appears is not foolproof and the UIDAI authorities have been experimenting from fingerprints as an authenticating instrument to the iris and now to face recognition. How much of intrusion can a citizen subject himself/herself to? What is even more serious is the fact that the Aadhar card has become so easy to acquire and even aliens are getting them at a price. In other words they can also avail Government subsidies through the Public Distribution System. The Aadhar needs to go through a rigorous system of checks and balances.