Book Review - Aadhaar India's 12 Digit Revolution

Couldn't find a better book to read at a time when Aadhaar and the controversies surrounding it have become a daily affair. Right from data privacy to where Aadhaar can be used are debated and legislations framed on this basis.

Coming to the book it a well researched book by the author and covers the entire period from when the project was conceptualised and the key players and decision makers involved in making this project stand on its feet as of today. The Congress govt under MMS had desperately wanted Aadhaar to succeed at a time when the economy wasn't doing well and cases of corruption against the government had reached an all time high, the mood was of gloom and the state of the Government finances were in a extremely bad shape and the govt had marketed Aadhar as one of the ways to reduce corruption and ensure all benefits reach the intended beneficiaries.

The opposition on the other hand from day one weren't too convinced about this project as there were numerous attempts in the past to create a national registry but no one of them took full shape. In spite of numerous objections the Congress govt implemented Aadhar under the UIDAI and stated the national roll out in 2010.

Once the new government was in place in 2014, the same government that had opposed Aadhar had to now look at things more pragmatically and after consultation with various stake holders including the man behind it Nandan Nilekani the NDA gave Aadhar legal backing with a statutory status and ever since have backed this project.

Points to learn from this book is the kind of parliamentary procedures involved in passing and framing laws, the scale of this huge project and the no of use cases it could handle, the importance of getting the right talent be it from the private sector or within the government itself is critical in deciding the success or failure of a project.

A worthwhile read of you want to know about one of the biggest biometric citizen identification projects in the world which will be case study in the years to come.