Blockchain in Aadhaar — Identity Verification
Aadhaar is a 12-digit unique identity number that can be obtained by residents of India, based on their biometric and demographic data. The data is collected by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), a statutory authority established in January 2009 by the government of India, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, following the provisions of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, benefits and services) Act, 2016.
Aadhaar is the world’s largest biometric ID system. World Bank Chief Economist Paul Romer described Aadhaar as “the most sophisticated ID programme in the world”. Considered a proof of residence and not a proof of citizenship, Aadhaar does not itself grant any rights to domicile in India.
Issues in Current System
‘The most sophisticated ID programme’ comes with several challenges.
1. Aadhaar related Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) Concerns
Aadhaar improvised the proceedings of DBT benefits and commenced a pilot programme for LPG subsidies where the customers had to buy at full price, and the subsidy would be then directly credited to their Aadhaar-linked bank accounts. This scheme, however, did not take off, and in September 2013 a Supreme Court order put a halt on it. The major concern being lack of penetration and authentic record retrieval issues due to which many residents faced several issues getting the Aadhaar verification number.
2. Aadhaar-enabled biometric attendance systems were introduced in government offices for public to see the functioning of government officials but the system leakages due to lack of traceability and auditability resulted in inefficiency of the system.
3. Feasibility Concerns: India is the largest democracy and the second most populous country in the world and hence, to reach every individual bordering the country is an everest to climb.
4 Concerns over the quality of the biometric data being collected — To meet the projections of reach, many Aadhaar related issues have been reported. The quality sure is compromised in certain aspects.
Blockchain Technology in Aadhaar
A blockchain is a distributed ledger consisting of blocks. Each block contains multiple verified transactions. Blocks contain a secured hash, which is generated considering the index, timestamp, data inside the block, and the hash of the previous block. Such a design makes a blockchain auditable and immutable. Any modification to the blocks, after a verified block has been added to the blockchain, would generate a new hash which will be inconsistent with the hashes that precede.
Governments across the world is thoroughly testing the technology and has initiated several pilots solutions using blockchain to build a better, transparent and efficient governance process. Government of India has also shown interest with Blockchain technology while several implementations and pilot programs has been started at State level as well as Central Government level.
Advantages of proposed system
Aadhaar Chain is the proposed Blockchain based citizen’s repository platform acting as a single consolidated database solution for every Indian. Aadhaar Chain will act as a base infrastructure layer which can with ease integrate with nation’s other products and services while opening up an easy & secure way to build new powerful applications. The platform proposes to fully leverage the system of Aadhaar — the Indian resident data hub. The system is to be designed in a fully compliant manner ensuring it adheres with JAM Trinity, integrated with nation’s identity while mapping its citizen to various country schemes.
As a consolidated database, Aadhaar Chain will act as a simplified dashboard for citizens and stakeholders to give a bird’s eye view on different aspects of a person. Aadhaar Chain can potentially link with citizen’s public benefit & subsidies availed, electronic health record, family & personal financial records, educational background, birth & death database, reported allegations & crime among many other potential records of utmost importance.
Auxledger over existing blockchain solutions
While building a gigantic repository like proposed data integrity, immutability and security becomes a concern of vital importance. There have been major data breaches and identity theft cases reported globally in past which has led to a disastrous security and privacy concerns. Keeping this in mind, Auxledger Infrastructure has made tremendous advances to further secure the entire platform system. Repository will be built in form of distributed database records; all information being encrypted at highest standards while being accessible only through a set of cryptographic keys.
1. Interoperability & Cross-Chain communication — One the biggest challenges observed in the current blockchain infrastructure,ethereum for example, is lack of Cross Chain Communication which raises scalability challenges preventing Blockchain’s adoption in mainstream enterprises. Auxledger Infrastructure gives customizability to meet the demands of a specific organization enabling smooth incorporation of Blockchain Technology.
2. Updation Speed and Costs: Transaction speed of existing blockchain like ethereum is very slow. Moreover, the cost depends on the market dynamics. Whereas,The self-regulating economic model of Auxledger proposes simple gas philosophy i.e. “no limitations, pay only for what you consume”, and doesn’t depend on the market dynamics. This will solve the major challenge in time taken to update one’s Aadhaar, for example; change in residential address, updating telephone number, etc.
