Aadhaar has made fundamental difference in lives of millions of people: Ashwini Vaishnaw

On the occasion, Sh. AshwiniVaishnaw said that aadhaarhas made a fundamental difference in lives of millions of people especially those who are at the bottom of pyramid.

Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Union Minister of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India, inaugurated today a 3-day workshop titled ‘Aadhaar 2.0- Ushering the Next Era of Digital Identity and Smart Governance’ commencing from 23rd November 2021 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi. Several dignitaries including Shri Ajay Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), and Dr. Saurabh Garg, CEO, UIDAI graced the occasion with active participation from Central and State Ministries.

On the occasion, Sh. AshwiniVaishnaw said that aadhaarhas made a fundamental difference in lives of millions of people especially those who are at the bottom of pyramid. It has made a significant difference in the way government programs are administered. Adding further to this, Shri Vaishnawmentioned about the 3 thoughts/ideas that can be deliberated upon. He raised the question about raising the question of having international standards for identification given in the context of the globe which is increasingly getting digitalized. Second thought was to make the Aadhaar services more accessible by building technologies and hardware systems around them. Talking about the privacy and legal framework with regards to Aadhaar, the Minister said that today's legal framework is settled with Aadhaar Act, Supreme Court judgement and will be further strengthened by Data Privacy Bill.

Addressing on the occasion, Shri Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & IT, said that Aadhaar has given identity to large number of people who did not any identity earlier. Aadhaar has shown that a digital identity can be used in several ways than the physical identity can be used. It has been used in range of services and has helped in bringing financial inclusion, broadband and telecom services, direct benefit transfers to the bank account of citizens in a transparent mamanne

In a virtual message played during the inaugural event, Shri Nandan Nilekani, Former Chairman, UIDAI, shared his ideas and message on Aadhaarrelated aspects. Talking from futuristic perspective, Shri Nilekani highlighted 3 ideas that can be discussed. These includes role of Aadhaar in transformation of electrical grid system that requires discoms to be healthy, for which electricity subsidies to go directly go into the bank accounts of beneficiaries; direct benefit transfers to the forest residents-for preserving biodiversity and forests; and portability of social security systems.

Dr. Saurabh Garg, CEO, UIDAI informed that The Aadhaar 2.0 Workshop is an introspection-cum-exploratory endeavor by UIDAI to analyze the reach of Digital Identity in major reforms and schemes launched by the Government. It also aims to look into various futuristic aspects of Digital Identity to achieve universal inclusion, both social as well as financial.

The 3-days event shall provide an excellent opportunity to exchange ideas & information, promote insightful debates and share experiences about developments and initiatives around the world around Digital Identity among various stakeholders including:

Government of India and identity authoritiesPrivate sector entities utilizing authentication and e-KYC servicesLeading Think-Tanks and SMEs from International DiasporaOrganizations in Social and Regulatory spaceThe workshop will also be telecast live on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook handles of UIDAI.

About ‘Aadhaar 2.0’ Workshop:

The theme of the workshop series "Aadhaar 2.0 - Ushering the Next Era of Digital Identity and Smart Governance" is considering Aadhaar as a Trusted ID as a platform and method for delivering innovative digital solutions. It also focuses on strategies of Aadhaar that can strengthen and simplify its service delivery. Along with it, the workshop also delivers insights of evolvements and transition of digital ID. It is also an opportunity to focus on rebuilding more inclusive systems that allow society as a whole to be more resilient to future shocks, and safety.

The workshop is divided into eight sessions for deliberations on various topics which are elaborated as:-

Session 1: Strengthening and Simplifying Enrolment and Update Ecosystem

The key takeaways for this session are changes required in Aadhaar enrolment and updated service delivery to provide a frictionless experience for the residents; improving enrolments on focus areas and how Aadhaar can continue itself as one of the main enablers of identity verification in both on-line as well as offline mode in light of the SWIK rules (Social welfare, Innovation and Knowledge). 

Session 2: Digital Identity: A Key to Inclusive Growth and Empowerment

The discussion with talks about How to usher in, the next phase of Digital enablement and empowerment for the masses will be driven by the creation and development of applications that move government services closer to people - individuals and other units: Governance with a newly digitized model of identification, accountability and transparency. 

Session 3: Expanding the use of Aadhaar to boost Digital Economy

The discussion will focus on - what Aadhaar can deliver on e-gov; e-commerce and e-banking and finance in particular. 

Session 4: Deploying Trusted Digital Identities - Information Security

This session will explore the best way to ensure that all Aadhar ecosystem partners also follow the best security practices.  Deliberations on how to deter, detect and prosecute fraud in Aadhaar enrolment and authentication. 

 

Session 5: Aadhaar as an International Digital Identity Standard

Aadhaar as a framework for creating International standards for digital identity, a roadmap for International digital identity standards and across borders interoperability. The session will also talk about ensuring security and privacy, and framework for data sharing amongst countries. 

Session 6: Legal Aspects of Data Security and Privacy

The Legal session would dwell on assessing the existing legal framework with respect to Data Security and Privacy while delivering the Identity services and could also explore the scope for improvement in the policy gap, technological gap if any. 

Session 7: Smart Devices as Universal Authenticator

The discussion will be around Smart Phone Usage Trend and Key Developments likely to happen in the Telecom Domain, Biometrics for all - How face authentication can be leveraged through Smartphones? And Use Smart Phone for Finger Print Capture Authentication - Challenges and Way Forward. The discussion focus would be on Voice Authentication, Use FIDO Standards for Aadhaar Usage - Platform for Passwordlessauthentication for Public Services and Industry View on the adaptation of Aadhaar Technologies and making it available for the public. 

Session 8: Adoption of New Technologies in Aadhaar

Discussions on recent advances in biometrics and their improvement using Artificial Intelligence and esp. deep learning techniques. We will also look at blockchain-based technologies and applications as well as the impact of Aadhaar and these new technologies in the Banking sector. 

(With Inputs from PIB)