Aadhaar as global ID?
This may sound a bit far-fetched
and hence interesting to think about.
Aadhaar, is the unique ID about 1
billion Indians have (970,327,158 to be precise, on Jan 31, 2016 – about 1/7 or
14% of the global population!).
How about making Aadhaar a global
ID solution for the whole or part of the world? If majority of the world can
use Facebook for social sharing and Gmail for email, why not a global Indian solution
for unique ID? Why reinvent the wheel when there is something already working
successfully for 1B people!? If Europe has a common currency and monitory
system, why not a common ID system for a few countries? Technically, it is not
a proof of citizenship anyway. It is only an ID.
To start with, it could be a
unique ID solution for the neighboring south Asian countries like Nepal,
Bhutan, Shri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, followed by Southeast Asian region
and then countries in Africa. It may easily cover about half the global population
in next decade before moving on to other countries. This may be a technological
gift from India to the world besides the Zero, Yoga, meditation, and of course,
the chicken tikka masala! J
It is easier said than done
though. First Indian government has to agree to sharing a strategic asset with
other countries. Then governments of various countries to be convinced of the advantages
it may have, by showcasing the success story of benefits India is deriving from
using it. There may also be apprehensions about privacy, ownership and
confidentiality of the data. It will only be surprising if something of this
magnitude goes without its share of controversies and debates.
Adopting Blockchain architecture
may help resolve this issue of ownership and location of the database, as it
will be distributed across the world (or a region) with no single point of
failure or owner, though the data cannot be public for anyone to see, as is the
case with public Blockchains.
Thank you for reading. Shall appreciate
your thoughts.
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