TSPSC - Group-1 Mains - 2024

Marks - 150 Time- 150 Minutes

GENERAL ESSAY-8 ANSWER

Q) Understanding climatic conditions is quintessential in bringing schemes and policies in
India. Justify this statement by emphasising issues of Aadhar's non reliability
to India's climate?

Aadhaar Biometrics: not Reliable in India’s Climate?

Context: In their research titled "Decentralised Finance and Digital Assets,"
the international financial rating agency Moody's Investors Service
questioned the biometric technologies' dependability, particularly
for persons living in hot and humid regions, and highlighted the
service denials that resulted as a result.

Prelims - MCQ Question Q. Consider the following statements:

2019 1. Aadhaar metadata cannot be stored for more than
three months.
2. State cannot enter into any contract with private
corporations for sharing of Aadhaar data.
3. Aadhaar is mandatory for obtaining insurance
products.
4. Aadhaar is mandatory for getting benefits funded out
of the Consolidated Fund of India.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a. 1 & 4 only
b. 2 & 4 Only
c. 3 only
d. 1,2& 3 Only

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Explanatory answer: Explanation:
Ans – b  The question is based on Supreme court judgement in the
Puttaswamy vs. Union of India case 2018
Statement 1 is Wrong:
 Because Aadhaar metadata cannot be stored for more than
six months (not 3 months as given in the option)
Statement 2 is correct:
 Private corporations verifying Aadhaar data is
unconstitutional.
Statement 3 is Wrong:
 Making Aadhaar mandatory for other services apart from
welfare schemes is unconstitutional.
Statement 4 is correct:
 The welfare schemes are funded from the consolidated
fund of India. Therefore any schemes funded from the
consolidated fund must be based on the aadhar linkage.

MCQ2 Q. Consider the following statements

1. Aadhar is implemented by UIdAI
2. Aadhar is not illegal
3. Aadhar uses demographic biometric data for
authentication
4. JAM trinity is a rationalisation of subsidy system
Options:
a. 1,2,3,4
b. 2,3,4
c. 1,3,4
d. 1,2,4

Explanatory answer to Answer: A

MCQ2  Statement 1: Unique Identification Authority of India
implements the Aadhar
 Statement 2: Aadhar is not illegal because it is enacted by
Aadhar act 2016
 Statement 3: During enrolment for Aadhaar, demographic
details of individuals along with their biometric
fingerprints and iris scans are collected because they are
unique identifiers of individuals.

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  Statement 4: JAM trinity stands for – Jandhan Yojana Bank
Account - Aadhar – Mobile. This connectivity helps to
directly transfers the benefits to the customers to their bank
account linked with mobile and aadhar. Thus it rationalise
the subsidies.

Mains Question Aadhar is neither suitable nor reliable for Indian climate for
(250 words) implementing the welfare schemes. Do you Agree?

Flow of Answer: Introduction:

Introduction:  Aadhaar is a unique identification number given to all
Meaning of Aadhar Indian residents by the Unique Identification Authority of
India
Main body:
Main Body:
1.Prove that Aadhar is not
reliable as reported by the  According to Moody’s report Decentralised Finance and
Moody’s. Digital Assets’ Aadhar is not suitable for Indian climatic
conditions because of the following factors –
2. Explain the government
argument - 3 or 4 points – in 1. Failure to get OTPs authentication in time.
favour of aadhar 2. It fails in the rural areas where there is no internet
Conclusion: connectivity.
Need for adopting 3. If the technology is not reliable, people cannot
decentralised identification receiving subsidies from the government.
(DiD)system by using block 4. There are quantitative frauds in distributing the public
chain technology. distribution system.
5. Finger prints of the manual labour are erased in Indian
climatic conditions. Hence they cannot receive the bio
metric authentication to receive their salaries of
MGNREGP.
6. Many rural and uneducated people don’t even know
with which bank their bank account their Aadhar is
linked to.
7. Banking correspondents using the Aadhar Enabled
Payment System (AEPS)operate without any
accountability framework.
 However government is not agreeing with these claims.
Government says –
1. Aadhar rationalises the Subsidy system
2. It eliminates fake and ghost beneficiaries of the
government schemes
3. Aadhaar is the most trusted digital ID in the world

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 4. Payment to workers under the scheme is made by
directly crediting money in their account and does not
require the worker to authenticate using their
biometrics
Conclusion:
 Instead of centralised data management, there is a need for
adopting decentralised ID (DID) systems such as digital
wallets, based on blockchain capabilities that give users
more control of their private data and can reduce online
fraud. It helps to reduced the security concerns.

All About Aadhar and the

Issues Associated with it

What is Aadhar  Aadhaar is a unique identification number given to all

Indian residents by the Unique Identification Authority of
India (UIdAI).
 It is India’s 12-digit universal identity card.

How it works?  It is the world’s largest digital ID program, enables access

to public and private services, with verification via
fingerprint or iris scans, and alternatives like One-Time
Passcodes, with an aim to integrate marginalised groups
and expand welfare benefits access.

Who manages Aadhar?  Unique Identification Authority of India

Why government prefers  The government favours Aadhaar for several government-
Aadhar? to-citizen (G2C) cash transfer programmes.

How many people have  130 Crore Indians.

Aadhar

How many people have  As of July 31, 2023, 765.30 million Indians had linked
linked Aadhar with ration Aadhaar with ration card to avail ration through Public
card Distribution System.

Number of people who  Over 280 million residents linked Aadhaar with cooking
linked Aadhar with gas gas connection for LPG subsidy through PAHAL.

Number of people linked  Over 788 Million Aadhaar have been uniquely linked with
Aadhar with Bank accounts the Bank Accounts on NPCI Mapper.

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Farmer beneficiaries
Aadhar collects the
demographic details.
What are the Objectives of
the UIDAI
Who is fake or ghost?
Case study of Public
Distribution System
What are the three steps in
the Direct payment using
Aadhar
Aadhaar-enabled Payment
System:
Aadhaar as the financial
address of the individual
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 Almost 100 per cent of farmer-beneficiaries under PM
Kisan Yojana are connected via Aadhaar.
 During enrolment for Aadhaar, demographic details of
individuals along with their biometric fingerprints and iris
scans are collected as they are considered to be unique
identifiers of individuals. These details are stored in the
Aadhaar database.
1. Ensure that all residents have a unique ID
2. Curbing corruption in accessing welfare programmes by
eliminating “ghost” and “fake” individuals.
 An individual is called a ‘ghost’ if they access rations in the
name of a dead person
 A person is ‘fake’ if they access rations even though they
are not officially entitled to it.
 To ensure that an individual accessing rations is not a ghost
or a fake, the government linked the database of ration card
holders with the Aadhaar database.
 When an individual tries to access rations at a ration shop,
they have to do so using their biometrics or iris scans with
the ration dealer.
 These are then sent through the internet to the Aadhaar
database for authentication.
 To direct a payment using Aadhaar for MGNREGA, there
are at least three steps.
1. A worker’s Aadhaar number must be linked to her job
card.
2. Her Aadhaar must be linked to her bank account.
3. The Aadhaar number must be linked correctly through
her bank branch with a mapper of the National
Payments Corporation of India, which acts as a clearing
house of Aadhaar-based payments.
 Cash transferred by the government gets deposited to the
last Aadhaar-linked bank account.
 Individuals can withdraw money from their Aadhaar-linked
bank account from private banking kiosks or through
private banking correspondents who use their point of sale
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Fraud and Corruption in
the ration despite the
existence of Aadhar
Who are prone to exclusion
to biometric authentication
requirements?
Why there are errors in
Aadhaar-based payments
occur?
For example, Aadhaar payments of people got redirected to Airtel
wallets causing much havoc.
Difficulty to detect
misdirected payments
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(PoS) machines to authenticate individuals using their
biometrics.
 Quantity is the main type of corruption in ration.
 Ex: If the entitlement for a ration card holder is 35 kg of
rice but the dealer only gives 30 kg.
 Aadhaar has no role in either detecting or preventing this
fraud.
 In many rural areas, people have to make multiple trips to
ration shops, to authenticate with no guarantee that the
authentication will work.
 Lack of reliable internet, fading fingerprints among daily
wage workers, lack of phone connectivity to get an OTP
etc. lead to denials.
 Older women
 People with disabilities
 People living in remote areas
1. Different spellings in the job card and in the Aadhaar
database
2. Most workers are unaware which account their Aadhaar
was last linked to as financial institutions in rural areas tend
to coerce workers to link their Aadhaar with bank accounts
without consent. This leads to wages getting diverted to
some account without the worker’s knowledge.
 Misdirected payments through Aadhaar are difficult to
detect and are nearly impossible to resolve.
 These happen when one person’s Aadhaar number gets
linked to somebody else’s bank account.
 The savings claims of the governments are misleading.
 Using Aadhaar in MGNREGA has reduced delays in wage
payments.
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What are the security
concerns?
What Moody’s has said
about Aadhaar?
Why the reliability concerns
are alarming
What are the Moody’s
concerns in their report
“Decentralized Finance and
Digital Assets” released on
2023 September 21st.
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1. Banking correspondents using the Aadhar Enabled
Payment System (AEPS)operate without any
accountability framework.
2. Some of them ask individuals to biometrically authenticate
multiple times.
3. Each authentication gives access to the banking
correspondents to operate the individual’s bank account.
4. Using AePS, money from workers’ accounts have been
withdrawn or that they have been signed up for government
insurance programmes without their knowledge.
Example: The ₹10 crore scholarship scam in Jharkhand from 2020.
 The system faces hurdles, including the burden of
establishing authorisation and concerns about biometric
reliability.
 The system often results in service denials, and the
reliability of biometric technologies, especially for manual
labourers in hot, humid climates, is questionable
The concerns over Aadhaar’s reliability are significant because –
1. It is the primary identity document that is linked to a
number of the government’s welfare schemes.
2. So, if the technology is not reliable, it might result in people
not receiving various subsidies from the government that
they are entitled to.
3. A number of the people who depend on government
subsidies are also those who need it the most.
4. There are documented cases in Jharkhand of starvation
deaths linked to Aadhar biometrics failing and people
consequently not being able to receive rations from the
PDS
1. The system often results in service denials, and the
reliability of biometric technologies, especially for manual
laborers in hot, humid climates, is questionable.
2. This is a big issue for the manual labour working under the
Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guaranty
Program. They are paid wages through Direct Benefit
Transfer (DBT)
3. DBT links the Bank Account with Mobile Phone and
Aadhar
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 4. There are concerns about the privacy and security
5. Aadhaar lead to the concentration of sensitive information
with specific entities and increase the risks of data
breaches

How has Government of  The government has strongly refuted these claims.
India reacted?  It said, Aadhaar is the most trusted digital ID in the world
 The report is unaware that the seeding of Aadhaar in the
MGNREGS database has been done without requiring the
worker to authenticate using their biometrics, and that even
payment to workers under the scheme is made by directly
crediting money in their account and does not require the
worker to authenticate using their biometrics.

What happens in a  In a centralized system, a single entity such as a bank,

centralized system?
social media platform or government electoral roll controls
and manages a user’s identifying credentials and their
access to online resources. That entity can dispose of the
user’s identity data – name, address and Social Security
number, for example – for internal or third-party profiling
purposes,” the report averred, stating that such systems
offer the least personal data control to users

CAG Report 2022 There are issues in managing the Aadhar by UIDIA that includes –
1. Data-matching errors
2. Errors in authentication
3. Shortfall in archiving in Aadhaar.
4. The data of Aadhaar card holders have not been matched
with their Aadhaar number even after 10 years in some
cases.
5. There is an absence of a system to analyse the factors
leading to authentication errors
6. Even though UIDAI was maintaining one of the largest
biometric databases in the world, it did not have a data
archiving policy
7. UIDAI provided Authentication services to banks, mobile
operators and other agencies free of charge till March 2019,
contrary to the provisions of their own Regulations,
depriving revenue to the Government.

Way forward  Moody’s made a pitch for decentralised ID (DID) systems

such as digital wallets, based on blockchain capabilities

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Advantage of Decentralised
iD (DiD)
Challenges in Decentralised
IDs
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that give users more control of their private data and can
reduce online fraud.
 Catalonia, Azerbaijan and Estonia have used blockchain-
based systems to issue digital identities.
 Estonia, known for its fully digitalized public services, has
embraced SSI [Self-Sovereign Identity] to grant citizens
complete control over their digital identities.
 In the DiD the personal data is saved in a user’s digital
wallet and identity verification takes place not via a single,
centralised institution but on a decentralised digital ledger
such as a blockchain — increases privacy and reduces the
amount of personal information held by intermediaries,
Moody’s noted.
 The DID, can be stored and managed in a user’s portable
and reusable digital wallet, rather than by a government,
business, employer, or other entity.
 At a broader level digital IDs can have negative social
repercussions, since they may strengthen group identities
and political divides, particularly if offered by technology
and social media companies with significant monopolistic
influence.
 Consolidation of control within these entities could lead to
a concentration of power over individual identities, shaping
perceptions and interactions in the digital realm. Further
polarization of group identities and political affiliations
would undermine the goal of a united and diverse digital
space.
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