Centre defends Aadhaar system rejecting Moody’s security concerns

New Delhi: The Centre stood firm on the reliability of the Aadhar system, refuting the security concerns raised by the global rating agency Moody's Investors Service.

The government criticized the lack of evidence or basis for the rating agency's assertions and stated that Moody's had not attempted to verify the issues raised with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the organization responsible for Aadhaar.

The government emphasized that biometric submissions can also occur through contactless methods like face and iris authentication.

Furthermore, the government addressed security and privacy concerns related to Aadhaar's centralized system, asserting that no breaches had been reported from the Aadhaar database. It cited praise from international agencies such as the IMF and World Bank as well as engagement from other nations interested in implementing similar digital ID systems.

The reliability concerns raised by Moody's carry substantial weight, as millions of Indians have linked their Aadhaar IDs to essential services. For instance, over 765 million Indians have linked Aadhaar to ration cards for access to subsidized food, while more than 280 million have linked it to cooking gas connections for LPG subsidies. Additionally, nearly 100 per cent of farmer-beneficiaries under the PM Kisan Yojna rely on Aadhaar for government support.

Laavanya Tamang, a senior researcher at LibTech India, highlighted the gravity of biometric failures, citing documented cases of starvation deaths in Jharkhand linked to Aadhaar biometrics failing, resulting in people being unable to receive rations.

This is not the first time Aadhaar has faced criticism. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India previously raised concerns about deficient data management, data-matching issues, and errors in authentication. The CAG also criticized the absence of a data archiving policy and highlighted UIDAI's provision of free authentication services to banks and agencies until March 2019, contrary to its own regulations.

Besides, raising concerns about the reliability of India's 12-digit universal identity program, Aadhaar, Moody's also questioned the effectiveness of Aadhaar's biometric technologies, especially in hot and humid climates, highlighting potential service denials as a result.

These concerns have far-reaching implications, given that Aadhaar is the primary identity document linked to numerous government welfare schemes. If the technology proves unreliable, it could jeopardize people's access to various government subsidies, particularly those in dire need.