Digital Identity, Aadhaar, And the Architecture of The Indian Surveillance

ABSTRACT

Digital identity systems have brought a paradigm shift in governance, welfare delivery, and citizen-state relationships in the contemporary era2 . India’s Aadhar scheme, pioneered by the Unique Identification Authority of India, is considered to be the world’s largest biometric identity scheme3 . Although Aadhar has earned laurels due to its contribution to efficient welfare delivery and economic empowerment through financial inclusion, it has also brought with it several concerns related to privacy, surveillance, cybersecurity, and freedom. This research aims at analysing the impact of Aadhar scheme on digital identity and surveillance in general. The analysis will focus on various aspects of this system, including its legal and constitutional ramifications, along with the implications of the landmark judgment in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India case4 . This paper asserts that there exists a threat of a surveillance state owing to the techno-legal infrastructure established through Aadhar scheme.