India strives to create a nationwide database of citizen identification to ensure access to benefits (welfare, healthcare) free from government corruption. There are concerns that this project is not practically feasible, as well as concerns regarding the government's potential abuse of such information (althouh criticism for the latter is rather muted at this time). But, in addition to its stated goals, this project could revolutionize the Indian concept of identity. For the first time in their lives, many Indian citizens would not only receive a permanent record of their existence, but would also be identified as individuals independent from a particular caste or village.
View the article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/02/world/asia/02india.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=india%20database&st=cse
View an interactive feature with citizen feedback here: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/08/29/world/asia/IDENTIFICATION.html?scp=4&sq=india%20database&st=cse
I like the point that there are no privacy laws in place to make sure this system is not abused. Second, I like how technology (that is not reliant on keeping a smart card) is used to tackle corruption. It will be interesting to see how this plays out as a test case for possible global attempts to confront corruption and poverty. Third, I worry what an influx of currency will have on monetary stability when the government stops paying benefits in kind. Last, this article only supports my image of India being a crazy place of juxtapositions: intense poverty interacting with state-of-the-art technology. Love it.
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