India's identity system, explained
The facts of Aadhaar, with the receipts
1.38 billion numbers, two Supreme Court judgments, and a decade of savings claims. We read the audits, Acts and judgments so you can see what is true, what was estimated, and what changed.
Cited by
- FinTech AustraliaSubmission to the Australian Treasury's Review into Open Banking, 2017
- Tallinn University of TechnologyMaster's thesis on Ukraine's eID, 2017
- YMCA University of Science and TechnologyNational conference proceedings, Faridabad, 2016
- NILS India Blog"Right to privacy under the Aadhaar scheme", 2017
The lead story
A savings figure that lost a zero on its way to Australia
In 2016 this site reported a government estimate of Rs 27,000 crore saved through Aadhaar-linked transfers. A year later it reached an Australian Treasury review as US$400 million. The real conversion is about US$4 billion, and India's auditor found most of the biggest saving came from cheaper oil.
Read the multiple facts of Aadhaar- 138.3 crore
- Aadhaar numbers issued by October 2024
- 4 to 1
- Supreme Court vote upholding Aadhaar, 2018
- 92%
- of the 2015-16 cooking-gas subsidy fall due to oil prices, per the CAG
Explainers
PrivacyAadhaar and the right to privacyPuttaswamy v Union of India in plain words: the 2017 privacy judgment, the 2018 Aadhaar verdict, section 57, the money bill dissent, the 2019 amendment and the DPDP Act 2023.
Get your AadhaarHow to download your Aadhaar safely, and why not from TelegramThe official ways to download e-Aadhaar (myAadhaar, mAadhaar, DigiLocker), the PDF password format, masked Aadhaar, the Rs 50 PVC card, and how to spot lookalike sites and Telegram channels.
UPI and wallets"E-wallet business may not work": the 2015 forecast, ten years onIn 2015 Kishore Biyani doubted India's e-wallet business and Aadhaar. What followed: demonetisation, UPI, BHIM, and the RBI's action against Paytm Payments Bank.
UIDAIWho built Aadhaar? What a 2015 RTI reply showed about UIDAI's contractorsA 2015 RTI reply named the 18 companies holding 25 UIDAI contracts, the project's Rs 13,663 crore outlay, and a seven-year data retention clause. What it means for privacy.Topics
TopicUIDAI: the authority behind the numberUIDAI explained: founded January 2009, the first Aadhaar in 2010, the Aadhaar Act 2016, 138 crore numbers issued, and the CAG's 2022 audit findings.
TopicAadhaar and direct benefit transferHow Direct Benefit Transfer uses Aadhaar: DBT from 2013, PAHAL cooking-gas subsidy, the NPCI mapper, the CAG's PAHAL audit, and exclusion when ration cards are cancelled.
TopicUPI, wallets and where Aadhaar fitsUPI versus mobile wallets explained: UPI's 2016 launch, BHIM, how a UPI payment moves, what Aadhaar does in onboarding and AEPS, and the 2024 Paytm Payments Bank order.
TopicAEPS and micro-ATMs: banking with a fingerprintHow the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS) works at micro-ATMs run by banking correspondents: withdrawals, balance checks, transfers, and how to lock your biometrics against fraud.
Topice-KYC: Aadhaar at the bank and the phone shopAadhaar e-KYC explained: how it works, why mandatory SIM and bank linking was struck down in 2018, the 2019 voluntary rule, and the PAN-Aadhaar link under section 139AA.
TopicChecking an Aadhaar the right wayHow to verify an Aadhaar: the secure QR code, offline e-KYC, masked Aadhaar and the 16-digit Virtual ID, and why Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship or date of birth.
TopicNPCI: the rails under Indian paymentsNPCI explained: who owns it, and the systems it runs that touch Aadhaar, including the Aadhaar Payment Bridge, the NPCI mapper, AEPS, IMPS, RuPay and UPI.
How we workAbout Aadhaar NewsAbout Aadhaar News: its history since 2015, the publications that cite it, how pages are sourced, and that it is not affiliated with UIDAI.