Today, as many as 139 crore Aadhaar cards have been issued in the country, although concerns continue to plague the ID, especially concerning privacy
Who is watching?: A woman takes an iris scan to link her Aadhaar card with the National Register of Citizens (NRC) during a hearing at a Passport Seva Kendra (PSK) in Barpeta district in Assam
Image: David Talukadar / AFP
It was touted as the world’s largest biometric identification programme. A voluntary exercise that would help prevent leakages in welfare schemes, and give a national identity for its billion citizens for the first time. But a decade and a half since work on it began, Aadhaar—which means foundation—continues to be controversial, especially over privacy concerns.