British Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently praised India’s Aadhaar system during his visit to Mumbai. He said, ‘I have been very impressed by this system and we are planning to use it as a model for our country’s new digital identity scheme, Britcard.’
Aadhaar is a digital ID number that every Indian citizen gets. It contains biometric data such as citizen information, fingerprints and iris scan. This helps the government ensure that government benefits reach the right people and reduces fraud.
Britain’s plan is something different. Their goal is to stop illegal workers so that only the right people can benefit from government services. However, residents there are also concerned about their privacy and do not want excessive government surveillance.
During Keir Starmer’s visit to Mumbai, he also met with the main architect of Aadhaar, Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani. The two discussed building a strong and secure digital ID system in Britain based on India’s experiences.
It is worth noting that Aadhaar has simplified many government functions in India, but it has also raised privacy concerns. A British government spokesperson told the media that Britain will not include biometric data in its system and will focus more on data security.
