Remedy for paradox of having umpteen proofs but no identity
Consider the nationwide systems. The passport system commenced in 1920 and was revamped in 1967. In 2024, there were 9.3 crore valid passports. Electoral identification dates back to the first general elections of 1951-52. The first major attempt to issue an Electoral Photo ID Card (EPIC) was initiated by the EC during 1993-96. In 2024, there were 97 crore voters with EPICs for many of them. The Permanent Account Number was introduced by the Central Board of Direct Taxes in 1972, initially as an option but made mandatory for taxpayers from 1976. The latest data says there are 78 crore PAN cards.
In the mid-2000s came the brilliant idea of a unique ID for every resident—Aadhaar—using biometric imprints. The Unique Identification Authority of India was set up in 2009 and the first Aadhaar card issued in 2010. After a checkered trajectory, the UIDAI has issued Aadhaar cards to about 135 crore residents.
EPIC and passports are treated as universal proofs of identity, date of birth, and address. However, they do not offer universal coverage. EPIC is for citizens above 18 years, while passports cover only about 6.5 percent of the population. PAN, though available to a wider demography, is primarily a specific-purpose identifier for tax and financial transactions, and not an address proof. Aadhaar, with the largest coverage, has become just another ID. While it is accepted for its biometric features, it is neither a proof of nationality nor of date of birth. There are also about 5 dozen other IDs accepted by various state-level authorities.
All these IDs suffer from duplication and fakery due to the incentive structures in our ground-level governance systems. Recent reports of the CBI unearthing 8.5 lakh 'mule accounts' across certain banks, likely the tip of an iceberg, and the growing incidence of identity theft in financial crimes reveal deeper structural vulnerabilities of the fragmented and often unreliable identity architecture.
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