India reports 1.38B Aadhaar numbers generated

India’s minister of state for electronic and information technology, Shri Jitin Prasada, says that to date, 1.38 billion Aadhaar numbers have been generated. Aadhaar is a digital identity program that provides biometric and demographic-based digital identity for authentication.

Prasada also revealed that in June 2024, more than 13.88 billion financial transactions were conducted via digital payment platform Unified Payment Interface (UPI). By being technology and device agnostic, UPI has contributed to financial inclusion, with the aim of making digital payments accessible to a vast population, the government notes in a press release.

Additionally, India’s digital issuance and verification platform, DigiLocker has facilitated more than 300 million users and made available 6.75 billion issued documents so far.

The Government of India has implemented several measures to expand the reach of Indian digital public infrastructure (DPI) both nationally and internationally, including the launch of India Stack Global and the Global DPI repository.

India has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) to share digital software with ten countries, including Armenia, Sierra Leone, Suriname, Antigua and Barbuda, Papua New Guinea, Trinidad and Tobago, Tanzania, Kenya, Cuba, and Colombia.

In fact, last year, India was negotiating with Kenya, Mozambique, and Namibia to assist these African nations in developing digital payment systems akin to its Universal UPI platform.

India recently unveiled its commitment to integrating AI into its DPI across various domains, in a bid to enhance accessibility and efficiency, and inclusivity.

The recent report from India’s G20 Task Force on DPI highlights how by effectively utilizing emerging technologies like AI, the impact of DPI can be enhanced. For example, improved cybersecurity measures within DPI through the implementation of AI.

In addition to this, ISACA’s State of Digital Trust 2024 revealed that 90 percent of respondents in India consider digital trust important, and 89 percent believe its importance will grow over the next five years.

The Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act 2023 and the forthcoming Digital India Act (DIA) are positive steps toward preparing India’s digital ecosystem for the future, according to CEO Insights Asia.

Article Topics

Aadhaar  |  biometrics  |  digital ID  |  digital public infrastructure  |  India  |  India Stack  |  Unified Payments Interface - UPI