We are not sure where or who used the term first, but this chapter of TypeRight will look into the continuing phase of the 'Aadhaarisation of everything,' latest being the requirement of the same for booking a train ticket or getting maternity rations.
Starting in 2009 to allow direct cash transfers to beneficiaries in order to get rid of corruption and arbitrary actions. Now, it is used almost exclusively by both state and non-state organizations for all kinds of services and benefits, making it so that the state seems unable to govern without listing and keeping track of its citizens. Aadhaar has become an important part of the "Digital India" program's "cradle to grave" goal for the national digital identity project. Updating and maintaining correct Aadhaar information is now necessary to use any modern government or non-government service and make sure that as a person you have a "smooth digital experience." (Citation)
We have already covered a bunch of the issues with this Aadhaarisation in earlier chapters of Typeright.
First, this is a notification that was released recently that
For the Anganwadi nutrition and childcare programme, the Indian government now demands facial recognition technology to expand biometric verification. The Ministry of Women and Child Development ordered the phased implementation of take-home rations, child attendance tracking, and Poshan Tracker beneficiary registration. On May 30, 2025, beneficiary profiles could use Face Authentication, previously only available at take-home rations distribution points. State authorities must use these tools to verify all registered beneficiaries' faces during fieldwork. Poshan Tracker app beneficiaries are verified by Aadhaar. Anganwadi workers, however, find this app broken and glitchy.
When a face scan attendance through mobile phones was initiated for paying NREGA workers, it resulted in several people losing their wages because of technical issues. The privacy issues are another nightmare that relies on a still shaky data privacy law. Children are also forced to connect Aadhaar at school despite Supreme Court orders stating that school education is a fundamental right that cannot be made conditional on Aadhaar
Now, continuing with the Aadhaarification of everything is another government notification that puts new restrictions on booking tatkal tickets.
Anyone who has tried to book a ticket using the railways' Tatkal scheme knows how glitchy it is. There are accusations that the system's rules favours agents over normal users, and with the cancellation fees (and GST!) that are charged. In fact, cancelled tickets alone earned the railways 1230 Cr., as per a 2024 report.
Without proper privacy laws, the data collected could be used for profiling, investigations, and social monitoring without the consent of the person who is exercising their basic right to travel. This is a privacy violation as per any sensible privacy laws like the EU's GDPR. This is added with data breaches that government websites have a history of is another problem.
Apparently, the railways also planned to check aadhaar to curb 'illegall immigration' -
- but the government has also thrown off people from the country some despite producing ID proof, and some in questionable ways. So the aadhaarisation of everything is a flux - sometimes aadhaar is mandatory, sometimes aadhaar is not sufficient. If aadhaar can be obtained fraudulently, what is the basis of enforcing it?
To end this piece, here's a seemingly unrelated quote from an old op-ed piece on The Hindu:
But India is a land of opportunities. Happiness is yours for the taking. Happiness could be the Tatkal ticket that you managed to book. It could be the bribe you didn’t have to pay. It could be standing for the national anthem before a Shahrukh Khan movie. It could be the digital wallet on your 2G phone. It could be that feeling of being able to withdraw your own cash from the bank. It could be the right to religion. It could be the right surname. Happiness could even be your Aadhaar number .
Happiness could be even your Aadhaar number or getting a tatkal booked, but now they seem to be linked! Now what becomes of this shift from aadhaar to a new push to decentralise and digitise?
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