Aadhaar poised for triple jump in daily authentications: UIDAI chief Neelkanth Mishra | Today’s news
The Aadhaar system processes about 100 million authentications a day and is poised to expand that capacity to 250-300 million as its use expands across financial services and other digital platforms, Neelkanth Mishra, chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), said at the 7th Global Fintech Festival (GFF) on Wednesday.
Mishra, who is also the World Bank Group Executive Director, said Aadhaar is now used by more than 600 entities, reflecting its growing role as a means of establishing identity and trust remotely at low cost.
The The Aadhaar app is also rapidly gaining users, with downloads close to 60 million, he said. The app allowed users to update information such as their mobile numbers and addresses digitally, reducing their dependence on physical Aadhaar service centers.
Mishra said Aadhaar’s role should remain limited to providing a secure identity infrastructure, with businesses and other institutions building services on top of it.
“Aadhaar is only a database,” he said, adding that the UIDAI did not want “any scope creep”. The authority holds the identity data of about 1.44 billion people and aims to provide it securely while enabling the wider ecosystem to develop new applications.
The growth of India’s digital public infrastructure has also boosted other financial services, Mishra said. Unified Payment Interface (UPI) now processes approximately 25 billion worth of transactions ₹30 trillion per month, while Aadhaar-enabled infrastructure has helped bring more people to digital payments and other services.
Mishra also pointed to the growing use of digital infrastructure in raising venture capital, saying that equity inflows equivalent to 2% of India’s gross domestic product (GDP) were unprecedented for an economy at current levels of per capita income.
UIDAI is now preparing its technology systems for the next phase of growth. Mishra said the bureau is working on post-quantum cryptography, or algorithms designed to secure against quantum computer attacks, and is expanding its use of artificial intelligence (AI) for fraud detection. It is also developing a more scalable technology architecture while strengthening its security systems.
The authority is also exploring global interoperability as more Indians travel and live overseas. Mishra said the number of Indians living and traveling abroad could increase three to four times over the next 17 years, creating a greater demand for digital identity verification outside India.
UIDAI is also working with startups and fintech companies through research funding and a sandbox environment, allowing them to test applications involving identity and biometric technologies before their wider deployment.
