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New Delhi : Union Electronics & Information Technology Minister, Government of India, Ashwini Vaishnaw, on November 23, 2021, inaugurated a three-day workshop titled ‘Aadhaar 2.0- Ushering the Next Era of Digital Identity and Smart Governance’ at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.
Several dignitaries including Ajay Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), and Dr Saurabh Garg, CEO, UIDAI, graced the occasion with active participation from Central and State Ministries.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that aadhaar has made a fundamental difference in lives of millions of people especially those who are at the bottom of pyramid. It has made a significant difference the way government programmes are administered. Adding further to this, Vaishnaw mentioned about the 3 thoughts/ideas that can be deliberated upon.
He raised the question about raising the question of having international standards for identification given in the context of globe which is increasingly getting digitalised. Second thought was to make the Aadhaar services more accessible by building technologies and hardware systems around it. Talking about the privacy and legal framework with regards to Aadhaar, the Minister said that today legal framework is settled with Aadhaar Act, Supreme Court judgement, and will be further strengthened by Data Privacy Bill, according to a PIB release.
Addressing on the event, Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & IT, said that Aadhaar has given identity to large number of people who did not have any identity earlier. Aadhaar has shown that a digital identity can be used in several ways than the physical identity can be used. It has been used in range of services and has helped in bringing financial inclusion, broadband, and telecom services, and direct benefit transfers to the bank account of citizens in a transparent manner.
In a virtual message played during the inaugural event, Nandan Nilekani, former Chairman, UIDAI, shared his ideas and message on Aadhaar related aspects. Talking from futuristic perspective, Nilekani highlighted 3 ideas that can be discussed. They include role of Aadhaar in transformation of electrical grid system that requires discoms to be healthy.
Dr. Saurabh Garg, CEO, UIDAI, informed that The Aadhaar 2.0 Workshop is an introspection-cum-exploratory endeavor by UIDAI to analyse the reach of Digital Identity in major reforms and schemes launched by the Government. It also aims to look into various futuristic aspects of Digital Identity to achieve universal inclusion, both social as well as financial.