India’s digital identification system—which faced scrutiny over privacy concerns and exclusion— has further put marginalised communities at a greater disadvantage during the pandemic. There have been concerns that fingerprint-based authentication (as used by Aadhaar, India’s national biometrics-based digital identity program) can increase the risk of further spreading COVID-19, and India’s Public Distribution System (or PDS, India’s social welfare service) predominantly uses Aadhaar for authentication. The state of Kerala identified this risk early on and suspended the use of all biometric authentication systems. This, and all the other social, political and transactional risks linked to Aadhaar — because of COVID-19 — have put marginalized communities at much higher risk, and furthered calls for a revised look at the digital ID ecosystem.
The use of Aadhaar-based authentication – or linking the use of Aadhaar with essential social services – makes exclusions more likely than ever. Attempts to deal with COVID-19 have also resulted in a provincial government agency sharing personal data publicly — including legal names and complete addresses — of 19,240 individuals who were under home-isolation post-foreign travel. Lawyer Rahul Matthan cites the lack of appreciation of personal privacy by the government as a reason for this. Aadhaar plays a key role in most large-scale identification initiatives.
The Indian government maintains that Aadhaar-based biometric authentication (ABBA) has helped reduce errors and corruption in the distribution of benefits. However, a recent study by academic researchers suggests otherwise. The study found that the use of Aadhaar adds an additional financial burden of 17% that the beneficiaries had to incur to collect their benefits, with 10% of genuine PDS holders denied their benefits because of false authentication errors.
Source: Advox Global Voices
Finnish site 
Global site