Also: Aadhaar, JAM trinity, Jan Dhan–Aadhaar–Mobile, UIDAI
Definition
Aadhaar is a 12-digit unique identity number issued by the UIDAI to residents of India on the basis of their biometric and demographic data; JAM refers to the combination of Jan Dhan bank accounts, Aadhaar and mobile phones used to deliver benefits and services directly to people.
Deep-dive lesson:Financial Inclusion and Digital Payments. This page is a quick reference that connects the term across subjects; read the lesson for the full treatment.
For decades, welfare in India was hampered by the absence of a reliable way to identify beneficiaries. Ration cards, voter IDs and other documents varied by state and were easy to duplicate, so "ghost" and duplicate beneficiaries drained schemes, while many genuine poor people lacked any document. In 2009 the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) was set up under the Planning Commission, with Nandan Nilekani as its first chairperson, to issue a unique number linked to fingerprints, iris scans and a photograph.
The project initially ran without a specific law. Parliament passed the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act in 2016 as a money bill, which was itself challenged. Meanwhile, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (2014) opened hundreds of millions of basic bank accounts, and mobile phone ownership expanded rapidly. The Economic Survey of 2014–15 described the combination of Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile as the "JAM trinity" that could allow the state to pay benefits directly into people's accounts.
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