India ID plan wins World Bank praise but raises fears of Big Brother

Mumbai

A NEW Internet is being built: it has 1.1 billion users, a third of the world wide Web. Indian banks are running transactions on it and Microsoft has embedded it into Skype.

The biometric identifier programme Aadhaar - or "foundation" in Hindi - has taken on a life of its own, authenticating loans and job seekers, pensions and money transfers across India. And last week's landslide state election win could embolden Prime Minister Narendra Modi to push Aadhaar beyond its early cost-saving goal, even as questions are raised about the security of its data and the proliferation of private companies seeking to profit from the information it stores.

Other countries are also looking at similar programmes, but research shows it's best to develop one standardised system so people can carry their IDs wherever they go in the world, said Pa…