India: retailers will soon be able to use Aadhaar biometric authentication

India is easing access to the Aadhaar biometric authentication system (via fingerprint or iris) created by Infosys co-Founder Nandan Nilekani. At the beginning of 2024, this system was being used by 1.3 billion Indians, with 80 million uses per day. On January 31, the Indian Ministry presented an amendment allowing private companies to access the system to verify the identity of customers. Hitherto reserved for banks and public services, the system can now be used in retail and e-commerce, subject to authorisation from the Unique Identification Authority of India and the Ministry of IT.

To remember: According to Ndtv, Bill Gates has taken a close look at this technology. According to Kamesh Shekar (think tank The Dialogue), it is important to set clear evaluation criteria to avoid abuse. In 2016, the Indian Supreme Court prevented private companies from accessing Aadhaar. Since 2019, the government has been seeking to authorise it on a voluntary basis. In May 2023, it launched a public consultation, the responses to which have not been published yet.