Using Aadhaar Using Aadhaar stories behind the data Figure 12: Share of people who have been excluded from services % of respondents “Linking Aadhaar with my bank account has some advantages as well, it has helped me get things done faster at the bank by just providing my Aadhaar number and biometrics.” Sona, Homemaker, Maharashtra Source: SoA Human Centred Design Research 2019 Welfare Private Sector Residents believe that Aadhaar has helped to improve the delivery of welfare benefits & private-sector services Residents felt that Aadhaar is helping to improve service delivery in terms of ease and reliability. • KEY FACTS 1. accounts, SIM cards, LPG subsidy and PDS rations are the most The majority of recepients felt that they received welfare benefits more easily with Aadhaar. For example, a majority (85%) of people who had Aadhaar and used PDS rations said that common uses across India 2. using the service has become easier since the introduction of Aadhaar.45 Over a quarter of PDS users who had Aadhaar (28%) had taken advantage of PDS portability, i.e., accessed Adoption of newer digital features (QR code, mAadhaar app, virtual Aadhaar, masked Aadhaar) is low at 4% - 19% 3. more than one PDS shop.46 Using Aadhaar, residents were 40% more likely to obtain a new SIM card within one day, compared to using other forms of ID 4. Ease of DBT-bank account linking was greater with Aadhaar than without: 87% of people who had Aadhaar found it easy to link their bank account with DBT, compared to 61% of people • On average, people use Aadhaar about once per month. Bank 80% of recipients feel Aadhaar has made PDS rations, MGNREGS, or social pensions more reliable 5. 0.8% of people experienced exclusion from welfare services, which without Aadhaar. A majority (80%) of social pension recipients, PDS recipients, and MGNREGS they previously received, because of Aadhaar-related reasons. job card-holders also said that they received benefits more reliably with Aadhaar.47 But more (3.5%) experienced exclusion due to non-Aadhaar related reasons from a service they earlier received For private sector services, residents saw Aadhaar as increasing first-time access: 40% of all Aadhaar holders who did not previously have SIM cards or bank accounts used Aadhaar to access these services.48 Ease of access was somewhat greater with Aadhaar: more people who used Aadhaar to access these services found the process easy than did people who used other IDs.49 Speed of access was greater for those who used Aadhaar to purchase a SIM card: using Aadhaar, residents were 1.4 times more likely to obtain a new SIM card within one day, compared to using other forms of ID.50 However, even as most residents saw improved service delivery, a minority (7%) said that Aadhaar has made it more difficult for them to access welfare and non-welfare services. 45. 46. 47. 19 SoA pulse survey 2019. By comparison, 4% report more difficult access. Only a minority fo people without formal education shared this view. Many other changes were made to the PDS system concurrently with Aadhaar. Biometric Aadhaar authentication enables PDS portability: people can get rations from a PDS shop of their choice even if the paper records that prove their eligibility, ares held by a different shop.In theory, this provides more power to beneficiaries, and creates more competition among shops to improve service levels. A user survey cannot capture all of these effects; more research is needed to understand how PDS portability and the role of Aadhaar play out in practice. Eighty-three per cent of social pension recipients, 80% of PDS recipients and 74% of MGNREGS job card holders receive their benefits (and wages in case of MGNREGS) more reliably with Aadhaar. 48. 49. 50. Twenty-two per cent of Aadhaar holders used Aadhaar to get their first SIM card; 31% used it to open their first bank account. Eighty-seven per cent of people who used Aadhaar to get a SIM card found the process easy compared to 74% of people who used another ID. Eighty-five per cent of people who used Aadhaar to open a bank account found the process easy compared to 79% of people who used another ID. Seventy-six per cent of people who used Aadhaar to get a SIM card received it within one day compared to 53% of people who used another ID. Applying for bank accounts took a similar amount of time, whether or not Aadhaar was used: 27% of people who used Aadhaar to get a bank account could open it in one day compared to 30% of people who used another ID. 20