Foreword This is the 10th year since the launch of Aadhaar. Our ambition, too, was for this report to anchor data-driven discourse on Aadhaar. Conceived as an ambitious project to provide universal identity to more than one We hope our efforts build a shared understanding of the facts. This report highlights billion Indians, Aadhaar is unparalleled in its reach and aspiration. An important the most significant findings and themes across the study as well as an overview of objective of the project has been to improve the ability of the Indian state to provide the methodology and its limitations. Following the publication of this report at the end efficient, transparent and targeted delivery of welfare services to a large number of 2019, we intend to publish a three-part series to dig deeper into different aspects of residents who depend on it. In the years following Aadhaar's launch, its use has of people’s experience, such as enrolments and updates, service-level experience, or expanded to private service provision, including mobile communication and banking people’s sentiment and awareness. In the spirit of sparking greater discourse as well as services, while raising questions around data privacy, security, and more broadly further research on the topic, all primary data from the study is readily available on the around what it means for residents of India to have a digital identity. State of Aadhaar website. Debates around Aadhaar have tended to be polarised—yet national household data Our ultimate aspiration is that policymakers, researchers, service providers, and has been thin on what Aadhaar has done (and not done) for the residents of India. others use the data and findings from the study to inform decisions about the future of In what ways has Aadhaar empowered or excluded them? To what extent do they Aadhaar and, more broadly, digital identity. trust and use the identification system? In which aspects is it serving them well or We hope that researchers find this extensive collection of data useful in their own poorly—or not at all? Our study set out to answer some of these questions with data. research efforts, that policymakers and implementers will walk away with a sense of what is working and where they can make further improvements to Aadhaar, and that The primary purpose of this study was to give a broad cross-section of Indian leaders elsewhere in the world who are embarking on or are considering similar digital residents a voice in the national discourse on Aadhaar. ID initiatives will learn from India's experience. This study distils insights drawn from two national household surveys on Aadhaar, conducted between May and September 2019, and subsequent human centred It has been a privilege to conduct this study. It would not have been possible without the design research. Capturing the experiences and perspectives of over 167,000 help of the more than 40 individuals who served as our advisory panel, technical panel, residents, together the surveys represent the largest primary dataset on the expert advisors, and research partners. We are deeply grateful to these individuals use of Aadhaar and, more broadly, digital ID anywhere in the world. We believe for their subject expertise, guidance on methodology and validation of our surveys, the success of Aadhaar will ultimately depend on how well the program can analyses and findings. Most of all, we are grateful to the participants of our study for learn from the experiences and concerns of those who use (or are unable to use) their time and perspectives. We have done our best to ensure that the content of this Aadhaar across a wide range of circumstances in their daily lives. Taking residents' report is complete and accurate; any errors or shortcomings are our own. perspectives into account can help better design and implement Aadhaar. Thank you for reading State of Aadhaar 2019. We look forward to hearing your Our aim was also to help identify which aspects of Aadhaar are working and are reflections in the coming weeks and months. not working, to what extent and for whom. The research is premised on the principle that the daily users of Aadhaar are Warmly on behalf of the State of Aadhaar team, best positioned to provide valuable feedback about their lived experience—and therefore practical adjustments needed to improve Aadhaar’s functioning. We do not attempt to adjudicate the ultimate merits of Aadhaar as a project; the question of whether Aadhaar is good or bad for the people of India hinges on factors, analyses and value judgments beyond the scope of this study. We hope these findings can augment efforts to move towards a more effective digital identity for all Swetha Totapally Dr Petra Sonderegger residents of India who desire it. Associate Partner, Senior Project Manager, Dalberg Advisors Dalberg Advisors Dr Priti Rao Jasper Gosselt Associate Partner and Asia Director, Research Director, Dalberg Design Dalberg Research Gaurav Gupta Partner and Regional Director, Dalberg Asia iii iv