The Aadhaar Experience for Different Population Groups The Aadhaar Experience for Different Population Groups 2.5 The Aadhaar Experience for Different Population Groups WOMEN PEOPLE WITH LITTLE OR NO EDUCATION People with little or no education62 encountered Aadhaarrelated problems more often than others did: more of them had errors or faced difficulties accessing services. Someone who only passed 1st standard had a 20% higher likelihood of having an error on their card as someone who passed 10th standard; the difference was more stark for errors in mobile phone numbers.63 Similarly, in terms of accessing services with Aadhaar, 3.6% of people with a 1st standard education who had Aadhaar (compared to 1.9% of people with a 10th standard education), said they could not access PDS rations, MGNREGS, or social pension due to Aadhaar-related reasons.64 3.6% of people with a 1st standard education, said they could not access a key welfare service due to Aadhaarrelated reasons Overall, welfare recipients reported that accessing PDS rations, MGNREGS, and social pension became easier with Aadhaar. However, recipients who had not completed any formal education were nearly half as likely to experience this increase in ease.65 ELDERLY PEOPLE Elderly people66 were almost as likely to have Aadhaar as everyone else. Aadhaar is mandatory for social pensions in some states—and elderly residents mostly saw their access positively affected by Aadhaar. Sixteen percent of elderly people used Aadhaar to obtain first-time access to social pensions. Of those who received a social pension, many felt that they received it more reliably (74%) and that providing proof of life was easier (79%) with Aadhaar. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 25 that they are “neither satisfied nor dissatisfied” than in other states. SoA pulse survey 2019. 40% of people without Aadhaar were satisfied with it. 42% of homeless and 49% of third-gender people were satisfied with Aadhaar. We found similar results for illiterate people as for those with no or only one year of formal schooling. SoA pulse survey 2019. SoA pulse survey 2019. Aadhaar-related reasons in the pulse survey refer to biometric authentication failure and failure to link Aadhaar to the service. SoA pulse survey 2019. Overall, welfare recipients found it easier to access rations (66%), MGNREGS 16% of elderly people used Aadhaar to get first-time access to social pensions. Women’s experience with Aadhaar was similar to men’s in the sense that they had the same enrolment levels and found the processes of getting and updating Aadhaar equally easy or difficult. Aadhaar appeared to be supporting increased independence for some: for 9% it was their first ID. In addition, many (40%) felt they had more control over their money with Aadhaar. 40% of women felt they had more control over their money with Aadhaar. HOMELESS PEOPLE Homeless populations had low enrolment (30% did not have Aadhaar) and were twice as likely as others to find the process difficult—in particular, they found it difficult to provide the necessary documents. Their use of Aadhaar’s newer digital features was lower than for other groups (6% had ever used one). Some (14%) homeless people were excluded from a service due to Aadhaar-related reasons (although more faced exclusion because of other reasons). Less than half (42%) of homeless people were satisfied with Aadhaar. 15% of homeless people said that Aadhaar was their first ID. 27% of third-gender people did not have Aadhaar However, getting Aadhaar did improve access to ID and services for some homeless people. For 15%, Aadhaar was their first ID, and homeless people who had Aadhaar used it for as wide a range of welfare services (e.g., PDS and Ayushman Bharat) and non-welfare services (e.g., SIM card and bank account) as did the rest of the population— although less frequently. THIRD GENDER People of third gender had a similar experience with Aadhaar to that of homeless people. They also had low enrolment: 27% did not have Aadhaar. They were twice as likely to find the enrolment process more difficult than others, partly due to problems with documentation. Aadhaar recognises third gender as a category, but people who identified as third gender still had errors in their gender data four times as often as others did. People of third gender were more than twice as likely as others to experience exclusion for Aadhaar-related reasons. Only half (49%) said they were satisfied with Aadhaar. Aadhaar was the first form of ID for 14% of people of third gender. They used Aadhaar less often and across fewer services than did the population as a whole, and were three times more likely to be excluded from a service due to Aadhaar-related reasons. 26