Given that a large proportion of India’s population has no bank account, there is a great need for vastly improved banking penetration. Critical to the government’s 2013 to 2016 financial inclusion plan to strengthen and deepen financial services across India is an incredibly ambitious scheme, called Aadhaar (meaning 'foundation' or 'support'), which was established by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
The RBI explains: “India is embarking on a project to provide every Indian resident a 12-digit biometric number... Currently, many of India’s poorest citizens do not have any identification (ID) cards, bank accounts or even addresses that they can use to obtain social services. The Aadhaar number is intended to allow individual identification anytime, anywhere in the country through online verification from a central database.
