Washington sources have made a statement that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has cautioned that India should take necessary steps while implementing universal identification programs like Aadhaar to ensure privacy and security controls.
Meanwhile when identifying India as a leader in the bio metric identification system, the IMF in its fiscal monitor report on digital governance released here said digitalization can facilitate stronger governance, fiscal transparency and better scrutiny of the budget process. Report stated that "With more than 1.2 billion registered citizens in India's bio metric identification system, Aadhaar, the country stands out as a leader in this area".
Accordingly in India, privacy and security concerns led to alternating
periods of mandatory and non-mandatory use of Aadhaar in social programs.
Moreover a court decision is still pending on its compliance with the right to
privacy. Furthermore it stated as in a recent data breach in India, it has been
reported that 135 million Aadhaar numbers were compromised, underscoring the
importance of sound privacy measures.
