Starmer meets Modi: What the UK can learn from India’s digital IDs

4 days ago 6

On his archetypal visit to India since becoming the United Kingdom’s premier curate past year, Keir Starmer has met with his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi, successful Mumbai, the country’s fiscal capital, alongside a caravan of British concern and taste leaders.

In particular, Starmer wants to cognize much astir India’s mammoth integer ID strategy – which logs the world’s largest population, with much than 1.3 cardinal cards issued – 2 weeks aft announcing a arguable integer ID system for the UK.

Starmer hailed India’s ID strategy arsenic a “massive success” arsenic helium defended that announcement, which has been met with disapproval from rights groups.

During his trade-centric sojourn to Mumbai, Starmer besides held a gathering with Nandan Nilekani, cofounder and seat of Indian tech services radical Infosys, who headed the authorities assemblage which delivered the ID database much than a decennary ago.

So, wherefore is Starmer truthful funny successful India’s ID system? What are the concerns successful the UK? And what tin London larn from mistakes made successful New Delhi?

Why is the UK introducing a integer ‘Brit Card’?

Starmer has pitched the caller integer ID, to beryllium known arsenic a “Brit Card”, astatine the halfway of his plans to tackle irregular migration and exploitative enactment practices successful the UK.

A integer ID strategy “will marque it tougher to enactment illegally successful this country, making our borders much secure”, Starmer said past month.

In summation to verifying that a idiosyncratic is permitted to enactment successful the UK, the Brit Card volition besides connection citizens “countless benefits, similar being capable to beryllium your individuality to entree cardinal services swiftly”, helium said.

While ID cards person agelong been communal successful different Western European countries, the UK has a past of beardown absorption towards them.

Speaking to reporters connected his mode to Mumbai this week, Starmer said helium hopes, however, that integer IDs, which volition go mandatory by 2029, volition summation nationalist assurance due to the fact that of the convenience they volition beryllium capable to provide.

“I don’t cognize however galore times the remainder of you person had to look successful the bottommost drawer for 3 bills erstwhile you privation to get your kids into schoolhouse oregon use for this oregon use for that – drives maine to frustration,” helium said. “I bash deliberation that we could summation a important advantage.”

However, rights groups person powerfully criticised the connection of integer IDs, which, they say, would infringe connected people’s close to privateness – and much than 2.2 cardinal radical person signed a petition opposing the introduction.

The petition describes the Brit Card arsenic a “step towards wide surveillance and integer control”, and adds that “no 1 should beryllium forced to registry with a state-controlled ID system.”

How does India’s ‘Aadhaar’ integer ID strategy work?

India’s integer ID system, Aadhaar, is overmuch bigger and acold much elaborate than the 1 the UK is planning. New Delhi stores people’s fingerprints, oculus scans, photos, location addresses and telephone numbers, and its strategy processes astir 80 cardinal authentications each day.

By comparison, the UK’s projected integer ID strategy volition beryllium overmuch narrower successful scope, focusing connected basal individuality verification, without collecting biometric information similar fingerprints oregon iris scans.

Under Aadhaar, each Indian national receives a 12-digit fig that aims to regenerate galore insubstantial documents. All adults and children much than the property of 5 indispensable supply biometric information.

The strategy is utilized to verify identities erstwhile radical unfastened slope accounts oregon use for a caller SIM paper for their mobile phones, for example. The strategy has besides aimed to streamline the disbursement of authorities benefits, giving the holder instant impervious of individuality and entree to basal services.

Launched successful 2009, the Indian authorities has issued much than 1.3 cardinal cards and claims to person saved astir $10bn successful medication costs. Some critics accidental that is an overstatement, however.

UK officials person made it wide that they bash not privation to replicate the Aadhaar strategy – rather, to larn from however it has been implemented.

A authorities spokesperson denied that the strategy would store biometric information of holders, adding that “one of the halfway priorities is inclusivity and that’s what the British consultation volition beryllium about.”

Why is India’s Aadhaar controversial?

India’s Aadhaar has suffered respective wide information leaks, astatine times exposing the idiosyncratic accusation belonging to arsenic overmuch arsenic 85 percent of the colonisation and raising concerns astir privacy.

At slightest 3 large-scale Aadhaar information leaks were reported successful 2018, 2019 and 2022, with idiosyncratic accusation enactment up for merchantability connected the acheronian web, including 1 from the government’s COVID-vaccination portal.

In January 2025, the Indian authorities allowed backstage companies to entree Aadhaar’s databases for authentication purposes. To summation access, backstage companies indispensable use and beryllium vetted by the government. Critics person opposed this entree to behavioural and biometric data.

“The halfway occupation with Aadhaar was conceptual – centralisation of integer ID and accompanying biometric accusation should beryllium avoided,” said Vrinda Bhandari, a Supreme Court lawyer with a absorption connected integer rights and privacy. “More importantly, it should ne'er beryllium linked oregon seeded into different databases.”

Public assurance is low. A survey conducted earlier this twelvemonth by civic-tech institution LocalCircles revealed that 87 percent of Indian citizens judge elements of their idiosyncratic information are already successful the nationalist domain oregon connected compromised databases. That fig is simply a emergence from 72 percent successful 2022.

The authorities body, Unique Identification Authority of India, which issues Aadhaar cards, maintains that idiosyncratic information is secure. But India does not yet person a robust information extortion instrumentality successful practice, truthful critics accidental determination is nary mode to beryllium definite of this.

“The instauration of a integer ID architecture requires beardown ineligible and information privateness protections,” said Bhandari. “Without this supporting instrumentality and the surrounding complaints infrastructure, citizens are forced to combat costly ineligible battles successful courts.”

The reliance connected Aadhaar has besides led to greater hardship for immoderate of the country’s astir marginalised and poorest citizens, denying them aesculapian attraction oregon nutrient rations, critics say.

Technical problems person often halted the outgo of pensions erstwhile fingerprints don’t lucifer oregon net connectivity has stalled, with researchers claiming that Aadhaar has often made payment transportation much difficult, not easier.

India’s Supreme Court approved Aadhaar’s usage for payment and taxes but restricted its usage by backstage companies oregon successful acquisition successful 2018, pursuing a lawsuit lodged by civilian nine groups. This year’s entree to the strategy for backstage groups was made imaginable by argumentation changes which introduced authorities vetting into the process.

Furthermore, critics argue, India’s integer ID strategy has created an “architecture of surveillance” without beardown capable safeguards.

Have different countries drawn inspiration from the Indian model?

Yes. In 2019, Kenya attempted to physique a nationalist integer ID strategy that intimately followed India’s Aadhaar model.

The authorities launched the National Integrated Identity Management System (NIIMS), besides called Huduma Namba, to streamline authorities services and combat fraud. Its plan drew heavy from the Aadhaar framework.

But the task rapidly faced pushback from civilian nine groups, who argued that it was fraught with privateness and exclusion flaws, with nary capable ineligible safeguards to support citizens. In 2020, these groups lodged a lawsuit against the instauration of the strategy successful the High Court successful Nairobi, which halted the rollout.

The pursuing year, Kenya passed its Data Protection Act, which created a ineligible model for collecting, storing, and processing idiosyncratic data, and aboriginal rebranded its strategy arsenic “Maisha Namba”, promising stronger oversight of however citizens’ biometric and idiosyncratic information would beryllium stored and used. Various ineligible challenges, which reason that gaps successful information person not been adequately addressed, however, are ongoing.

The nationalist ID systems successful different countries, including the Philippines, Morocco and Ethiopia, are besides modelled connected Aadhaar.

In the UK, rights groups person raised concerns astir Starmer’s Brit Card plan. Silkie Carlo, the manager of Big Brother Watch, a UK-based civilian liberties and privateness advocacy organisation, warned that the strategy would “make Britain little free” and make “a home wide surveillance infrastructure that volition apt sprawl from citizenship to benefits, tax, health, perchance adjacent net information and more”.

Addressing these concerns successful September erstwhile the ID strategy was announced, the UK’s civilization secretary, Lisa Nandy, said ministers had “no volition of pursuing a dystopian mess”.

What other did Modi and Starmer sermon successful Mumbai?

On Thursday, Modi and Starmer were hoping to capitalise connected their July free-trade agreement. Aiming to turbocharge commercialized links, the UK delegation included much than 100 leaders from British businesses and universities.

Under the commercialized statement signed successful July, India and the UK agreed to chopped tariffs connected goods ranging from textiles and whisky to cars successful bid to treble commercialized to $120bn by 2030.

“India’s dynamism and the UK’s expertise unneurotic make a unsocial synergy,” Modi said, aft talks with the British premier curate connected Thursday, adding that the manufacture leaders accompanying Starmer “reflect the caller vigor and wide vision” successful the partnership.

Starmer said: “When we permission India tonight, I expect that we volition person secured large caller investments creating thousands of high-skilled jobs successful the sectors of the future.”

Ultimately, the 2 countries announced a drawstring of caller agreements connected Thursday.

A connection by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said the 2 sides had agreed to acceptable up an India-UK connectivity and innovation centre and a associated centre for the improvement of artificial quality (AI), and unveiled a captious minerals manufacture guild to bring unneurotic businesses and researchers and to coordinate the harmless mining and processing of minerals.

An authoritative handout from the UK authorities noted that 64 Indian companies would collectively put 1.3 cardinal pounds ($1.73bn) successful the UK.

“The UK-India commercialized woody is already unlocking growth, and today’s announcements people the opening of a caller epoch of collaboration betwixt our 2 nations,” Starmer said.

What difficulties remain?

London and New Delhi bash not spot oculus to oculus connected each issues, however.

One large bony of contention is Russia’s penetration of and ongoing warfare successful Ukraine. The UK, arsenic portion of NATO, has taken a beardown presumption against Moscow, imposing sanctions and sending weapons to Kyiv. India avoids condemning Russia, however, and has continued to bargain Russian lipid – portion of the crushed United States President Donald Trump said helium was imposing 50 percent commercialized tariffs connected India earlier this year.

Indian officials picture their presumption towards Russia arsenic a argumentation of strategical autonomy, portion British and European leaders presumption it arsenic a large constituent of divergence wrong their broader partnership.

Another country of hostility is Khalistan-related activism successful the UK. India has repeatedly raised concerns astir Sikh separatist groups operating from British soil, particularly aft the 2023 vandalism of the Indian High Commission successful London.

In 2023, a BBC documentary that portrayed Modi successful an unflattering airy was denounced by Indian officials arsenic “anti-India propaganda”.

At the aforesaid time, tensions betwixt India and Canada – a subordinate of the UK’s Five Eyes quality confederation – deepened aft Ottawa alleged Indian engagement successful the sidesplitting of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

In October 2024, the UK called connected India to cooperate with Canada’s investigation, saying it had “full confidence” successful Canada’s judicial process. Earlier, nether Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, the UK’s Labour Party had sharply criticised India’s determination to revoke Article 370, which granted Jammu and Kashmir autonomy, and passed an exigency question connected the issue.

Read Entire Article