Public Infrastructure and Private Surveillance in India’s Aadhaar System

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In an article from Tech Policy Press, Haakon Huynh introduces Aadhaar, the world’s largest biometric identity infrastructure implemented by India. Aadhaar assigns citizens a 12-digit ID linked to fingerprints, iris scans, and facial data. He argues that as the system’s scope expands—particularly through granting private companies access to Aadhaar’s authentication infrastructure—the key challenge is not just state overreach, but ensuring accountability, transparency, and data protection in a public-private model.

As the United States rolls out its long-delayed REAL ID standard, creating a de facto national ID, critics warn that it centralizes personal data and lowers the barrier to state surveillance. In the meantime, India has already built the world’s largest biometric identity infrastructure: Aadhaar. In the name of inclusion, Aadhaar assigns citizens a 12-digit ID linked to fingerprints, iris scans, and facial data. The system has brought millions into the formal economy and expanded access to essential services. But earlier this year, the Indian government opened this infrastructure to select private companies under a new regulatory sandbox. One of them is HyperVerge, a facial authentication firm whose patented technology relies on behavioral data analysis. That decision could well shape the next decade of digital policy across the Global South.

This policy development deserves attention, not because India is becoming a surveillance state, but because it is pioneering a public-private model where commercial AI deployment is integrated into welfare infrastructure. Other countries in the Global South, such as the Philippines, Morocco and Ethiopia, are already using Aadhaar as a model for their own national digital ID systems. Accordingly, it’s not just the system’s technical merits that matter, but whether its governance can ensure accountability as more countries adopt it as a reference point.