What's India's Aadhar card and how can it be put to its maximum use?

I think the first part of the question is already answered well by others. So I will focus on the second part. The biggest benefit of Aadhar cards would be better targeted subsidies. The leakages in the PDS, fuel subsidy, NREGA and other social welfare schemes can be controlled through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) by linking Aadhar numbers with Bank accounts. The biggest challenge though would be reach of banking system in India. Sixty percent of the 1.2 billion population in India remains outside the formal banking system. The success of the DBT depends entirely on the speed with which financial inclusion can be achieved. The argument made by advocates of Aadhar is that moving to cash transfer of subsidies would act as an incentive for millions of Indians in rural pockets to open Bank accounts and facilitate financial inclusion. This argument is valid if we assume that rural Indians have access to formal banking. It is estimated that rural India had only 7 branches per 1,00,000 adults in 2011 in sharp contrast with most of the developed and even BRICS economies having over 40 branches. The RBI is in the process of issuing new banking licenses and the regulation requiring new banks to open at least 25 per cent of its branches in unbanked rural centers is a welcome move. If India Post, with its reach of over 1.55 lakh post offices across the country including 1.4 lakh in rural areas, gets a license to open a bank, it would definitely be a shot in the arm for both financial inclusion and Aadhar linked schemes. If banking sector however fails to keep pace with expansion plans of Aadhar linked schemes, it will be difficult for Aadhar to take off. I worked for more than a year at a consulting firm managing the system upgrade for Ministries of Social Development and Children and Family Development in British Columbia, Canada. The two ministries using the system together spend over $3.8 billion a year on key social programs. Other than a small number of aboriginal people, all citizen have a unique Social Insurance Number (SIN) and almost all social benefits are provided through either Cheque or Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT). The delivery of such programs is largely free of corruption and leakage due to robust systems in place. Having seen the direct cash transfers working smoothly, the idea of Adhaar linked subsidies excites me and I believe it can prove to be a game-changer. The access to banking services to rural Indians has to be the prime focus though, to reap maximum gains out of it!

There are lot of benefits associated- 1. No need to carry n number of ID cards for different purposes. This card will solve all of them. Moreover, these cards can't be duplicated because of the biometrics. 2. The main beneficiaries are going to be the people below poverty line as they can have bank accounts and they can avail services by the government. 3. Direct Benefit Transfer- which can benefit people below poverty line to have access to subsidies offered by the government. 4. Migrants are going to get an identity I don't know about others but, it is almost on the lines of Social Security Number (SSN) issued in USA. Definitely, it will empower the common man (specifically, the underprivileged/poor)

UID Scope : Aadhar gives every Indian resident(Not citizen)  a number so that he/she is uniquely identified from the rest.And thats it . UID benefits to Common Man: Some Benefit but not significant at individual level. Infact my personal opinion is that its a too good scheme that government might have not realized that it can be a gamechanger and everyone will start hating govt for bringing this . It CAN put an end to the retail corruption which every Indian practice where we all  be sadistically happy that we are also cheating the govt Iindirectly it helps to eradicate the leakages that happen in almost all social welfare schemes in India. PDS subsidies will reach rightful persons with less effort. Pensions will reach proper bank accounts. NREGA payments will be tracked more efficiently. Better management w.r.t. other subsidies e.g. LPG.

Identification number issued by UIDAI to individuals for the purpose of establishing unique identification of every single person. Aadhaar is actually a 12-digit number and not a card which is unique for every individual who enroll or apply to get his/her Aadhaar number. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is the regulatory body for this. Aadhaar is meant for individuals of any age (including children) for the purpose of establishing identities. Since Aadhaar is for only individuals, it is different for all the members of a family. For deciding uniqueness of every individual, the demographic details (residence address information) of the person and his/her biometric information (photograph, iris-scan, fingerprints) is collected which is stored in a centralized database. Aadhaar is not a compulsory approach. Instead, it is voluntary and any individual who is interested in having Aadhaar number for himself/herself can enrol or apply to get Aadhaar number. An individual will be provided with only one unique Aadhaar number and not multiple unique ID numbers. Aadhaar number will be valid for the whole life of any individual and does not need to be changed or renewed from time-to-time. A person can get his/her Aadhaar number for free of cost. The Aadhaar number can be used while opening a bank account, applying for passport, booking e-tickets and many other places where there is a need to give your identity. Aadhaar number will be your identity which will provide you with the simplest way of describing who you are.

I am not sure if I would accept its a good initiative. Here is my perspective: Even in developed countries like SSN is not possessed by every individual residing there. Trying to do something like in a country like India, where there are villages with no electricity or not even one computer, the government is just acting on its dream of uniquely identifying an individual. But I fail to understand how this dream can be realized. If the government was serious about making some good changes, it should have implemented the PAN card initiative more effectively. With the population and illiteracy rate, it going to be difficult to bring everyone under one roof. Where as the PAN card initiative, could have achieved it, if they had made it mandatory for everyone, to get their salary , open a bank account (irrespective of where they are current account holders), any business transaction,  even a real estate transaction.

Imagine a country where when the child is born he is first issued a aadhar number.With this ,the information about his family members also gets updated like (How many members are present in the family?Who are his brothers sisters?). This information can be used by government to keep track of population on which govt spends in crores with no proof of validation.Now when he seeks admission in school his information is updated (school name so that if he changes school the other school should not need any transfer certificate,or his records)The school updates all his info using Aadhar number like certificates he won,his annual report etc.He grows up when he is caught riding bike underage he will be asked his aadhar number and amount fined directly gets debited from his father's account.Now if suppose he commits some crime all locality members can see if he is having any past criminal records thus stay away from him.Now when he is taking admission to college he does not have to fill all details with only a single number everything gets done ie no caste certificate because that info will already gets updated at time of his birth, no 10,12 certificate - already updated by school(thus no fake caste certificates). Now after finishing college he goes for interview. The interviewer can check his whole academic record with just a single number.If he falls ill or any surgery then his medical history like blood group or past injuries could also be updated so that the doctors do not require to search for family or contact police in criminal cases.When he starts earning His salary gets into his aadhar linked account.Now tax gets automatically debited and his spending can be tracked/transaction(cylinders,shopping) can be tracked If he buys land his property  information gets tracked If he had ancestral property that information can be updated after his/her parents demise.Now if he gets marriage again the marriage status gets updated.If he dies his information gets updated no need of death certificate.If he travels abroad or to another city his current location can be tracked  using aadhar

Aadhar is a unique 12 digit number issued by the government as proof of identity and residence in India. No resident can have a duplicate number since it is linked to their Individual It is database of you finger print ,iris ( uniqueness of human eye patterns) and signature. In future government is planning to use it as identity card at every possible place like airport, courts,criminal activities etc. Currently there are a plethora of identity documents in India including passports, permanent account numbers (PANs), driving licenses and ration cards. The Aadhaar card / UID will not replace these identification documents but can be used as the sole identification proof when applying for other things. It will also serve as the basis for Know Your Customer (KYC) norms used by banks, financial institutions, telecom firms and other businesses that maintain customer profiles. 

Aadhar is a proof of identity and residence both. Its a 12 digit no assigned to a person for lifetime. Once assigned you can't change your aadhaar number.  It will provide transparency of a person with the government, like in paying taxes and all other schemes. You can get it generated from any enrollment centre across the country, unlike Driving License, that it will be generated from the same state. Unique Identification Authority is the acency responsible for generating aadhaar.  For more info you can visit this website http://aadhaarstatus.in

Aadhar is basically a unique identification system that identifies a human(now an Indian)  by means of fingerprint and irish scan which is tied to a unique number of 12 digits.        The primary purpose of Aadhar is DE-DUPLICATION of records Elimination of ghost records digital (online) authentication for various purposes So with the above highlighted prime features of Aadhar, "instead of asking what we can do with Aadhar",  the right question would be what we can't do with Aadhar.     On a very high level Aadhar can be leveraged in; Bringing transparency in administration E-Governance Financial and other welfare schemes of government. Avoiding paper forms and direct interaction of government offices and thereby greatly reducing CORRUPTION. Digitizing various govt processes like scholarship, integrated college/university/education records(to avoid fake certificates) , income/cast/tax certificates etc, etc, Population monitor like birth/death and there by controlling other frauds like property transactions/inheritance  etc. And the list goes on; The bottom line is - it depends on how central government utilizes this system.