Explaining trust in large biometric infrastructures: A critical realist case study of India's Aadhaar project

Abstract

The need for formulation of solid explanatory theories is heightened in information and communication technologies for development (ICT4D) by the high incidence of failure, which involves substantial costs for the countries affected. A core argument of this paper is that a critical realist ontology offers intellectual tools that can ground the formulation of causal theory in ICT4D. The paper illustrates such potential through the case study of India's Unique Identity Project (Aadhaar), which Indian states are increasingly using within their anti-poverty programmes. Following a critical realist retroductive methodology, the paper seeks to explain the incorporation of Aadhaar into India's main food security system, the Public Distribution System; an incorporation somewhat paradoxical given the mistrust often associated with biometric infrastructures in social protection. Critical realism allows construction of a theory of trust-building in Aadhaar, based on mechanisms of institutionalisation (state governments framing Aadhaar as a core institutional means to receive benefits) and image formation (authorities systemically associating Aadhaar with an image of effective pro-poor reform). Based on primary and secondary data collected over the course of six years, this paper contributes a theoretical explanation of an important phenomenon in Indian development, and illustrates how a critical realist philosophy is instrumental in building the type of causal theory that is needed in ICT4D.

Food Aid Technology

“…The aforementioned studies in India contrast with the context of our studies in that: Firstly, they are limited to the introduction of a technology into an already existing food supply chain where beneficiaries continued to interact with the same actors as they had prior to digitisation [40]; Secondly, in refugee contexts interactions are compounded with local actors in host communities viewing refugees to be a separate group, within their towns and cities, than Lebanese [29,64,66]. As such refugee experiences are characterised by navigating the micro-politics of accessing aid that has not been identified in ICT4D literature on food aid.…”

“…We can also draw parallels between the introduction of digital technologies in the refugee food aid system and the integration of technologies into existing food systems in developing contexts. In India, it was identified that although technologies have been introduced to decrease corruption within the food aid distribution system, ration dealers still manage to cheat the system [40,42]. Through muting the system, that is designed to keep beneficiaries informed of the quantities of food allocated to them, and by adding weights to the machine to provide less food to beneficiaries ration dealers circumnavigate the system to siphon off supplies [42].…”

Biometric Infrastructures and the Indian Public Distribution System

“…For this reason, working in the state of Karnataka which pioneered a state-level biometric system and then adopted an Aadhaar-based PDS, I conducted two more rounds of fieldwork, respectively in 2014-2015 (on the state-level biometric system) and 2018-2019 (on the Aadhaar-enabled one). This research, published in several works (Masiero and Prakash 2015;Prakash and Masiero 2015;Masiero 2018;Masiero and Das 2019), is complemented by a systematic review of cases of Aadhaar-based PDS in India based on secondary sources and aimed at understanding the diversity of state-level experiences in which my primary findings are contextualized.…”

Blockchain and Citizenship: Uneasy Bedfellows

“…date of birth, parent's names), including biometric measurements of the iris and fingerprints in particular. 80 While this information is being held in a central database, the use of biometrics is also considered as a possible means to link digital wallets to their owners, 81 which makes this aspect also relevant for decentralised DLT-based identity management systems. The structured and automated use of that much personal information comes with several challenging aspects.…”