Government doesn't know what it spent to make one Aadhaar
What's the story
The government has spent crores of rupees to assign a 12-digit unique identity number to each Indian resident through Aadhaar. However, as it turns out, the administration is unaware of how much it spent in making a single Aadhaar card or how many of such IDs it has issued and distributed, an RTI query has found. Here are more details.
Details
RTI filed by Anil Galgali sought details about Aadhaar
According to The Free Press Journal, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Assistant Director-General Ashok Kumar is unaware of the total number of Aadhaar cards issued and distributed till now. The revelation was made in a September 20 notification filed in response to an RTI by Anil Galgali. Oddly enough, UIDAI's website states that over 124 crore cards have been generated as of now.
Information
Application transferred to UIDAI's logistics division for response
Galgali's application has now been transferred to UIDAI's logistics division, Deccan Herald reported. The application was also moved to the finance and accounts division to seek a response on the query regarding the cost incurred in making each Aadhaar card.
Cost
UIDAI Finance Department doesn't know Aadhaar's cost either
Shockingly, the Assistant Director-General of Finance Department, Syed Ravish Ali, claimed that the department has no knowledge of how much it costs to make a single Aadhaar card. This information is not available on UIDAI's website either. Galgali added, "Also, the government seems unaware of how many cards would be totally required and also how much cards remain pending."
Other developments
Galgali urges Modi to make Aadhaar-linked information public
Galgali told the Herald that the UIDAI is choosing to dodge questions instead of releasing figures in response to the RTI query. According to The Free Press Journal, Galgali has now written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to make the answers to the questions raised in the RTI public in a comprehensible language.