India's Aadhaar ID system delivers benefits but at risk of widespread fraud

Modi's new welfarism rests on Aadhaar. But if there are cracks in the edifice, they need to be acknowledged - not to frighten users away, but to make them more aware

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s model of welfarism isn’t new to India: Previous leaders have also subsidized food and fuel, and given the rural poor houses, toilets, and paid work. Modi’s edge comes from technology. A year before the 2014 election that brought him to power, the government, then led by the Congress Party, had piloted direct cash transfer to beneficiaries, inspired by the former Brazilian President Lula da Silva’s popular Bolsa Familia program. Modi took that modest $1 billion start and turned it into a $300 billion vote magnet: And he did it with the help of 12-digit numbers. 

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