AI is the new industrial revolution, says Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at 3rd Aadhaar Samvaad in Delhi

New Delhi [India], April 8 (ANI): The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) concluded a day-long stakeholders' meeting with ecosystem partners, including central government departments and states, to deliberate and share ideas to further enhance service delivery by using Aadhaar.
Nearly 750 senior policy makers, experts, technocrats, sectoral leaders and professionals came together for the 'Aadhaar Samvaad' in New Delhi on Tuesday, according to a release by Ministry of Electronics and IT
In his inaugural address, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw underlined how AI is like a new industrial revolution. He said Aadhaar is the 'aadhaar' of many initiatives and is the core of DPIs. He asked the stakeholders to share ideas on how we to integrate AI with DPIs to drive the growth further. All this, while preserving the privacy, he added.
Union Minister stated that the Central Government has a primary focus on improving ease of living further. He gave the example of Aadhaar face authentication in this context and how it is an enabler, the release stated.
Addressing the stakeholders, S Krishnan, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) said Aadhaar is allowing speed up inclusion and aiding economic growth. He said Aadhaar is a sophisticated system that preserves privacy and authenticates identity.
Addressing the meeting, Saurabh Garg, Secretary of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), appreciated UIDAI for enabling the expansion of Aadhaar usage and underlined the rapid growth of Aadhaar authentications. Garg touched upon how data is for development.
Neelkanth Mishra, Chairman UIDAI, spoke about Aadhaar's role in the expansion of DPIs. UIDAI and Aadhaar have achieved a lot and there is a lot to do, he added. He said face authentication is very helpful and is becoming more and more robust, the release added.
CEO UIDAI Shri Bhuvnesh Kumar said Aadhaar Face authentication is becoming the hallmark of the authentication landscape. He said the Aadhaar ecosystem has grown big, and UIDAI is prepared for the future, be it technology adoption or service delivery. He also mentioned a humane side of Aadhaar and how it is uniting hundreds of missing children with their families.
This is the third episode of the Aadhaar Samvaad series. At Bengaluru in November 2024, UIDAI focused around industries and technologies involved in digital identity space, the second edition, in January 2025 at Mumbai, focused on FinTech sector bringing together BFSI, fintech and and Telecom sectors. In this edition here in Delhi, the focus theme was Innovation, Inclusion and Integration, and how Aadhaar can be of more help in strengthening governance and bring more benefits to people, the release added.
After the inaugural session, the meet had focused discussions covering areas and themes like -- Adoption of new technologies and processes in Aadhaar enrolment and authentication; Expanding Aadhaar usage for good governance; Strengthening Aadhaar enrolment and update ecosystem, data privacy.
UIDAI also showcased demos of some new products including the Sandbox and an upcoming new mobile app that will allow people to have more control on how much information they will to share while availing services.
UIDAI's technology centre showcased the new Aadhaar app that will empower Aadhaar number holders to share only the necessary data while availing services of their choice. It will give Aadhaar number holders complete control over their personal information. The app allows digital verification and exchange via a requesting application or by scanning a QR code, eliminating the need for physical photocopies while ensuring privacy.
A major innovation in the app is the integration of Aadhaar Face Authentication, which is witnessing rapid adoption across sectors and has clocked over 15 crore transactions per month, the release stated.
This app is an early adopters' release for a small group of users including all the registered participants of this Aadhaar Samvaad event. Based on the feedback received from users and ecosystem partners, UIDAI will soon make it accessible to all.
UIDAI is hopeful that the outcome of this event will bring actionable insights which will enhance the Aadhaar usage and authentication services, and will also lay the foundation for implementation in new use cases further benefiting people, the release added. (ANI)