Waking up late: UIDAI has dumped CSCs, but it must plan the transition well

In the recent past, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has come in for some sharp criticism as more and more instances of Aadhaar-related data leaks have come to the fore. For instance, there have been several reports of Aadhaar details being available for measly sums of money and fictional characters being assigned Aadhaar numbers. These instances not only raised doubts about the security of Aadhaar-related data but also undermined public trust in the system. In that context, the UIDAI announcement last week that it would not renew its contract with the information technology ministry for the use of