From PAN to Aadhaar, the universe of unique IDs is expanding in India

The government also has a unique ID for persons with disabilities

One of the most highly cited papers in psychology is George Miller’s “The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two”, published in 1956. Miller, a Harvard professor at the time, wrote that most adults can store between five and nine items in short-term memory. An Indian, on the other hand, has far more numbers to remember, as the quantum of schemes and unique IDs has been growing.

Last year, the Haryana government launched the Parivar Pehchan Patra scheme. The scheme will accord a unique eight-digit ID to each family and link all state government schemes on subsidy, pension and insurance. 

The government’s