Back to the future

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and its Aadhaar project use some of the most technologically-advanced processes in their mission to issue a unique number to every Indian. However, to seek an appointment with its senior officials, a journalist was recently asked to use a device that dates back to the 1960s: the fax machine. The reason, according to the office staff of one of UIDAI’s heavy hitters was: they can’t guarantee if the boss will see an email, but a fax can be printed out and presented to him. Nandan Nilekani may have attempted to bring India Inc into UIDAI, but the bureaucratic habits of babudom are hard to break!