Present and counting

The directive from the Prime Minister's Office asking all officers and staff of central ministries to mark their attendance through the Aadhaar-enabled biometric method has resulted in the overnight mushrooming of special cells to register employees in all ministries. Since Aadhaar is a pre-requisite for the new attendance method, those employees and staff who don't yet have their Aadhaar numbers are falling over themselves to enrol. As a senior official pointed out rather sarcastically, "If not attendance, the new system will at least help the government push up its Aadhaar enrolment targets."