Aadhar - the 12 Digit Masterstroke

I saw the documentary on Aadhaar called 12 Digit Masterstoke on Docubay and can't recommend it enough. 

Aadhar is the fundamental building block that has not only changed payments infrastructure with UPI for you and me, but enabled direct benefit transfers for welfare schemes for millions of poor. Modi famously said: "No Prime Minister in the country can now say that I send Rs 1 from Delhi but only 15 paise reaches the poor." And, it's cost efficient - $1 for every Aadhar issued. Some fun facts and takeaways for me from the documentary:

1. A lean mean team, hybrid govt/private culture, with a mission can cross unchartered territories no one thinks is possible 

Nilekani appointed as Chairman in 2009 founded an efficient, persistent team with a spirit. Ram Sewak, former CEO, was an IAS officer who took to programming in his forties, and could speak Parliament, explaining good technology in chaste Hindi. Most famously he convinced the Parliament in face of mounting opposition: the total cost of this project is <10k crores but will save the country more than 50k crores/year. 

2. Don't assume what others want or not. Ask them. 

Interestingly, when the demand generation team set out, they thought the poor in the country would be opposed to another identity card - there was already ration card, PAN, etc. A farmer told them: "I have 3 buffaloes, but if the government wants to give me one more, why will I say no?" That's when the idea of an identity as an economic asset hit home.

Another interesting story on how Aadhar got its name: Naman Pugalia, a manager, was on the field with focus groups to explain the concept and understand mindsets, when an elderly man named Naiyya Ram Rathore told him this was a good idea: 'Pehchaan hi toh jeevan ka aadhaar hai.’ That was a watershed moment, and the project got its name.

3. Making your BHAG public increases commitment. 

Nilekani went on record early: We will give an identity to 600 million in 5 years. He did just that before retiring in 2014, delivering before its deadline. Experts in the US said de-duplication for a billion people was impossible, 10x bigger than any existing database. Even the UK had shut down its identity project for ~200mn people. But this just fueled ambition in the founding team. They built the infrastructure with Open Source tools, when none of the tech existed. Aadhar evolved to be the first identity for transgenders and solved for so many complex problems in a diverse population.

But, biggest achievement: survived two opposing governments. Modi/BJP in 2014 manifesto fiercely attacked Aadhar. Yet, after winning 2014 elections, a meeting between Nilekani and Modi changed everything. And Aadhar became the foundation of the JAM (Jan Dhan-Aadhar-Mobile) trinity.

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I had the good fortune of interacting with Pramod Varma five years ago at a Thoughtworks offsite, and his talk on how to architecture solving for large complex problems came gushing back to me. You and the team are an inspiration for millions of us!