India’s controversial biometric data law and the privacy issues it raises

World Today

A recent income tax law enacted in India is raising the question: how far can the government go to account for their citizens?

The Income Tax Act called for the mandatory use of identification based on biometric data (Aadhaar) when filing income tax returns.The identification relies on the unique identification of each Indian citizen, based on their personal iris scans and finger prints. The information is ultimately entered into a database and can be shared across government entities.

Currently, India has the world’s largest biometric ID system. Since 2009, the government has collected the biometric data of more than a billion people—around 90% of India’s population.


CGTN’s Nithya Ramani contributed to this reporting.