Aadhaar saved govt about USD 1 bln annually by curbing corruption: World Bank

Aadhaar digital ID, is estimated to be saving the government about one billion US dollars annually by curbing corruption. This was stated by World Bank Chief Economist Kaushik Basu during the release of annual world bank report 'Digital Dividends' in Washington yesterday. He said India increased access and reduced corruption in public services by providing unique digital identification to about one billion people. Mr Basu added that the unique ID has helped the government to promote the inclusion of disadvantaged groups in its welfare schemes. The World bank report also praises the digital identification initiative. It notes that India is on track to register its entire population using its Aadhaar digital ID. The report was authored by World Bank Co-Directors, Deepak Mishra and Uwe Deichmann.