In India, half of all births are not registered, leaving tens of million of people without any birth certificate or other formal documentation of their existence and citizenship. Since so many Indians (especially the rural poor) do not officially exist, government representatives are not motivated to listen to and meet their needs via public policy decisions and government services. The impact this has on the nation’s democratic process, economy and quality of life cannot be overstated.

Indian businessman and visionary technologist, Nandan Manohar Nilekani, aims to end this injustice by collecting the fingerprints and iris scans of all 1.6 billion Indian residents within the next few years! Yes—you read that correctly, within the next FEW YEARS. An online search reveals this project has been publicized during the past two years, but I had not heard about it before today. Read More >>