On Aadhaar stopping, or more realistically, making less common many malpractices such as money laundering
First Published: Sat, Mar 16 2013. 01 06 AM IST
The sting operation on how some bankers offered to help launder money reiterates what has been known for long: there is an entire ecosystem to change the colour of money in India. The weakest link in the chain is customer identification, despite tougher norms in recent years. It is still very easy to open a bank account or buy financial products under a fictitious name. Multiple PAN cards are still too common.
That is why Aadhaar, the 12-digit number that will identify citizens based on their biometrics, is so important. Money laundering is just one of the many malpractices that Aadhaar is likely to stop, or more realistically, make less common.
It is not our case that Aadhaar is a magic wand. Much else needs to be done, from better internal controls at banks to improved regulatory supervision. But Aadhaar is surely a big part of the solution.