Last month, Reuters reported that the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), a statutory body under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), had proposed in January that smartphone manufacturers be required to pre-install its Aadhaar app on their devices. Recent reports indicate that the Indian government has abandoned this proposal due to security and cost concerns raised by smartphone manufacturers.
The Aadhaar app stores essential details about Indian residents, including a 12-digit unique identification number, date of birth, residential address, and biometric data, such as fingerprints and iris scans. To date, UIDAI has issued over 1.44 billion Aadhaar numbers, which are widely used for verification in banking, telecommunications, and other sectors.
The IT ministry consulted with stakeholders from the electronics industry and opted not to proceed with UIDAI's suggestion for mandatory pre-installation of the Aadhaar app on smartphones. The ministry stated it is "not in favor of mandating the pre-installation of the Aadhaar App on smartphones," although it did not elaborate on the rationale behind this decision.
Smartphone manufacturers expressed security concerns regarding the proposal, recalling that UIDAI and the Indian government have faced scrutiny over security breaches and data leaks in the past.
Furthermore, pre-loading the Aadhaar app would increase manufacturing costs for smartphone makers, as they would need to create separate production lines for the Indian market and for their international exports.
Reuters notes that this request to pre-install the Aadhaar app was the sixth instance in two years in which the Indian government sought the mandatory inclusion of state-owned apps on mobile devices.
In December, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) requested smartphone makers to pre-load a cyber safety app, Sanchar Saathi, on all new devices sold in India. The directive also mandated that existing devices receive the app through software updates. However, following significant backlash, the government quickly retracted the order.
A senior Indian official, speaking on condition of anonymity, informed Reuters that the IT ministry is reluctant to endorse pre-installation of apps "unless it is considered very essential."
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