Amid controversies surrounding Aadhaar scheme, Microsoft founder Bill Gates has said that the approach may be taken to other countries.
He said that the Aadhaar system does not pose any privacy issue.
Gates added that Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has funded the World Bank to take this approach to other countries finding it worth emulating.
The 62-year-old multi-billionaire entrepreneur and philanthropist said Nandan Nilekani, Infosys founder who is considered as the chief architect of Aadhaar, was consulting and helping the World Bank on the project.
It may be recalled that more than a billion people in India have enrolled in Aadhaar, the world’s largest biometric ID system.
It is believed that several countries, including some from India’s neighbourhood, have approached New Delhi for assistance in this matter.
Observing that Aadhaar was started before Prime Minister Narendra Modi came into office, Gates said that it was very much to his credit that he was willing to embrace it.
Aadhaar is a 12-digit unique identity number for Indians, based on their biometric and demographic data.
