UIDAI introduces Authentication API

Bangalore: India's unique identification authority Aadhaar (UIDAI) has introduced the version one of its Aadhaar Authentication Application Programming Interface (API). It contains API data format, protocol and security specifications, reports Nikhil Pahwa of Medianama. The first Aadhar numbers would be issued between August 2010 and February 2011, and over five years, the UIDAI intends to issue 600 million UIDs.

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The API will submit the user's Aadhaar number to the Central Identities Data Repository, along with other data for verification. After that authentication will only be in the form of a 'yes' or no response, and no personal identity will be released.

Aadhaar will support authentication using multiple factors, including demographic data, biometric data, PIN, OTP, or combinations of these. Although it will support only exact authentication initially, it may provide indistinct matching later on.

It appears that biometric authentication is going to be a key component of aadhaar authentication. But now it may not be possible to scan and deliver biometric information in case of online and mobile transactions. Hence, biometric information should clearly not be a compulsory pre-requisite for authentication for Aadhaar. A biometric pre-requisite for authentication will make it dependent on physical devices, as it is applicable to most digital services

While India is conducting what is probably the largest census in history, UIDAI is working on making that data usable.