Made in India Iris-Enabled Aadhaar Mobile OS to Debut Soon

The mobile OS will offer Aadhaar-integrated services, linking them to the UIDAI server.

The government has introduced the Aadhaar Act as a ‘money bill’. (Photo: The Quint)

Just when you thought the intrusion of Aadhaar in our lives couldn’t get any further, the invasion of our privacy just got bigger.

Indus, the company that has designed Android for mobile with a focus on vernacular language, has tied up with Delta ID from the US to come up with an Aadhaar-centric mobile operating system (OS), that will be available on over 100 million devices in the coming years.

Also Read: Meet Indus OS, the Made in India Android for Smartphones

Both companies claim they have been working on the design of this platform for over 6 months, vouching for its security and versatility in terms of the languages available.

Indus OS offers its localised Android version to brands like Micromax, Intex and Karbonn among others, who will be offered Aadhaar authenticated OS in the coming months.

The Aadhaar authenticated OS will pave the way for deeper integration of government initiatives such as Aadhaar Pay, Digilocker, and UPI. The OS will also have the ability to secure financial transactions via the IRIS technology, 

Indus OS 

Preference of Iris over fingerprint for Aadhaar ID is the result this OS has been customised. (Photo: The Quint)

The company has ambitions of getting 100 million devices using this OS in the next three years. By partnering with brands like Intex, both Delta ID and Indus OS are in a position to offer biometric-laden phones for under 10K, something which The Quint has reported about earlier.

Also Read: Coming Soon: Rs 7k Phones That Bring You ‘Eye-To-Eye’ With Aadhaar

It would be hard to say if this mobile platform will be foolproof enough to thwart massive data hacks from devices. After all, no disrespect to Intex or Micromax, but can we trust them with data security of mobile phones.

How The OS Works?

• Data is encoded by the OS, encrypted with UID’s public key
• The data is sent to UIDAI server to cross-check the user
• UIDAI server replies with a Yes or No
• Once approved, user can user Aadhaar ID for various activities
  

In all probability, this Aadhaar OS will be built over an Android interface, but it remains to be seen, as to how the linking between the UIDAI server and the Iris scanner takes place.

Having said that, the bigger question that needs to be asked is whether the UIDAI is confident enough to enable Aadhaar access to private firms like Indus OS, and to what capacity does this feature work on entry-level devices.

Indus OS claims to be the second most popular OS in India, leaving iOS and Windows behind. Which brings even more scrutiny on the company, especially when Aadhaar as a subject has been hotly debated for its uncertain law, and the extent to which it has been pushed recently.