Aadhaar and social assistance programming: local bureaucracies as critical intermediary

Madon, Shirin ORCID: 0000-0002-4497-2165, Ranjini, C.R. and Krishnan, R.K. (2022) Aadhaar and social assistance programming: local bureaucracies as critical intermediary. Information Technology for Development, 28 (4). 705 - 720. ISSN 0268-1102

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Abstract

Digital identity platforms are a recent e-governance innovation for improving social assistance programming in the development context, the most well-known of which is India's Aadhaar. While a significant number of studies have accumulated on Aadhaar, so far under-researched is the importance of local government practices and processes in shaping usage of the platform to support social assistance programming. In this paper we theorize how local government intermediation on digital identity platforms can improve social assistance programming through a case study of the Aadhaar-enabled Fertilizer Distribution System (AeFDS) in Andhra Pradesh. Our findings show how the relevance of the platform for low-income farmers depends crucially on the proactive adaptation of the technology by key local government intermediaries. From a policy perspective, this result emphasizes the importance of supporting efforts to acknowledge the role of responsive local government agencies in ensuring that centralized digital identity platforms remain relevant for implementing social assistance programming.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/titd20/current
Additional Information:	© 2022 The Authors
Divisions:	International Development
Subjects:	T Technology > T Technology (General) J Political Science > JQ Political institutions Asia, Africa, Australia, Pacific H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform
Date Deposited:	28 Aug 2024 11:17
Last Modified:	09 Nov 2024 07:03
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/124858

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