In 2014, when Narendra Modi assumed the role of Prime Minister of India, his foremost challenge wasn't merely the struggling economy but the imperative task of uniting the nation comprehensively. Despite decades of schemes aimed at facilitating public services, subsidies, and healthcare across the country, the supply chain consistently suffered leakages amounting to significant financial losses, disconnecting a substantial portion of the population.
The old political jibe of only 15 paise, for every rupee leaving the government coffers, reaching the poor haunted all welfare programmes in India. Beneficiaries were either missing, redundant, or non-existent, and thus, the middlemen availed the benefits and resources meant for the poor.
India grappled with inequality, especially as urban areas rapidly embraced digitization, leaving rural regions at risk of lagging behind. While cities adopted the latest technologies in communication, banking, finance, and medicine, the rural population faced financial exclusion, struggled with supply chain leakages, and often lacked verifiable identification.
Addressing the challenge of connecting 140 crore people required an astute starting point. In 1999, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) proposed a 'multi-purpose national identity card,' later refined by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) into the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) in 2009. However, the idea needed strategic implementation.
This is where Aadhaar emerged as a pivotal element of the JAM trinity. By December 2014, over 720 million people had enrolled for Aadhaar cards, and by April 2018, nearly 120 crore Indians were covered, with several states achieving saturation ratios exceeding one.
Aadhaar played a crucial role in facilitating the opening of Jan Dhan accounts, addressing the longstanding issue of over 800 million rural residents excluded from the financial system. By December 2014, over a hundred million bank accounts were linked to Aadhaar, plugging leakages in subsidy transfers and empowering beneficiaries. The combination of Aadhaar and Jan Dhan accounts proved successful, with the financial year 2015 witnessing 3 lakh new Jan Dhan accounts and 5 lakh Aadhaar card enrollments daily. Today, the number of Jan Dhan Accounts exceeds 50 crore.
It must be noted that it was only under the Modi government where Aadhaar became a foundational identity. Unlike the Congress government, the Modi regime was quite bullish on the prospects of Aadhaar and the benefits it could usher. For instance, while the Congress discontinued the LPG DBT in January 2014, fearing an electoral backlash, the Modi government embarked on ensuring banking penetration for all through the Jan Dhan Yojana programme.
From a socio-economic perspective, Jan Dhan Yojana has been one of the biggest success stories of the Modi government. Not only it ensured financial inclusion in the rural areas, it also empowered the women who were earlier relying on cash, or lacked financial independence. By the end of 2023, the deposits in the Jan Dhan accounts exceeded Rs. 2.1 Lakh Crore, proving all naysayers wrong.
The third component, mobile phones, significantly enhanced the scalability of Jan Dhan and Aadhaar programs. With 600 million unique mobile phone users in the country, linking account numbers to Aadhaar and Jan Dhan accounts streamlined scalability, accessibility, and sustainability.
The JAM trinity, now the bedrock of digital governance in India, supports a multitude of government services, including housing, healthcare, subsidized fuel, banking, and direct benefit transfers. Initiatives like 'Pahal' for LPG subsidies and urea distribution have successfully reduced supply chain leakages.
In the ten years of the Modi Government, remarkable achievements have been witnessed which have been a result of the JAM trinity. For starters, 10 Crore fake beneficiaries have been eliminated from the system. Through Direct Benefit Transfers (DBTs), Rs. 34 Lakh Crore have been transferred to over 100 Crore beneficiaries across hundreds of welfare programmes. These DBTs have ensured a comprehensive development of the rural micro ecosystem.
The importance of JAM Trinity must also be seen in the context of the pandemic. From cash transfers to women to foodgrain allotment under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana, none of it would have been possible without the JAM trinity.
JAM trinity has also created another opportunity in the space of data sciences. From a policy perspective, the government has been keen on experimenting with the utility of non-personalised data sets that can be availed by young entrepreneurs and other MSMEs.
Furthermore, as several ministries gather data from many programmes, policy making can be tweaked as per region and requirements. For instance, as data from the Ayushman Bharat programme increases exponentially in the 2020s, the local bodies and governments can go from a reactive model to a preventive one.
For digital governance in India to thrive, a robust foundation was essential, and the JAM trinity has provided just that. Today, as Modi had promised in 2014, governance of a billion people is about maximum governance, minimum government, minus the monetary leakages and middlemen corruption. Not 15 paise, but every rupee designated meant for the poor reaches them.
