Aadhaar-linked health platforms raise both efficiency gains and privacy concerns. Critically evaluate in light of the DPDP Act, 2023.

Aadhaar-linked digital health platforms like JANANI (Journey of Antenatal, Natal and Neonatal Integrated Care), an upgraded RCH portal enabling biometric registration and QR-based Mother-Child Health cards, promise efficient welfare delivery [1]. Yet embedding biometric identity in sensitive health data invites scrutiny under the DPDP Act, 2023 [2].

Efficiency gains

• Authenticity & de-duplication: Aadhaar (OTP/biometric) verification curbs ghost beneficiaries; JANANI records >1 lakh biometric verifications and 1.34 crore registrations [1].
• Continuity of care: pan-India search and portable QR MCH cards prevent record fragmentation for migrant women [1].
• Interoperability: build-once-use-many linkage with U-WIN (immunisation) and POSHAN (nutrition) enables convergence [1].
• Real-time governance: dashboards, due-lists and high-risk pregnancy alerts aid ASHA/ANM frontline action, targeting maternal mortality [1].

Privacy concerns under DPDP Act, 2023

• Sensitive data: maternal-health records lack special-category safeguards; the Act treats all personal data uniformly [2].
• Consent: capturing biometrics of pregnant women tests the Act's free, informed consent and purpose-limitation norms [2].
• Data minimisation & security: mandatory Aadhaar linkage risks over-collection and breach; Data Fiduciary duties and breach-notification are yet to be fully operationalised [2].
• Exclusion risk: biometric failures may deny care, undermining the welfare intent.

Efficiency and privacy are complementary, not rival, goals. A privacy-by-design architecture—robust consent managers, encryption, minimal Aadhaar dependence with alternatives, and prompt DPDP-Rules notification—can secure both. Anchored in the right to privacy (Puttaswamy, 2017) and SDG-3, such platforms can advance maternal welfare without eroding trust.