"Fraud reduction cannot come at the cost of exclusion." Discuss with reference to biometric authentication in welfare schemes such as MGNREGA and social pensions.

Biometric authentication can reduce leakage: about 7.59 lakh fake job cards were deleted under MGNREGS in 2022-23 [1]. But work and old-age pensions are entitlements. Denying them to one genuine beneficiary is a deeper failure than one "ghost" slipping through. Fraud control must therefore be designed around inclusion.

Biometrics as a fraud-control tool

• De-duplication: Linking job cards with Aadhaar helps remove duplicate and fake cards [2].
• Direct payment: The Aadhaar-Based Payment System (ABPS) pays wages into verified accounts. This bypasses middlemen and fake muster rolls.
• Policy intent: In November 2026, the Panchayati Raj Minister proposed voter ID plus biometrics in place of Aadhaar. He argued that Aadhaar cards are easily faked [3].

The exclusion cost

• Scale of deletions: About 86.18 lakh active workers were deleted in 2022-23 [4]. Fake cards were only a small part of this [1], so the main targets of cleaning were not fraudsters.
• Rule vs practice: The Centre says non-linking is no ground for deletion. It still needed a January 2025 SOP on deletion and restoration [2], which suggests problems on the ground.
• Authentication failure: Labourers and elderly pensioners often have worn fingerprints. One failed scan can mean a missed wage or pension.
• Gatekeeping: Some Delhi pension schemes need a voter ID and a councillor's or legislator's endorsement [3]. Access can then depend on patronage.
• Constitutional test: Under Puttaswamy, identity mandates must be legal, necessary and proportionate. MPs raised this against the 2021 Aadhaar–electoral roll linking law [5]. Exclusion also undercuts Article 21 (life with dignity) and Article 41 (public assistance in old age).

Way forward

• Evidence first: Publish fraud data before overhauling identity systems.
• Fallbacks: Allow OTP, iris and offline verification. The Centre already allows case-by-case ABPS exemptions for Gram Panchayats with technical or Aadhaar problems [6].
• Due process: Verify deletions at the Gram Sabha, with a right of appeal and restoration [2].
• Statutory safeguard: Copy the 2021 Act's "sufficient cause" protection against deletion [5].

Overall, fraud control and inclusion work together when systems "fail open" for genuine beneficiaries. Exclusion audits, grievance redress and human fallbacks would make biometrics serve the Antyodaya ideal and SDG 1.3 (social protection for all). That reaffirms that fraud reduction should never cost the poor their entitlements.