Are There Any Risks Associated With the Digital Address Code?

The Department of Posts under the Ministry of Communications has released a Draft Approach Paper for creating a Digital Address Code or DAC for each and every address in the entire country. The DAC is to do for addresses for Aadhaar has done for identity – create a unique ID, using geo-spatial coordinates.

The idea of a digital address code is a very ambitious one. While it can potentially transform the available national infrastructure for business, it also has implications for conduct of the Census, National Population Register and conduct of elections. Strangely, the proposal for this massive undertaking is yet to be widely debated. Why does India need a Digital Address Code? Who are likely to be its likely beneficiaries? Will it further exacerbate privacy concerns? Will it increase the possibilities of surveillance? How have other countries approached the idea of a digital access code?

We look for answers to all these questions and more in this episode.

Guest: Srinivas Kodali, an inter-disciplinary researcher with a special interest in data standards, cities, cyber security, and the internet.

Host: G. Sampath, Social Affairs Editor, The Hindu

Edited by Reenu Cyriac

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