UPSC Prelims 2018 · Question 17 of 99
UPSC Prelims 2018 question on Aadhaar Open Apis
- ExamUPSC CSE
- Year2018
- PaperGeneral Studies Paper I
- SubjectInternational Relations
- TopicCurrent Affairs
- DifficultyMedium
- TypeDirect
The identity platform 'Aadhaar' provides open 'Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)'. What does it imply?
Show answer
Answer: C. Both 1 and 2
Analysis
Both implications hold, so the answer is (c) Both 1 and 2.
Aadhaar authentication is the process by which an Aadhaar number, along with other attributes including biometrics, is submitted online to the Central Identities Data Repository, which verifies its correctness. Open Application Programming Interfaces are what allow external systems to make that request, so authentication can be built into a wide range of electronic devices, which supports the first implication.
The modes of authentication include demographic authentication, one time pin based authentication, biometric authentication and multi-factor authentication. Biometric authentication covers iris, so online authentication using iris is possible and the second implication holds too.
Source
UIDAI authentication documentation.
How to crack it
The news hook was the Digital India push around Aadhaar based service delivery, and the concept being tested is what an open API actually is. An API published openly exists so that third party systems can call it, so device integration follows from the definition rather than from any Aadhaar specific fact. Reason from what the technology term means before hunting for a scheme detail.
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