Vikas is a government officer with over a decade of service in public administration. He has recently moved as the District Collector (DC) of Nainipura, a remote hilly district bordering a forest. Due to Nainipura's low levels of economic development, one of his major duties is to ensure proper functioning of the public distribution system (PDS) amongst the economically weaker sections (EWS).
During his on-site visits, Vikas was apprised of a typical administrative challenge in operating the PDS. To prevent leakages, all distributors were required to carry out real-time biometric identification of the beneficiaries, whose fingerprints were tallied with identity card records. This was creating problems as the operating system sometimes rejected fingerprint matching in the cases of growing children, manual labourers and senior citizens. The problem was further compounded in periods of low WiFi connectivity. The distributors, in such cases, resorted to personal discretion when they could identify the recipient.
Vikas had to address this problem on priority. Strictly adhering to government regulations would ensure fiscal probity but would greatly trouble the proposed beneficiary, i.e., EWS. It may even impinge on their fundamental right to life as per Article 21 of the Constitution. Conversely, leaving the resolution solely to the discretion of the distributors could lead to misuse and leakages.
Discuss the ethics of using technology as a gatekeeper for welfare schemes.
Ethics of Technology as Welfare Gatekeeper:
- Technology must be an enabler, not a barrier — its purpose is inclusion, not exclusion.
- Rigid tech-gating shifts the burden of state failure onto the poor.
- Design justice: Systems must be built for the most vulnerable user, not the average.
- Human oversight must remain the ethical fallback.
- Data privacy under DPDP Act, 2023.
- Supreme Court in Puttaswamy-Aadhaar (2018): technology cannot deny fundamental rights.
Welfare architecture must embed dignity by design — probity and compassion are not adversaries but co-requirements.
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