Digital Address Code: What is it and why do we need it? | In Focus podcast

Srinivas Kodali speaks to us on the likely beneficiaries of the new Digital Address Code proposal from the Indian government

December 12, 2021 04:26 pm | Updated 04:26 pm IST

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

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.