A study on the impact of Bhamashah (household-level identity system) on digital governance reforms in Rajasthan, India

MSC and The Center for Global Development jointly conducted a study on the perception of households on the impact of the Bhamashah program on digital governance reforms in the state of Rajasthan. Bhamashah is the first household-level identity system in India. It would create a centralized and comprehensive dataset for residents of Rajasthan, with demographic and socio-economic data, following a principle of “one family – one identity”.

The objective of the program is financial inclusion, women’s empowerment, and effective delivery of government services. At the time of writing, more than 50 million people (79% of Rajasthan’s population as per the census of 2012) and 15 million households (83% of total households) had enrolled under the Bhamashah initiative. The study sought to answer two key questions:

1. What are the main changes in the processes that have increased administrative efficiency and effectiveness of the delivery mechanisms, such as government-to-people and other services?
2. What are the changes in perception that the reforms have had on a household’s access to services and their governance?

MSC’s study identified best practices that can be replicated in India and across the world and provided recommendations to improve the implementation further. These are now being used to adjust the program and as a key component of MSC’s study tours to India for foreign delegations of policymakers, regulators and a range of providers.