The flagship project of UPA government to give a unique identity to every Indian resident got a new name and logo on April 26, when it was unveiled by UID Chairman, Nandan Nilekani at a function in Vigyan Bhawan.  The project was renamed, AADHAAR which translates to foundation or support.

The name aaadhaar communicates the fundamental role of the number issued by the UIDAI.  That the number as a universal identity number will a foundation over which public and private agencies can build services and applications that benefit residents across India.

For the logo design competition the UID Authority got over 3000 entries. The competition carried a reward of Rs 1 lakh and consolation prize of Rs 10000.

The submitted designs were evaluated by the Awareness and Communication Strategy Advisory Council (ACSAC), an advisory group formed earlier by the UIDAI and a list of five finalists were arrived at. Designs by Sudhir Horo, Michael Foley, Saffron Brand Consultants,  Jayanth Jain and Mahendra Kumar and  Atul S. Pande were shortlisted and finally the design by Atul S. Pande was adjudged the best by the ACSAC.
The winning entry (see picture above) is a combination of the sun and the fingerprint. It represents a positive transformation in the life of each individual in India and the core of this transformation is the link that aadhaar has to each individual’s biometrics. So, in a way the logo gives a new destiny to individuals which are embedded in their fingerprints.

The idea of light within the logo communicates the vision of transparency in welfare programs of the government, bringing more light into the delivery of services and resources. The light also explains that UID (aadhaar) will throw light on, and recognize the existence of each poor individual, by registering their identities with the government.

The red and yellow colours of the logo, represent the shades of the sun, are also festive Indian colours.

They would help incorporate the logo easily into local Indian art forms and styles, and will draw attention when painted on village walls and distributed on leaflets.

Aadhaar has the potential to eventually become the single source of identity verification in India. Once residents enroll, they can use the number multiple times – they would be spared the hassle of repeatedly providing supporting identity documents each time they wish to access services such as obtaining a bank account, passport, driving license, and so on. When the number fulfills this vision, aadhaar would indeed become a new dawn of opportunity, for every individual in India.