On 6 January, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley published a blog outlining Aadhaar’s journey and the savings it has purportedly boosted.

The blog, titled ‘Benefits of the Aadhaar – where it stands today’, among a host of claims it makes, also cites a World Bank report from 2016 which had estimated that Aadhaar can potentially save $11 billion a year in government expenditure.

The almost magical figure of $11 billion in potential savings annually has been quoted at various places in the last three years to justify the Aadhaar program. The Centre had cited in its affidavit before the Supreme Court, in Parliament and various other forums.