The Aadhaar juggernaut continues unabated. The government claims 99% of people over age 18 now have Aadhaar. I, however, belong to the 1% who don’t.

There are many others who are actively resisting getting the 12-digit unique ID number for a plethora of reasons. One of them is a crippling fear that Aadhaar violates our right to privacy and takes our personal information for various purposes. It is also being used by private corporate entities to create their own database. The UIDAI chairman admitted in an interview that Aadhaar can be used to create a 360-degree profile of an individual.

The biggest industrialist in India stated very clearly: “Data is the new oil” that would lead the world into a fourth industrial revolution. His words got me thinking. If data is indeed like oil, shouldn’t there be a price to it?

The Supreme Court is presently hearing arguments on whether Indians have a right to privacy and whether Aadhaar violates that right. Judging by the way things are unfolding since 2014, it’s simply too late to expect Aadhaar can be trashed.

For the sake of argument let us accept that, as the government propounds, we don’t have a right to privacy. We accept that citizens’ personal biometrics and metadata are being used by multiple companies and the government to achieve different objectives. It’s being used to make better policies after looking at spending patterns and demographic information or it is being used by companies to sell their products to me directly. Accepted that certain commercial bodies are doing deep packet inspection and using personal data of customers to earn massive profits.

The larger question now is: If my data has monetary value for the government and private players, shouldn’t i also benefit from it? If data is the ‘new oil’ and you are extracting that oil from me, it implies i am the resource. I should be compensated for providing that resource.

The way things are going, i wouldn’t be surprised if Aadhaar becomes mandatory for practically everything between birth and death. Let us accept that unquestioningly as well. Now, let us talk about the future.

If a citizen’s personal data is a commodity, which can be bought and sold by different entities like detergent or a pair of jeans, the citizen should get paid for it. Period.

Contractors engaged in enrolling people for Aadhaar should buy that resource at a price. These contractors should pay a flat upfront amount to the person who is enrolling and is converting into a rich resource. Since morals, beliefs and personal liberty matter little in this brave new world, i don’t think anyone would have a problem selling their soul for a high amount, say Rs 5 lakh. They will line up to link their bank accounts with Aadhaar the day this is announced.

A cheaper option would be to simply introduce Universal Basic Income (UBI) through Aadhaar. The Economic Survey 2016-17 points out that a UBI of Rs 12,000 per person per year is an optimal amount. If the government starts a UBI programme, it can gradually get rid of all other targeted welfare schemes. The way Aadhaar is becoming an impediment for people to get welfare currently is causing unimaginable pain and hardship. So just get rid of that welfare completely instead of destroying it piecemeal. UBI in partial lieu of Aadhaar should compensate for acquiring data for the remainder of the life of a citizen. Rich or poor doesn’t matter.

UIDAI itself can become a for-profit entity which buys and sells citizens’ data to whoever asks for it for a price that is transferred directly to the bank account of the ‘resource’ persons. Suppose a school asks for the data of a child for admission, the parent would get an alert on her phone which will quote a price for the data exchange and purpose of usage. If the person accepts the terms, the data will be shared by UIDAI with the school and their account will be immediately credited with the agreed price. UIDAI gets a cut.

Every exchange of such data from one entity to the other would be for a price depending on the value that the UIDAI assigns. This can be done when UIDAI facilitates these data transactions. All contracts signed between UIDAI and private entities would be public and available for review. This way, data would indeed become the new oil.

Since there is an overwhelming opinion amongst many experts that our data is being used for profit and profiling anyway, i believe it’s time we start discussing the next step: Of becoming a willing commodity and demanding a price from those interested in using us. Critics, me included, need to evolve and ask the government to simply be open about the uses of Aadhaar data.

Make it transparent and incentivise people to give up their rights. Tell us citizens where you intend to sell us and give us a share of the profits. If we are all being treated as a commodity now, tell us that to our face and we may be willing to get used to the idea.

The Aadhaar data river is flowing into an ocean consisting of large private entities and government who are benefitting from our data. We citizens need to build a small canal to irrigate our own farms. Why should they have all the fun?