Aadhaar is a 12-digit lie detector, says Microsoft founder Bill Gates

Lucknow: The founder of the technology giant Microsoft, Bill Gates, on Friday rubbished the claims of Aadhaar being an intruder on privacy describing it as a '12-digit lie detector'.

The techie-turned-philanthropist, while taking to a leading national daily, said, "I don't think Aadhaar itself intrudes on privacy. It is just a 12-digit lie detector. You may claim to be someone and Aadhaar can tell if you are speaking the truth or lying."

He, however, accepted that the privacy issue may arise from the applications built on it, but it is never a concern from the primary records that Aadhaar holds.

Bill Gates further revealed that he was in connection with Nandan Nilenkani, who is the architect of UIDAI, and used to tell him that if he had built Aadhaar, he would have included many more inbuilt capabilities in it.

Also Read: Bill Gates meets Yogi in Lucknow; discusses business opportunities

"The irony is that I often tell Nandan Nilekani that if I had built Aadhaar, I would have created it with many more inbuilt capabilities. But Nandan was very careful about not intruding on privacy," he said.

Bill Gates, who is on a visit to India, talked to the newspaper on several issues that include the need to build cleaner toilets, the new elephantiasis cure, his disappointment in the Indian education system, and his current Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.

Earlier in the day on Friday, he had a meeting with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in which he discussed business opportunities in the state.