Aadhaar is the world’s largest biometric identity project. The project’s implementation for welfare delivery to India’s socio-economically marginalized population since 2010 has brought forth a national debate on questions of inclusion, social justice, democratic governance and economic development. These concerns have global salience given the interest expressed by developing nations in implementing similar biometric identity systems. Aadhaar has brought about transformational changes in the efficient delivery of services in the Indian public and the private sector. With this digital transformation of identification, new challenges pertaining to the creation of IT infrastructures, access, exclusion of legitimate beneficiaries and data security have emerged. These challenges need to be understood to better fulfill the potential for data-driven empowerment and inclusive growth promised by Aadhaar and other forms of digital identification.