Use of Entity Resolution in India: Shining a light on how new forms of automation can deny people access to welfare

In January 2024, Al-Jazeera published an investigation that documented how people had lost access to crucial social protection schemes in the state of Telangana, India, after the introduction of Samagra Vedika, a digitalized system for welfare delivery being used by the Government of Telangana.The system is deployed by the state government to collate data on individuals from multiple sources to assess their eligibility for social security schemes. This data, for example on assets such as car ownership, was reportedly erroneously attributed to individuals, leading to them no longer being eligible for the social assistance scheme. For Amnesty International, the Al-Jazeera reports raised significant human rights concerns around people’s rights to social security, privacy, redress and remedy, equality and non-discrimination. Accordingly, Amnesty International set out to investigate the Samagra Vedika system further through a technical investigation.

Use of Entity Resolution in India: Shining a light on how new forms of automation can deny people access to welfare

14. Juli 2024