An ailing 75-year-old’s death in Jharkhand after repeated denial of access to his pension underscores the increasing heartlessness of our governments. As this newspaper reported, Ratan Lakra’s inability to withdraw his pension was tied to updating his know-your-customer details at the bank, which the RBI rightly insists on to prevent fraud. The problem is not of purpose, but of design. Another field where missing paperwork has come in the way of poor people accessing their rights—despite government orders to the contrary—is denial of ration because of Aadhaar mismatches. Such gaps can be filled by employing a large army of trained young people across the country to help citizens fill out their paperwork. In a job-scarce country like India, such a move can address two ills at once.
