'Aadhaar Gave Indians Existence': Economist Paul Romer On Digital Push

Hailing India's Aadhaar initiative, Nobel laureate Professor Paul Romer on Monday said technology was used to give citizens an existence and further access to schemes. The United States, though saw the rise of the Silicon Valley, failed to use technology to improve lives in the US, he said.

"Aadhaar made people real by giving them a number. And many schemes have been built on that. This is because India decided to use technology to benefit everyone. And unlike in the US, life expectancy has not started falling in India," he said at the NDTV World Summit.

The 2018 Nobel Prize for Economics recipient said India needs to take advantage of its potential, adding that assembling land parcels is key to growth. "India should think about entirely new cities. One can emulate the example of Singapore," Mr Romer said.

The former chief economist at World Bank also said it is very hard to tell who will win the upcoming US Presidential elections, calling it a "sign of profound distress.

Mr Romer said the choice in America is between a former prosecutor and a "habitual criminal", in a reference to Kamala Harris and Donald Trump respectively. Calling the situation in the US "very bad", he also said that governments only get legitimacy when they deliver.

Urging India to choose sides, Mr Romer said both China and Russia want to function as empires, in a bid to increase influence. "India should be able to say we don't like empires. India's stand could decisively tip the balance," he said.

In a lighter vein, Mr Romer, who had taught former British PM Rishi Sunak at Stanford University, said professional commitments did not allow him to comment on whether Conservative leader was a good student.