2018: The Aadhaar year and how it unfolded
New Delhi, Dec 24: Aadhaar, India's extraordinary attempt to give every citizen a biometric identity, is set for a massive revamp with new offline verification tools and non-intrusive ways for people seeking to voluntarily use the 12-digit unique number for new bank accounts and mobile connections.
After twists and turns in 2018, led by the landmark Supreme Court ruling on the constitutional validity of Aadhaar, the UIDAI's efforts around offline modes like eAadhaar and QR code that can leverage the unique ID without any access to biometrics or even revealing the 12-digit number would gather pace in 2019.
UDAI introduces virtual ID for Aadhaar card holders
From school admissions to getting marriage certificates to paying taxes to taking new mobile connections, Aadhaar touched multiple facets of people's lives as it became the default identifier. This was true for around 1.22 billion Aadhaar holders till doubts emerged that collection of biometric details, even for general service, could infringe on a citizen's privacy rights.
Then, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutional validity of the world's largest biometric identification database but spelt out its new limitations.
After last year's assertion that Indians have a right to privacy, the Supreme Court in September 2018 redefined the boundaries of the biometric authentication -- Aadhaar can be used for payment of government benefits and taxation records but private companies were barred from accessing it.
In a 4-1 judgement delivered by the Constitution Bench, the Supreme Court held that Aadhaar would remain compulsory for the filing of Income Tax (IT) returns and allotment of Permanent Account Number (PAN)
However, Section 57 of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 that permitted private entities like telecom companies or other corporates to use the biometric data was struck down, dealing a body blow to the government's ambitions to make the world's largest biometric project mandatory for a slew of services.
The landmark ruling sent banks, telecom operators and fintech companies -- who relied heavily on Aadhaar eKYC -- scrambling in search of other viable means of customer verification.
RBI clarifies: Linking Bank accounts with Aadhaar mandatory under PMLA
As the verdict meant that fulfilling regulatory Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements would have again involved a lot of paperwork for verification purposes, Aadhaar-issuing authority, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), quickly came up with alternate modes like QR (Quick Response) codes, e-Aadhaar and offline methods.
Just as 2018 started to wind down, came another twist in the plot. Earlier this month, the government decided to propose changes to existing laws - Telegraph Act and PMLA - in order to allow the use of Aadhaar as an ID verification tool for opening bank accounts and obtaining mobile connections, albeit on a voluntary basis. Additionally, fresh penal provisions have been proposed - through an amendment in Aadhaar Act - to deter companies from insisting on Aadhaar or misusing the biometric data.
The
proposed
amendments,
which
will
be
placed
before
the
Parliament
during
the
ongoing
Winter
session,
propose
to
arm
UIDAI
with
regulator-like
powers
to
take
enforcement
actions
on
the
misuse
of
the
national
biometric
ID
and
impose
stiff
penalties
on
violations.
The
compelling
reason
behind
this
seems
to
be
the
government's
belief
in
the
transformative
potential
of
Aadhaar
--
the
system
is
so
cheap
and
efficient
that
it
is
estimated
to
have
accounted
for
over
90
per
cent
of
new
subscriptions
in
the
telecom
sector,
according
to
experts.
More stringent deterrents are likely to be put in place in the coming months. These might include a penalty for failure to obtain consent for authentication or offline verification -- up to three-year imprisonment or fine of up to Rs 10,000 --, penalty for unauthorised use of core biometric information. The latter could attract imprisonment between 3-10 years and a fine of up to Rs 10,000.
Even as it dons regulatory role, the UIDAI would continue to accelerate efforts to transform and scale up Aadhaar enrolment and update services, currently available through 30,000 centres operating in designated bank branches, post offices and government premises across the country.
'Aadhaar Seva Kendras', similar to the concept of Passport Seva Kendras, will come up in 53 cities across India at an estimated project cost of Rs 300-400 crore. These swanky new centres will be operational by August next year, dishing out appointment-based enrolment, update and other miscellaneous services around Aadhaar, under the watchful eyes of authority's own employees.
Earlier
this
year,
former
UIDAI
CEO
Ajay
Bhushan
Pandey,
recalling
his
early
years
as
a
small-town
boy
who
didn't
hold
a
photo
identity
for
a
long
time,
had
reportedly
said
that
Aadhaar
offered
an
answer
to
an
ancient
question
that
was
asked
by
sages
--
who
am
I?
The
year
that
was,
ensured
that
the
answer
continues
to
be
the
12-digit
identifier,
at
least
for
those
who
choose
to
use
it.
(With agency inputs)