Aadhaar Virtual ID can be used for authentication from July 1

Aadhaar Virtual ID, a 16-digit random number mapped with the Aadhaar number, can be used for authentication from July 1 onwards. The virtual ID can be used instead of an Aadhaar number for authentication puposes which can protect Aadhaar details from being accessed by someone else.

It can only be generated, replaced or revoked by the Aadhaar number holder said reports. "It will not be possible to derive the Aadhaar number from the Virtual ID," a circular issued by UIDAI in January said. There will only be one active and valid Virtual ID for an Aadhaar number at any given time, a Livemint report said.

The move is part of UIDAI's initiative to put in place multi-layered security to reinforce privacy protection for Aadhaar holders. Virtual IDs allow Aadhaar number holders to share VID instead of their Aadhaar number during authentication, thus reducing collection of Aadhaar numbers by various agencies, said a UIDAI circular.

The UIDAI, in a statement issued in January, said that one's Aadhaar number cannot be derived from the VID that is generated. The virtual ID can be used for the purpose of authentication in the same way the Aadhaar number is used. Currently, VID can be generated on UIDAI's resident portal.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) had in January informed the Supreme Court that the face ID feature would be introduced to enable Aadhaar holders to authenticate their identity to access services and other benefits.

This would help people with no or poor biometrics to avoid authentication failures and financial exclusion. UIDAI CEO, Ajay Bhushan Pandey while making a presentation in the Supreme Court showed photographs of persons with leprosy and senior citizens with poor biometrics.