August 29, 2013 -
The Aadhaar enrolment cycle will continue until every Indian resident has an Aadhaar card.
That’s the message from the civic body and UIDAI in Chennai, following some confusion around the process and whether or not a timetable had been put on enrollment for the biometric program.
Reported in TheHindu.com, the UIDAI said permanent NPR centers would continue to operate, even after the process of enrolment had wrapped up at temporary centres. Recently, there have been advertisements placements form the directorate of census operations that led people to believe differently.
Aadhaar numbers are becoming increasingly important for Indians, not just for domestic affairs, but also on an international scale.
Reported previously in BiometricUpdate.com, the United States, Canada and Israel, have all expressed interest in using Aadhaar-based applications to simplify the visa and immigration process for Indians.
In Delhi, Aadhaar numbers are now necessary for those looking to register property or marriages as well.
Based on a separate research report, revenue for the Indian biometrics market is expected to reach US$2 billion by 2018.
A major objective of the Aadhaar program has also been to link Aadhaar data to bank accounts, in particular for those receiving government subsidies, but many banks have recently come out against the integration regarding liabilities around false identifications, as well as cost.