DC | 08th Nov 2013
Bengaluru: Banks have started emailing their customers forms to link their bank accounts with Aadhaar card. The email states, “It is important to acquire Aadhaar, it is also important to link your Aadhaar number to your bank account.”
The insistence from banks comes at a time when many are confused whether to go ahead with Aadhaar enrollment or not, following a Supreme Court order that it cannot be made mandatory for any social benefits extended by any government department or agency.
In the view of this order, the banks are now selling it as a ‘convenience’ rather than mandate. The emails being sent by banks state that the 12 digit unique identification number (UID), will not only serve as an proof of identity and residence, but it will also help customers avail eligible Government subsidies.
Hence linking bank accounts with Aadhaar will make the process of receiving eligible subsidies more convenient, as the payment gets routed directly through the Aadhaar-linked bank account.
This may be seen as promoting Aadhaar card when the legality of the scheme is under question. Forms sent to customers by banks also mention that Aadhaar number may be submitted by “resident individuals” (not citizens). The Supreme Court order also wants the authorities concerned to make sure that illegal migrants do not get Aadhaar cards.
However, banks continue to accept Aadhaar for all residents of India, which might include illegal migrants as Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has always maintained that Aadhaar numbers were to be issued for ‘every resident of India’.
In Karnataka, some social benefits have been suspended in Mysore and Tumkur after they failed to furnish their Aadhaar numbers. Mysore, Tumkur and Dharwad are among the 51 districts that the union government has chosen for the first phase of implementation of direct cash transfer of subsidies.
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