If you haven't got an Aadhaar card till now, you probably won't need one in near future, at least
Neha Pandey Deoras | Mumbai March 24, 2014 Last Updated at 18:24 IST
If you haven't got an Aadhaar card till now, you probably won't need one in the near future, at least.
As on today, you can open a bank account using your Aadhaar number. You can even get a new mobile number with it. However, when it comes to buying an insurance policy or investing in mutual funds, you will have to back up your Aadhaar card with another government-authorised identification document like Permanent Account Number (PAN). And the role of the card may be limited to these few functions only for the time being.
The plans of the government's to make Aadhaar a one-stop solution for many problems took a serious hit on Monday, when the Supreme Court directed the government to withdraw all orders mandating Aadhaar card for availing any service. The apex court also directed the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to not to share any information pertaining to an Aadhaar cardholder with any government agency without the prior permission of the cardholder.
The role of the card has been diminishing for some time. In September 2013, the Supreme Court had ruled that Aadhaar was not mandatory for essential services such as salary, provident fund disbursals and marriage and property registrations. Last month, the Centre delinked Aadhaar from liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) subsidy. All these led to the Aadhaar's relevance diminishing consistently. Aadhaar had also promised to resolve all the know-your-customer (KYC) issues that consumers faced. But with this direction, the hope seems to be fading.
Says Abizer Diwaji, partner & national leader - financial services at EY, "The government should see there is need to refine this project to make it better. If needed, they should make more changes to Aadhaar to make it a full-proof identity card like is the case with US' social security card."
A former UIDAI official says that the government had never given any executive order to the UIDAI for making Aadhaar mandatory. "Aadhaar is not mandatory for every individual as per the UIDAI policy. It was the individual agencies that made it mandatory like MNREGA, LPG distributors and so on. Aadhaar is like US' social security card, having which will ensure benefit directly go into the bank account or benefits are to be taken in cash," he explained.
He added that cardholders' information sharing is also not allowed as per UIDAI policy. "There were some cases of information sharing on orders from the lower court. Otherwise, UIDAI is not authorised to share cardholders' information with any agency," he explains. The government started linking Aadhaar numbers to various social security schemes, bank accounts, in a way making it compulsory to own an Aadhaar card.
UIDAI officials do agree that the objective of the mega project has gone haywire. Theformer UIDAI official above says it is to be seen that how will the fate of Aadhaar cards pan out once the Parliament passes the Aadhaar Card Bill and it becomes constitutionally valid. "Will the apex court reverse today's judgement then?," he questions.
Given that the Lok Sabha elections are just a month away, the fate of UIDAI is quite unsure, going forward. Some political leaders are in favour of the card whereas others still have doubts.
The question, whether the next government will be keen on taking up the Aadhaar Bill in the Parliament, remains. There is no clarity on this as of now. Therefore, industry experts advise those who don't have an Aadhaar card to wait till the next government comes in and there is some concrete decision on the UIDAI. Those who already own a card should save it for the day the government decides to make it more relevant.
As on today, you can open a bank account using your Aadhaar number. You can even get a new mobile number with it. However, when it comes to buying an insurance policy or investing in mutual funds, you will have to back up your Aadhaar card with another government-authorised identification document like Permanent Account Number (PAN). And the role of the card may be limited to these few functions only for the time being.
The plans of the government's to make Aadhaar a one-stop solution for many problems took a serious hit on Monday, when the Supreme Court directed the government to withdraw all orders mandating Aadhaar card for availing any service. The apex court also directed the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to not to share any information pertaining to an Aadhaar cardholder with any government agency without the prior permission of the cardholder.
The role of the card has been diminishing for some time. In September 2013, the Supreme Court had ruled that Aadhaar was not mandatory for essential services such as salary, provident fund disbursals and marriage and property registrations. Last month, the Centre delinked Aadhaar from liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) subsidy. All these led to the Aadhaar's relevance diminishing consistently. Aadhaar had also promised to resolve all the know-your-customer (KYC) issues that consumers faced. But with this direction, the hope seems to be fading.
Says Abizer Diwaji, partner & national leader - financial services at EY, "The government should see there is need to refine this project to make it better. If needed, they should make more changes to Aadhaar to make it a full-proof identity card like is the case with US' social security card."
A former UIDAI official says that the government had never given any executive order to the UIDAI for making Aadhaar mandatory. "Aadhaar is not mandatory for every individual as per the UIDAI policy. It was the individual agencies that made it mandatory like MNREGA, LPG distributors and so on. Aadhaar is like US' social security card, having which will ensure benefit directly go into the bank account or benefits are to be taken in cash," he explained.
He added that cardholders' information sharing is also not allowed as per UIDAI policy. "There were some cases of information sharing on orders from the lower court. Otherwise, UIDAI is not authorised to share cardholders' information with any agency," he explains. The government started linking Aadhaar numbers to various social security schemes, bank accounts, in a way making it compulsory to own an Aadhaar card.
UIDAI officials do agree that the objective of the mega project has gone haywire. Theformer UIDAI official above says it is to be seen that how will the fate of Aadhaar cards pan out once the Parliament passes the Aadhaar Card Bill and it becomes constitutionally valid. "Will the apex court reverse today's judgement then?," he questions.
Given that the Lok Sabha elections are just a month away, the fate of UIDAI is quite unsure, going forward. Some political leaders are in favour of the card whereas others still have doubts.
The question, whether the next government will be keen on taking up the Aadhaar Bill in the Parliament, remains. There is no clarity on this as of now. Therefore, industry experts advise those who don't have an Aadhaar card to wait till the next government comes in and there is some concrete decision on the UIDAI. Those who already own a card should save it for the day the government decides to make it more relevant.
