By Shashidhar KJ ( @lomirgenii1988 ) on November 19, 2015
The government has set up a five-member panel from different ministries to draft guidelines which will set up norms for matrimonial websites, reports The Hindustan Times. The norms will require users to submit a valid id proof to sign up on such websites.
The publication added that a passport or a voter identity card, or any such proof held valid by the government, may have to be submitted, citing sources. It added that once the guidelines were finalized, it would notify the IT ministry and incorporated under the IT Act.
It’s worth remembering that women and child development ministry in December had suggested that Aadhaar, India’s unique identity project, should be used to authenticate profiles on matrimonial sites. At the time it was reported that the ministry was concerned of increasing instances of women being cheated while looking for grooms as users would create multiple profiles.
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An Economic Times report had also reported that making Aadhar compulsory will ensure the pictures of the grooms are on the profiles. Did anyone mention to the government that people want to put their profile pictures on matrimonial websites to help them, you know, find a match? Besides, have you seen the pictures they use on Aadhar cards or any other government ids? It would instantly torch any chances of users ever finding a bride or groom.
MediaNama’s take
We’ve pointed out before saying that having multiple profiles on matrimonial sites is no indicator of deceit, especially given the sex ratio in many states in India. What’s a guy from Haryana, with 853 women to 1000 men, to do?
There’s also the question of dating apps. People don’t find partners exclusively on matrimonial sites. Would the government want to authenticate profiles via Aadhar on apps like Truly Madly and Tinder to protect women from from fraud? Would they also stop users from signing up on services like Ashley Madison which encourages people to have an affair? Turns out we’re pretty unfaithful to our spouses.
There are a few points that need to be flagged. Will businesses have to pay for API usage every time there’s Aadhaar authentication of users? That’s another layer of red tape to go through, and doesn’t really make doing business in India easier.
Image source: Flickr user Santiago Almada