TNN | Mar 16, 2016, 05.18 AM IST
New Delhi: The current version of the Aadhaar bill has tougher privacy provisions compared to the legislation piloted by the UPA and exemptions on ground of national security have been made subject to much closer scrutiny, official sources involved in framing the proposed law said.
Responding to the charge that national security consideration for making Aadhaar data available has been made the domain of a joint secretary, sources said in the UPA bill, the Centre could have designated any officer of such rank. This would mean home secretaries in states could have wielded the power.
However, in the current bill, this power has been located in an official whose actions will be further vetted by the cabinet secretary. The core biometric data will not be normally shared with any entity even if the person enrolled were to approve of such a request.
The changes seem to have been prompted by the Supreme Court's detailed scrutiny of Aadhaar.
The privacy provision under UPA's National Identification Authority of India Bill, 2010, were much weaker as several joint secretary-level officers in states across the country could be authorised to order disclosure of information.
The privacy protection measures in the current bill are seen as the toughest for any law in the country. The new legislation provides that information other than core biometrics may be allowed to be shared under the rules to be framed but identity information could not be disclosed without the prior consent of the individual.