Updated: Oct 23, 2017 | 18:53 IST | ET Now Digital
New Delhi: The Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government is all set to make Aadhaar the sole identity card in the future, replacing all other cards such as PAN, voter and ration cards.
Of late, bank customers have gone into a tizzy after being bombarded by ominous messages, emails and calls from banks about the dire consequences they could face if they fail to link their Aadhaar number to their bank accounts before the December 31 deadline.
Of late, bank customers have gone into a tizzy after being bombarded by ominous messages, emails and calls from banks about the dire consequences they could face if they fail to link their Aadhaar number to their bank accounts before the December 31 deadline.
Last week, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a clarification to quell confusion raised by certain reports that Aadhaar linkage was not mandatory. These reports were based on an assumption drawn from a reply to a right to information query on the subject.
On October 14, a fresh petition was filed in the Supreme Court challenging the government’s decision to link bank accounts and mobile phones to the 12-digit unique identity number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
At present, many customers seem to be holding out, awaiting the apex court’s final verdict that is looking into privacy concerns associated with the 12-digit number.
The Aadhaar programme, which is the world’s largest biometric identity card programme, has triggered some claims that it is an infringement of privacy of citizens.
The apex court in August had said that privacy is a fundamental right and the verdict was expected to complicate efforts of the Modi government to make linking of the ID card numbers with bank accounts, telephone numbers, etc.
Under the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, the unique identity number is mandatory only to receive social welfare benefits and other entitlements to intended beneficiaries and plug leaks.
The government's move to widen the scope of Aadhaar by linking it to a wider pool of unrelated services has sparked privacy concerns and stoked fears about bad outcomes arising from data breaches.
There are many people who are worried about how a data breach at a bank or some other institution could compromise the security of their biometric data.
Media reports quoting legal experts say the situation as it stands today is such that while the Aadhaar scheme itself is voluntary, the government through executive orders have made it practically mandatory and indispensable.
Joining the Aadhaar seeding debate, public sector banks' officer union has demanded that mandatory linking of biometric identity number should be put on hold till such time the Supreme Court comes out with a clear directive.
While replying to a debate on Finance Bill 2017 debate, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said: "Aadhaar has biometric details, so its chances of misuse becomes minimal. When the country has so much technology, and when it is being put to use, why create such a hue and cry about it? It is an anti-evasion measure which will benefit the country. So the government considers it right to implement it... maybe it could become the sole card in the future."
