12325 - Despite it being compulsory, only 39.5% PANs linked with Aadhaar - New Bytes

Despite it being compulsory, only 39.5% PANs linked with Aadhaar

07 Nov 2017 | By Sneha Bengani

Only 39.5% of all Permanent Account Numbers (PAN) have been linked with Aadhaar in the 130 days since the government made it a mandatory requirement for filing income tax returns and getting new PAN cards.

Of the total 33 crore PAN cards, 13.28 crore have been linked with the Aadhaar till date, government officials informed PTI on Tuesday.

In context: 39.5% PAN cards linked with Aadhaar so far

07 Nov 2017

Despite it being compulsory, only 39.5% PANs linked with Aadhaar

Details

SC ruling has given people without Aadhaar only partial relief

The Supreme Court made Aadhaar compulsory in June by upholding the validity of an Income Tax Act provision. But it put a partial stay on its implementation till the issue of right to privacy was addressed.

However, the Central Board of Direct Taxes refused to cancel the PAN of those without Aadhaar, saying the SC ruling had given such people only "partial relief".

Aadhaar has been issued to 115 crore Indians so far

Aadhaar has been issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to about 115 crore Indian residents so far. PAN, meanwhile, is a 10-digit alphanumeric number issued by the income tax department to any Indian citizen, firm or entity.

12205 - The Aadhaar confusion: Voluntary, yet mandatory - Business Standard

The Aadhaar confusion: Voluntary, yet mandatory

With the SC's next hearing expected in November, one can wait for some more time before linking it to bank accounts and mobile numbers, say experts

Tinesh Bhasin 

Last Updated at October 15, 2017 21:45 IST

If you download the Aadhaar enrolment form from the Unique Identification Authority of India’s (UIDAI’s) website (https://goo.gl/zYVW76), at the top it states that “Aadhaar Enrolment is free and voluntary”. But, the government is going all out to ensure this 12-digit unique identity number becomes a necessity. Everyone, including banks, mobile operators, and even jewellers, want it. In the latter case, the government was quick to step in and clarify that there was no need to provide the Aadhaar or PAN card for transactions above Rs 50,000. Finance Minister Arun ...

TO READ THE FULL STORY, SUBSCRIBE NOW NOW AT JUST RS 1999 A YEAR

11334 - Welfare Schemes: SC to hear plea against mandatory Aadhaar - Indian Express

Welfare Schemes: SC to hear plea against mandatory Aadhaar

Senior counsel Shyam Divan told the court that despite the order of the apex court that Aadhaar will be voluntary and not mandatory

By: Express News Service | New Delhi | Published:May 13, 2017 4:32 am

The Supreme Court will hear a petition on May 17 seeking to restrain the Centre from making Aadhaar mandatory for social welfare schemes until the apex court adjudicates on the constitutional validity of the unique identification system. The plea was mentioned on Friday before a five-judge constitution bench, which fixed the date of hearing.

Senior counsel Shyam Divan told the court that despite the order of the apex court that Aadhaar will be voluntary and not mandatory, the government has been coming out with a series of notifications making it mandatory to avail benefits of schemes like scholarships, Right to Food and mid-day meal in schools. “The matter needed to be heard urgently,’’ said Divan while appearing for one of the petitioners, Shanta Sinha. He urged the court to refer it to the two-judge vacation bench. 

Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar opposed this, saying that a five-judge bench had heard the matter earlier and it would not be appropriate to list the plea before a two-judge bench.

The court is seized of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of Aadhaar. But it is yet to constitute the bench that will hear the matter.

A two-judge bench separately reserved its order on a petition challenging the Centre’s decision to make Aadhaar cards mandatory for payment of income tax.

Earlier, the Supreme Court had passed a slew of orders asking the government and its agencies not to make Aadhaar mandatory for extending benefits of welfare schemes.

For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App now

11330 - SC grants an urgent hearing on a plea against Centre's decision to make Aadhaar mandatory - TNN

SC grants an urgent hearing on a plea against Centre's decision to make Aadhaar mandatory

Amit Anand Choudhary | TNN | Updated: May 12, 2017, 02.51 PM IS

NEW DELHI: As government is expanding the ambit of Aadhaar by compulsory linking it with various social welfare schemes, the Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a plea to restrain the centre from making Aadhaar mandatory till its constitutional validity is decided. 

A five judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar, before whom the matter was mentioned, posted the case for May 17. 

Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for the petitioner, brought to court's notice that a series of notification had been issued by Center for mandatory linking of Aadhasr with various schemes in violation of apex court's earlier order which had held the Aadhaar should be voluntary. 

The apex court had earlier reserved its verdict on constitutional validity of a law making it mandatory for citizens to link their PAN card with Aadhaar 

A bench of Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan had reserved its order on validity of Section 139AA of Income Tax Act which provides for compulsory quoting of Aadhaar for filing of income tax returns and for making application for allotment of PAN number from July 1 this year. 

Justifying the law, Centre had termed Aadhaar as the most effective and fool-proof tool to check the cases of tax evasion and to keep a tabs on circulation of black money in the country, some members of civil society challenged the provision saying that it was a "draconian" law which would take away people's right of privacy and make them virtually subservient to the mighty government which would keep an eye over them for rest of their life through digital surveillance. 

The government had taken a stand that Aadhaar was mandatory under Aadhaar Act and there was nothing wrong in compulsory linking it with other scheme and said that the law passed by Parliament could not questioned by court. The Centre had earlier assured the apex court that Aadhaar would not be mandatory till its constitutional validity was decided by the court but the Parliament passed the law for its compulsory linking with PAN card. 

11228 - Aadhaarocracy’ a breach of ethics? - TNN

Aadhaarocracy’ a breach of ethics?

Sharad Kohli | TNN | May 3, 2017, 03.15 AM IST

GURUGRM: With the state government making Aadhaar mandatory for issuing of birth certificates, will Aadhaarocracy create another level of bureaucracy? And does the act of getting babies enrolled in the UIDAI involve a breach of ethics? 

The Unique ID Authority of India may predate the Modi government, but the current dispensation has been over-eager to give it a big push. Haryana, however, is not the first state to obligate that mothers and fathers must register their newborns. To some, the thought of photographing newborns, or taking their fingerprints, to create an identity, is plain wrong. The doctors, though, don't believe so. They're more worried about the increased strain on an already overstretched profession.

Getting Aadhaar registry done at the time of birth is not at all a bad thing, according to Dr Ragini Agrawal, senior gynaecologist and medical director at the city's W Pratiksha Hospital. "If the government is making it mandatory for everybody to have an Aadhaar card, nothing like getting it made at the time of birth because it is the right time," she told TOI. But, she maintained, the duty of documenting and processing the IDs should fall on the government. "It should not be the responsibility of the doctors, since already doctors have a lot of paperwork to do. "When we send the birth details of the baby to the registrar's office, at that time, before issuing, they should hold a camp in the hospital, say once a month, so all the delivered babies can get registered at that time by government officials, who will then issue the birth certificate, and, alongside, the Aadhaar card. "Fingerprints are not possible unless they have the ink, ink which is not toxic for the baby," Dr Agrawal added. 

Dr Lata Nagpal, of Nagpal Nursing Home, doesn't feel there's anything improper about the policy. "I don't think so - what's unethical in it?" she queried. But this is an onus doctors could do without. "It's a little difficult because to fill everything online becomes a little tedious. For, as soon as the baby is born, the parents have to keep the name, then they have to fill the name and send it. That part is a little difficult. So it's more of a burden on the doctors."

Dr Ritu Jain, of Vardhman Medicare Centre, agrees. "As such, it is a good move, but putting it all on the hospital becomes problematic, because this is in no way related to clinical work." There are other challenges, as Dr Jain points out. "The thing is that so many times the parents do not have their Aadhaar card, and the babies' fingerprints keep changing with the passage of time. So even if you link the babies' Aadhaar card with the parents' cards, things will change after one year, and after five years."

11211 - Making a mockery of the Supreme Court order on Aadhaar - Rediff

Making a mockery of the Supreme Court order on Aadhaar

April 28, 2017 10:30 IST

'The attempt to make Aadhaar mandatory has now emerged as an act of bullying by government agencies, turning citizens into subjects by making fundamental rights conditional on biometric identification,' says Gopal Krishna.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com

Just a day before the Supreme Court lambasted the Centre for making Aadhaar compulsory for availing government services, Dr Sajjan Singh, assistant registrar (evaluation) at Jawaharlal Nehru University, issued a circular bearing the subject line, 'Inscription of Unique ID/Aadhaar Number and photograph in marksheets and degree certificates'.

Referring to a University Grants Commission letter in this regard, the circular, inter alia, said:

'Aadhaar number has been made mandatory to inscribe in the mark-sheets and degree certificates in respect of the Indian national students and Unique ID for foreign national students to be generated by the Admission-II Section (sic).'

It also said, 'Aadhaar number has been made a mandatory column in the semester registration and admission folio.'

This is tantamount to contempt of the Supreme Court which has very categorically stated that Aadhaar cannot be made compulsory and it is only an optional requirement.

It must be noted that whenever circulars and letters of central and state government agencies have been challenged or contested, they were always withdrawn.

In 2016, when a UGC circular (external link) making Aadhaar number mandatory for disbursement of all government subsidies/scholarships/fellowships which are to be disbursed directly into the beneficiaries account was challenged, a clarification was issued by the Union ministry of human resource development.

In the clarification (external link) issued on September 14, 2016, the HRD minister made it clear that 'any student who have (sic) applied or wishing to apply for scholarship/fellowship shall not be denied benefit thereof due to non-availability of Aadhaar no./card.'

The current JNU circular is based on two UGC communications dated March 21 and July 26, 2016, with the latter stating, 'the bank account number seeded with Aadhaar should be mentioned on the portal.'

Notably, both these communications were issued during the period in which the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, was not in force. It came into force after its notification in the Gazette of India on September 12, 2016.

Therefore, the circular is illegal and is in violation of the Supreme Court's order.

Moreover, nowhere does the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, provides for and authorises 'seeding' of UID/Aadhaar numbers in databases.

The Act permits it only for two uses:

1. Authentication, which means that biometric or demographic data can be sent to the UID's CIDR (Central Identities Data Repository) to return a 'yes/no' reply to the question whether you are who you say you are.

2. e-Know Your Customer. This does something they said they would never do, viz, give the data -- except core biometric data, but they have no means of stopping any agency from collecting and keeping biometrics when it is given for authentication -- to an authorised service agency.

Section 8(2) (b) of the Act categorically states that an agency requesting authentication 'ensure(s) that the identity information of an individual is only used for submission' to the CIDR of 12-digit biometric Unique Identification/Aadhaar numbers 'for authentication'. It does not authorise anyone to hold onto the number.

Therefore, seeding the UID/Aadhaar number, as required by the UGC or JNU, is itself beyond the law.

When it comes to complying with the Supreme Court's order making Aadhaar optional, all government bodies should learn from the Election Commission.

The EC revised its order dated February 27, 2015, on August 13, 2015, following the court's order making UID/Aadhaar optional. Its revised order read: 'All further activities relating to collection/feeding/seeding of Aadhaar Number being undertaken currently under NERPAP (National Electoral Roll Purification and Authentication Programme) shall be suspended with immediate effect till further directions from the Commission. In other words, henceforth no more collection of Aadhaar Numbers from electors or feeding/seeding of collected Aadhaar data shall be done by any election authority or officials connected with the NERPAP.'

This revised EC order is a model order. It demonstrates how to comply with the court's order in letter and spirit.

All central, state, public and private agencies which are implementing UID/Aadhaar related schemes and systems are under a legal obligation to issue similar orders.

In a related case, the Supreme Court (in UIDAI v. Central Bureau of Investigation) passed an order in 2014 which said, 'More so, no person shall be deprived of any service for want of Aadhaar number in case he/she is otherwise eligible/entitled.'

'All the authorities are directed to modify their forms/circulars/likes so as to not compulsorily require the Aadhaar number in order to meet the requirement of the interim order passed by this court forthwith.'

Last week, when the Supreme Court bench headed by Justice A K Sikri asked the attorney general as to how the government can compel anyone to get Aadhaar when there are interim orders of the Constitution Bench, what the AG said in his reply was something which was already stated by Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on April 10 in the Rajya Sabha.

'There is no stay by the Supreme Court,' he said. 'We are being governed by a mandate of the Aadhaar Act passed by the Parliament,' adding, 'I am very clear in my understanding of law that if the Parliament enacts a law and unless the court stays the operation of that law, this law will hold the field and that is what that it holding the field.'

He referred to interim orders of the Supreme Court saying they were passed in 2015 and the Aadhaar Act became effective in 2016, assented by the President.

He took the position that 'an interim order is only for the purposes of interim arrangement till the Parliament structures it. It is not a judgment. It has been referred to a nine-judge or a seven-judge bench. Maybe, this law will also be considered.'

Notably, the Aadhaar Act became effective after it was notified on September 12, 2016, through the Gazette of India.

It is germane to observe that the minister feigned ignorance about the order of the division bench of the Supreme Court dated September 14, 2016, wherein the court reiterated the Constitution Bench's order dated October 15, 2015, which read: 'We impress upon the Union of India that it shall strictly follow all the earlier orders passed by this court commencing from September 23, 2013. We will also make it clear that the Aadhaar card scheme is purely voluntary and it cannot be made mandatory till the matter is finally decided by this court one way or the other.'

While making his submission, the attorney general too seemed to suffer from selective amnesia regarding the Supreme Court's 2016 order, passed after two days of the notification of the Aadhaar Act.

It is an established Constitutional norm that the last order of the Supreme Court prevails over other orders and enacted laws.

As has been the case with the minister, the attorney general referred to an irrelevant Supreme Court order dated February 6, 2017, in Lokniti Foundation v. Union of India.

In fact, in a counter affidavit submitted in the court, the attorney general stated that biometric UID/Aadhaar is voluntary.

In this submission, which has been reproduced in the order of the division bench, it was stated that 'currently, Aadhaar card or biometric authentication is not mandatory for obtaining a new telephone connection.'

In its petition, the Lokniti Foundation had prayed that 'the Aadhar card or such other biometric identification may be made compulsory for verification of the mobile phone subscribers that can ensure 100 per cent verification of mobile phone,' but pursuant to the attorney general's submission, it is apparent that the bench decided to adhere to the Constitution Bench's order that keeps Aadhaar voluntary.

Quoting this very order out of context, the minister misinformed the Rajya Sabha that 'there is the system of Aadhaar-enabled verification for SIM card for the user. I have got the copy of the order. The Supreme Court has approved it as a very good system which has been incorporated (sic).'

Notably, drawing on the same misrepresentation, the department of telecommunications under him has issued a circular on March 23, making Aadhaar mandatory 'regarding 100 per cent e-KYC-based re-verification of all existing subscribers' in order to implement 'hon'ble Supreme Court orders.'

It is evident that the minister and the attorney general will have us believe that the two-judge division bench's order will prevail over the five-Judge Constitution Bench's order.

The minister's exercise in misrepresentation was exposed by Congress leader Jairam Ramesh in the Rajya Sabha when he pointed out that the minister 'did not mention that there was a Supreme Court order after the Act was passed on September 14, 2016.'

Ramesh underlined that 'he quotes selectively from the 2015 Supreme Court orders. Nowhere in those orders does the Supreme Court say that they are contingent on Parliament passing an Act.'

Hence, the Supreme Court orders make it clear that Aadhaar remains voluntary.

Moreover, four years ago, Justice A K Sikri, then the chief justice of the Punjab and Haryana high court, had heard a case related to biometric UID/Aadhaar and passed an order wherein he had noted that the petition challenging mandatory requirement of Aadhaar 'raises a pure question of law.'

In its order, the bench headed by Justice Sikri observed, 'In this writ petition, the petitioner has challenged the vires of notification issued by the Union of India for making it compulsory to have UID cards.'

But since the executive order of the Union territory of Chandigarh was withdrawn, the case was disposed of in 2013.

In this way, the attempt to make Aadhaar mandatory, which has now emerged as an act of bullying by the government agencies, and turning citizens into subjects by making fundamental rights conditional on biometric identification was stopped in the tracks.

MUST READ features on Aadhar in the RELATED LINKS BELOW...

Gopal Krishna

10835 - Aadhaar Articles Dated 9th Feb 2017

	Indian Authorities Warn Public of Aadhaar Fraud findBIOMETRICS Sometimes these products are advertised as 'smart Aadhaar cards' – but there's no such thing. And even Aadhaar cards that have been downloaded ...
	Aadhaar linkage The Hindu It is strange that despite the Supreme Court's stay on mandatory use of Aadhaar, the Central government is still insisting on linking two Centrally ...
	Aadhaar Mandatory To Receive Subsidized Food Grains From PDS Shops Live Law The Beneficiaries under NFSA who do not possess the Aadhaar Number or are not yet enrolled for Aadhaar, but are desirous of availing subsidies ... Govt makes Aadhaar mandatory for buying subsidised foodgrains - Deccan Chronicle Centre makes Aadhaar card mandatory for receiving subsidised foodgrains from PDS shops - Financial Express
	Key design elements for data protection Livemint The age of Big Data, the growing pervasiveness of Aadhaar, and the government's push towards a cashless and digital economy have led to a ...
	Top news of Feb 9 | Govt makes Aadhaar mandatory for receiving subsidised foodgrains News Nation Twitter is buzzing with news alerts from India and rest of the world. Here are the latest updates from the world of Twitter in one scroll: ...
	TRAI Chairman: A telecom-like interconnection charge for payments? MediaNama.com On Aadhaar being made mandatory (in response to a question): “On the first issue, UIDAI, their position is that it is voluntary enrolment. However, it is ...
	Fingerprint payments prompt privacy fears in India The Guardian India's extraordinary biometric database, named Aadhaar after a Hindi word for 'foundation', is the biggest of its kind in the world. It was initially sold to ...
	Big Brother is winning Kashmir Images In the original debate over Aadhaar, there were broadly three positions: Aadhaar sceptics who saw it largely as a tool of surveillance and commercial ...
	Foodgrains: Gujarat turns first state to go cashless, Ram Vilas Paswan lauds success Financial Express The state government had targeted March 31 for the installation of Aadhaar enabled payment systems in 17, 250 FPSs but achieved much before date ... Gujarat becomes first State for establishing cashless system for distribution of food grains - Jagran Josh
	MoneyTap launches ZeroPaper technology in partnership with RBL Bank Livemint Built on Aadhaar based electronic signature (e-sign), ZeroPaper replaces physical paper-based know your customer (KYC) formalities pre-requisite to ...
	Gujarat's ration shops go digital Times of India Union food minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Wednesday said beneficiaries under the national food security scheme will now need to carry only Aadhaar ... Gujarat establishes cashless system for PDS - Economic Times Gujarat Becomes First State To Establish Cashless System - NDTV Now book a train or air ticket at ration shop in Gujarat - NYOOOZ
	More rice under Anna Bhagya; milk 5 days a week for kids Deccan Herald ... that supply of food grains under Anna Bhagya will be restored to the below poverty line families which have not submitted Aadhaar details.
	Haryana government digitises land records of 94% villages The Indian Express ... transparent land records management system” based on the principle of authentication through linking with Unique Identification Number (Aadhaar) ...

10642 - Maharashtra govt to frame law making Aadhaar Card mandatory for state schemes - NYOOOZ

Maharashtra govt to frame law making Aadhaar Card mandatory for state schemes

• TOI Mumbai Tue,29 Nov 2016

MUMBAI: It will soon be mandatory to quote the Aadhaar card number to avail state government benefits under various schemes. The Maharashtra state cabinet on Tuesday approved a proposal to frame a law making it mandatory for the provision of Aadhaar card number for state schemes . The Bill will be placed before the legislature during the forthcoming winter session.Currently, the state government offers cash aid and grant under 161 different schemes. So far it has disbursed Rs 4,322 crore for the current year under these schemes.A state government press release pointed out that by making the Aadhaar Card mandatory for central government schemes, the Centre was able to weed out bogus beneficiaries an...

News Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/mumbai/Maharashtra-govt-to-frame-law-making-Aadhaar-Card-mandatory-for-state-schemes/articleshow/55688916.cms

10623 - Matchmaking website, Aadhaar authority join hands for checks -

Matchmaking website, Aadhaar authority join hands for checks

New Delhi, Nov 20 (IANS): Matrimonial matchmaking service provider in India LoveVivah has launched a new platform, in collaboration with with Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI),that issues the Aadhaar cards, striving to assure trusted and authentic services that minimise the woes of matchmaking for single Indians. Through the association, the website plans to diminish the chances of fraud and fake profiles, as it will mandatory do an Aadhaar card number verification through UIDAI at the back-end and any discrepancies would prevent the user to move ahead with profile creation. "We understand the discrepancies associated with the existing matrimonial process and hence we have brought in the mandatory Aadhaar verification check to ensure the authenticity of the profiles," Gorav Aggarwal, President of Tanisha Systems Inc. and LoveVivah, said in a statement. The user verification on the website will also ensure a five-step verification through social media portals like Facebook, LinkedIn, e-mail and mobile. The platform was launched on Friday by actress Amrita Rao, along with, Haryana state BJP President Subhash Barala, Faridabad Police Commissioner Hanif Qureshi, Gurgaon Joint Commissioner of Police Pawan Y. Puran Kumar, and member of parliament Nihal Chand Meghwal. The matrimonial website serves all Indian communities in India and abroad with prime focus on the US, Canada, Britain, Australia and Singapore.

10591 - Aadhaar number mandatory for RTE quota seat admissions - New Indian Express

Aadhaar number mandatory for RTE quota seat admissions

By Express News Service  |   Published: 12th November 2016 01:19 AM  |  

BENGALURU: From the next academic year, it is mandatory to produce Aadhaar number to get admission under Right to Education (RTE) . The State Department of Public Instructions (DPI), has made Aadhaar mandatory for the child and for one of the parents to obtain a seat under the 25 per cent RTE reservation in private unaided schools.

In a press release, the Commissioner for Public Instruction (CPI) said online applications for admissions under the RTE quota for the 2017-2018 academic year will be open from January 1, 2017. 

Parents aspiring to admit their child in unaided non-minority schools located in their designated area under the RTE Act are requested to get the Aadhaar number of one of the parents and of the child, caste certificate in case of  Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe / OBC, income certificate in case of economically backward and birth certificate of the child by December 31, 2016,  the release stated. 

Even the heads of orphanages have been asked to ensure that they are enrolled as guardians of the children and the children have Aadhaar numbers. The department authorities have also said that the particulars of the parents will be verified, and applications accepted only if their details are genuine.

10544 - ‘Aadhaar attendance’ row: 4 weeks’ time to Govt for response - Greater Kashmir

‘Aadhaar attendance’ row: 4 weeks’ time to Govt for response

A division bench of Chief Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar and Justice Tashi Rabstan asked the government to file the objections within four weeks. On October 14, the court had stayed the government order in this regard.

Srinagar, Publish Date: Oct 17 2016 11:35PM | Updated Date: Oct 17 2016 11:35PM

D A RASHID 

J&K High Court on Monday granted four weeks’ further time to the government to respond to a Public Interest Litigation challenging a government order that makes it mandatory for its employees to procure Aadhaar cards for biometric attendance in government offices. 

A division bench of Chief Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar and Justice Tashi Rabstan asked the government to file the objections within four weeks.  On October 14, the court had stayed the government order in this regard. 

Advocate General, Jahangir Iqbal Ganai today argued that in the government order the Aadhar based biometric attendance had been mentioned so that every Government employee could attend the office regularly and no proxy attendance was registered.

Through the PIL, advocate Syed Musaib has challenged GAD order (175/2006-Part file) whereby government on September 1 made procurement of Aadhaar card mandatory for government employees for Aadhaar-based Biometric Attendance in government offices. 

The government order, the petitioner pleaded, was in clear contravention of the constitutional bench order of the Supreme Court in Justice K.S Puttaswamy (Retd) & Anr versus Union of India, as well in violation of a three Judge Bench order of the apex court.

While on February 2, J&K government by an Order (35-F of 2016) had made Aadhaar mandatory for Government Employees, pensioners and other such people, High Court on August 3, 2016 quashed the Order. 

The Court had made it clear that it was beyond doubt that the government order issued could not sustain as it was in violation of the interim orders passed by the Supreme Court.  

10493 - Is Aadhaar’s use mandatory? - Live Mint

Is Aadhaar’s use mandatory?

Questions are being raised about its legal backing after the Supreme Court ordered a stay on the mandatory use of Aadhaar for government scholarship schemes

Apurva Viswanath

The court’s ruling once again raises questions on the extent of legal backing for Aadhaar. Photo: Priyanka Parashar/Mint

New Delhi: Just a day after the government notified the law on Aadhaar for its use in various government schemes, the Supreme Court on 14 September ordered a stay on mandatory use of Aadhaar for government scholarship schemes.

The court’s ruling once again raises questions on the extent of legal backing for Aadhaar.

A bench comprising justices V. Gopala Gowda and Adarsh Kumar Goel, on a plea by All Bengal Minority Students’ Council, issued an interim stay against making authentication through Aadhaar mandatory for Central and state scholarship schemes.

The notification issued by the University Grants Commission is not in line with the apex court’s ruling in October last year which stated that Aadhaar scheme is purely voluntary and it cannot be made mandatory till the matter is finally decided by this court one way or the other.

To be sure, section 7 of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsides, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, which allows for use of Aadhaar for government benefits, subsidies and services, does not make Aadhaar mandatory.

“The court is right in raising a question on whether Aadhaar is mandatory. All use of the unique identity number has to be in sync with the act which in no way says Aadhaar is mandatory,” said a Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) official, on the condition of anonymity.

Also Read: Aadhaar, eKYC, UPI to fuel innovation in fintech, says report

Separately, two contempt cases are being heard by the Supreme Court and the Delhi high court against the mandatory use of Aadhaar for scholarship schemes and public distribution system, among other things.

The government’s top law officer, attorney general Mukul Rohatgi, had clarified to Mint that the law will now override such concerns.

“The earlier challenge against mandatory use was against an executive notification that conceived Aadhaar. Now, the law takes care of all concerns surrounding potential misuse.”

Consequently, the government can now use the 12-digit unique identification number for identifying beneficiaries of social welfare schemes and disbursing subsidies.

Another case challenging the passage of the Aadhaar law as a money bill is also pending in the apex court.

A money bill does not need the consent of the Rajya Sabha, where the government is in a minority.

Apurva Vishwanath

10490 - Government presses on with Aadhaar in ration system despite glitches, delayed food law - Scroll.In

Government presses on with Aadhaar in ration system despite glitches, delayed food law

by Anumeha Yadav

Published Sep 25, 2016 · 07:30 am.   

By March 2017, Aadhaar will be mandatory for food benefits even as fingerprint authentication problems persist, and rules on grievance redress are missing

Image credit:  Anumeha Yadav

The National Democratic Alliance government has asked the states and Central ministries to link the details of all beneficiaries of its social welfare schemes with Aadhaar, a biometric-based unique identity number, by March 2017.

On September 14, the Unique Identity Authority of India – the agency that manages the centralised Aadhaar database – sent circulars to the ministries to specify the schemes, benefits and services for which the 12-digit number will now be mandatory.

One of the biggest such schemes to be linked will be the public distribution system under the National Food Security Act, 2013 – which provides a legal entitlement to subsidised foodgrains to 67% of the country’s population through a network of fair price shops.

“The public distribution system has the largest database of beneficiaries at over 85 crore,” said Ajay Bhushan Pandey, chief executive officer of the Unique Identity Authority of India. “It is much larger than the 13 crore users of subsidised liquefied petroleum gas, or the 1.5 crore students who receive government scholarships.”

He said the agency would help the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution prepare a notification to make Aadhaar mandatory for food benefits.

"You [food ministry] should now be the main agency to register the residual population to be covered under Aadhaar,” he added at a conference of states organised by the ministry on September 16.

There are currently 105 crore Aadhaar holders in India, or 82% of its population.

Activists of the Right to Food campaign, however, criticised the move to make Aadhaar mandatory in the public distribution system. They said that even three years after it had been passed, the National Food Security Act was yet to be fully enacted by several states. And state governments were still to create grievance redressal mechanisms mandated by the law. This, they pointed out, would leave beneficiaries with no place to take their complaints if they faced Aadhaar authentication failures, as were being reported in various states.

Fingerprint snags

The Unique Identity Authority of India does not publish data on Aadhaar authentication failures in schemes where it is already being used, or instances where Aadhaar authentication worked only after multiple attempts.

But data from the states shows that Aadhaar authentication – a process where a beneficiary places his finger on a machine that uses real-time internet connectivity to verify his biometric data against that stored in the central database – is not working well in all states.

Andhra Pradesh, the first state to introduce Aadhaar in all ration shops, has a fingerprint authentication failure rate of up to 5%, said G Ravi Babu, additional secretary, food and civil supplies.

But in Rajasthan – the second state to adopt the process – fingerprint authentication does not work for 37% of enrolled households even nine months after it was introduced in December 2015.

Subodh Agarwal, principal secretary in the state’s food and civil supplies department, said 63.5 lakh transactions were recorded in August where beneficiaries received their 5 kilos of subsidised wheat after fingerprint authentication. This means the system works for 63%, or a little less than two-thirds, of the 99.7 lakh beneficiary families, mostly made up of small farmers.

Babu Singh, a construction worker, and Punni Devi who has polio and their four children cannot get rations after Aadhaar biometric authentication was made compulsory in Jawaja, Rajasthan. Punni Devi did not receive her Aadhaar number. The machine does not recognise the fingerprints of Singh or his 8-year-old son.

Agarwal said beneficiaries are allowed to take their grains after recording their names in registers kept at the ration shops, but this “manual” system will be phased out after September.

Jharkhand began Aadhaar authentication in ration shops in Ranchi district in July. An analysis of state data for July and August by economist Jean Dreze shows that only 49% got their grains in these two months, leaving out half the beneficiaries. Authentication failures were recorded both because of fingerprints not working on the point of sale devices and data entry errors in linking Aadhaar with their ration card details.

Despite these problems, VK Choubey, principal secretary in the state’s food and civil supplies department, said Aadhaar authentication will be implemented in all 24 districts by October.

Choubey's counterpart in Gujarat, MR Das, said the government has introduced Aadhaar authentication at 90% of ration shops. “At first, we had a 20% failure rate in fingerprint authentication, but it has now come down to about 6%,” said Das.

Delayed implementation of food law

The Central government is rushing states to link all ration cards to Aadhaar by March 2017. But this switch to the Aadhaar authentication system comes at a time when most states have not yet notified the rules for compensation or appointed two-tier grievance redressal authorities at the district and state levels, as mandated by the National Food Security Act 2013.

The Food Act was to be implemented within a year of its enactment by 2014, but this deadline has already been extended thrice by the food ministry’s executive orders, the last time in March 2015. Several states have not yet notified crucial parts of the law, including on compensation and grievance redressal, even three years after the Act was passed.

“Several states have appointed food department officials as district grievance redressal officials, which does not satisfy the requirement of the law to have an independent authority for this,” said Dipa Sinha, a social activist with the Right to Food Campaign. “If a beneficiary is denied rations because of fingerprint failures or data entry errors, they will be asked to approach the same food department officials who may be responsible for those errors in the first place.”

As per ministry data, only nine states have appointed food department officials as district grievance redressal officials. Twenty states have designated an existing commission to additionally act as the state-level food commission, while three states have not formed a state-level commission at all.

A toll-free grievance redressal facility – the 1967 helpline – has not been implemented in 10 states, including Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh.

The Act provides for compensation in case of denial of foodgrains, but only seven states have notified these rules.

“The rules specify what compensation will be provided in case of denial of food entitlements, the process of applying for compensation, the time limit within which an authority responds, but most states are yet to frame and notify these rules,” said Aditya Shrivastava, a lawyer.

Ministry officials said no one will be denied foodgrains because of Aadhaar errors. “In states like Rajasthan, which are reporting high rates of Aadhaar errors, the manual system is still being allowed and no one is being denied their entitlements,” said Vrinda Sarup, secretary, Ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution.

We welcome your comments at letters@scroll.in.

10472 - Aadhaar Act: what it means for you - Live Mint

Last Modified: Thu, Sep 22 2016. 10 46 AM IST

Aadhaar Act: what it means for you

Aadhaar has received a legal backing to be used in social welfare schemes and to disburse subsidies as well

Uttaresh Venkateshwaran

Priyanka Parashar/Mint

With an intention to use Aadhaar for all government schemes, the Centre last week notified all sections, but one, of the Aadhaar, (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsides, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016. This means that Aadhaar has received a legal backing to be used in social welfare schemes and to disburse subsidies as well.

The Supreme Court had last year ruled that use of this system will not be mandatory and can only be extended to services like transfer of cooking gas subsidy, Jan Dhan Yojana, and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. The ambit has slowly increased as it is seen as a valid document in daily financial life as well.

If you don’t have an Aadhaar number yet, should you apply for one, as it looks set to become a key validation and verification document? Here’s a look at Aadhaar’s usage in availing financial services.

Use in transactions

Taxation: You can e-verify income tax returns with the help of Aadhaar. You need to link your Aadhaar and Permanent Account Number (PAN) to the income tax department’s website with the help of a one-time password (OTP). However, it is important that the details such as name of the person on PAN and Aadhaar are same. Any difference, even in the spelling, may make it impossible to link the number. “It is not a mandatory element, but the government is looking to make the system more convenient for a taxpayer…from e-KYC to verification, Aadhaar will be a strong requirement to do business with the government,” said Archit Gupta, founder and chief executive officer, ClearTax.com, an online tax filing company.

According to the company, of the total number of e-verified income tax returns (ITRs) of 16.8 million this year with the tax department, around 7.77 million verifications were through the Aadhaar-PAN linked system.

Mutual funds: Aadhaar-based e-KYC has been facilitated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India for mutual funds. The procedure needs an OTP and Aadhaar. “There are some restrictions. If you do e-KYC through Aadhaar, you cannot make large-value investments due to limit of Rs 50,000 per year,” said Vishal Dhawan, founder and chief financial planner, Plan Ahead Wealth Advisors.

Banking: It is mandatory for customers to provide certain details to comply with know-your-customer (KYC) norms. To make this process paperless, the Reserve Bank of India had introduced Aadhaar-based e-KYC, which substitutes the need to submit multiple documents . Instead of giving separate proofs for ID and address, among others, a single document can replace all these requirements. To open a Jan Dhan Yojana account, one can simply use only Aadhaar as well. “It (Aadhaar) also helps in keeping track of the various schemes and programmes the government runs along with the beneficiaries,” said Adhil Shetty, chief executive officer and co-founder, Bankbazaar.com

Payments: Last week, there were reports that Aadhaar was going to be made mandatory to book railway e-tickets from December. A senior railway official, associated with the developments, clarified that it will not be in December. The Railways has been cracking down on fraudulent bookings with measures such as different timings for tatkal bookings, among others. Aadhaar-based booking may be a step in that direction.

What you should do

It would be prudent to apply and get an Aadhaar if you don’t have it already. You can visit the nearest enrolment centre along with proof documents and get your biometrics registered as well.

While not mandatory, experts recommend getting this card to benefit from smoother transactions.

Uttaresh Venkateshwaran

10452 - Mandatory or not - Millennium Post

Mandatory or not

16 September 2016, New Delhi, Team MP

Recent reports indicate that the use of Aadhar card is set to become mandatory for all Central and state government subsidies and benefits that require funding from the central exchequer. Speaking to a leading national daily, Ajay Bhushan Pandey, CEO of the UID Authority of India, said that government agencies will have to ensure all beneficiaries are enrolled under UID. "Ministries will have to notify schemes for which Aadhaar number is required. 

In case someone does not have Aadhaar, he will be asked to enroll for the same. If you are asking for Aadhaar and if enrollment facilities are not in a convenient location, the agency has to ensure that people are not left in the lurch," Pandey said. 

In other words, the onus will now be on various government agencies to ensure that beneficiaries have Aadhar numbers to access benefits ranging from subsidies and pensions. As per the recent Aadhar Act passed earlier this year by Parliament, an Aadhar card has become a necessary document for the “receipt of certain subsidies, benefits, and services”, even though the Supreme Court ruled that it cannot be made mandatory. 

The court had restricted the use of Aadhaar to the transfer of cooking gas subsidy, the public distribution system, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), all types of pension schemes, the employees’ provident fund and the Jan Dhan Yojana. 

The mandatory provision for Aadhaar card should be waived until there is 100 percent coverage. Despite the Centre’s assurances, there are doubts whether government agencies, both at the Central and state level, possess the requisite incentive to ensure that no one is left out. Ground reports from rural India have noted how many beneficiaries have been denied key services entitled to them. “For instance, MGNREGA functionaries have cancelled job cards on a large scale for the sake of achieving '100 percent Aadhaar seeding’ of the job-card database,” says Jean Dreze, a reputed academic who conceptualised and drafted the first version of the rural jobs programme under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). “MGNREGA workers have been offloaded by rural banks on Aadhaar-enabled ‘business correspondents’ who proved unable to pay them due to poor connectivity.” These workers were denied access to subsidies and benefits because they did not have an Aadhar card or poor internet service.

When the previous UPA government introduced Aadhar-based pilot projects across various districts to determine whether welfare services are delivered to the doorstep of the intended beneficiary, it ran into many problems. These include poor internet connectivity, bank technology up gradation, lack of data security, doubts over the integrity of banking correspondents deputed by the state government. Truth be told, these problems have not disappeared under the current NDA government. Even though this newspaper has been critical of the government’s Unique Identification System (UID), there is little doubt that if implemented with proper safeguards, the Aadhar Bill could become one of the most progressive pieces of socio-economic legislation in the country’s history. Votaries of the system often argue that the technology used could stem political and bureaucratic corruption in the delivery of social schemes through direct income transfers. Much of the excitement surrounding the Aadhar card has to do with these intended benefits. 

However, as argued above, key structural concerns remain, and the current system will only prevent specific types of leakages, such as those related to duplication in beneficiary lists. Poor states, where Centrally-sponsored schemes are most needed, are not adequately prepared to deal with the fundamental structural issues that stand in the way. Moreover, the UID Authority of India’s own Biometrics Standards Committee has noted that retaining biometric efficiency for a database “has not been adequately analysed”. 

According to UIDAI officials, approximately 82 percent of Indians have been enrolled, which besides adults also includes children, at the current rate of 6 lakh enrollments per day. This significantly reduces the possibility of exclusion on a large scale and makes seeding schemes with Aadhaar easier, officials said. Despite the government’s claims, there will be those who will be denied benefits for want of an Aadhar card. One can understand the government’s desire to make it mandatory. But it will go against the very interests of many citizens that it seeks to serve.

10440 - Aadhaar now must for government schemes, benefits - TNN

Aadhaar now must for government schemes, benefits

Rajeev Deshpande & Sidhartha | TNN | Sep 15, 2016, 01.33 AM IST

NEW DELHI: The use of Aadhaar card+ is set to become mandatory for all central and state government subsidies and benefits which require funding from the central exchequer with the Centre notifying the unique identity (UID) regulations. 

While the law had empowered the Centre to mandate use of Aadhaar, the rules clearly stipulate that any agency, such as the oil ministry dealing with cooking gas+ or HRD's scholarship schemes, has to ensure all beneficiaries are enrolled under UID+ . For this, they have been asked to tie up with registrars or enrol individuals themselves. 

"Ministries will have to notify schemes for which Aadhaar number is required. In case someone does not have Aadhaar, he will be asked to enrol for the same. If you are asking for Aadhaar and if enrolment facilities are not in a convenient location, the agency has to ensure that people are not left in the lurch," said Ajay Bhushan Pandey, CEO of the UID Authority of India (UIDAI). 

Pandey also said the regulations strongly address privacy concerns over Aadhaar misuse+ by incorporating a three-year jail term for an offence. "The big brother concern has been dealt with. If a government or private entity uses Aadhaar number for some other purpose... if a company shares the data, it becomes a criminal offence," Pandey said. 

The particular clause has been inserted to address concerns raised by civil society groups that mandating Aadhaar will exclude genuine beneficiaries, who do not possess a UID, from government schemes. The rules mean the onus will now be on agencies like oil companies or banks to make sure beneficiaries have Aadhaar numbers to access benefits ranging from subsidies and pensions. 

Though the Supreme Court had earlier held Aadhaar could not be made mandatory for government schemes while extending "voluntary use" of UID numbers to MGNREGA, pensions, cooking gas, PDS, EPF and Jan Dhan accounts, the new law and its regulations will help the Centre expand the ambit of UID to virtually all government schemes.

The data security rules make it incumbent for UIDAI, registrars, enrolling agencies, companies and authentication service providers to observe a strict protocol. "The rules require every entity seeking to use Aadhaar to preserve information for a certain number of years and be subject to an audit," Pandey said, adding that an entity seeking Aadhaar will need consent to disclose the information each time it wants to share the data.

The regulations also provide more leeway for capturing biometric information. In cases where fingerprints are not easily registered, like in the case of elderly persons, iris scans will do. This has been added to existing flexibility for persons with disabilities or injuries.

Pandey said with over 105 crore enrolments and six lakh added daily, nearly 98% of adults had been registered and 75% of those in the 5-18 year age segment were also part of the world's largest bio-metric ID programme. This significantly reduces the possibility of exclusion on a large scale and makes seeding schemes with Aadhaar easier

10436 - Legal backing to Aadhaar notified, NDA free to use it for government schemes - Live Mint

Last Modified: Wed, Sep 14 2016. 11 47 AM IST

Legal backing to Aadhaar notified, NDA free to use it for government schemes

Expectations are that with this, the ongoing legal challenge to Aadhaar pending in the Supreme Court will be restricted to the issue of privacy

Komal Gupta-Suranjana Roy-Apurva Viswanath

The government can now use Aadhaar to identify beneficiaries of social welfare schemes. Photo: Priyanka Parashar/Mint

The government has notified all but one of the remaining sections of Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsides, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, giving legal backing for its use in various government schemes.

On 12 September, it had notified sections pertaining to the mandatory use of Aadhaar.

Expectations are that with this, the ongoing legal challenge to Aadhaar pending in the Supreme Court will be restricted to the issue of privacy. The Constitution bench is yet to be constituted, though the reference was made a year ago on 11 August.

The government’s top law officer, attorney general Mukul Rohatgi, confirmed the notification of the legislation will override all concerns.

“The earlier challenge against mandatory use was against an executive notification that conceived Aadhaar. Now, the law takes care of all concerns surrounding potential misuse.”

Consequently, the government can now use the 12-digit unique identification number for identifying beneficiaries of social welfare schemes and disbursing subsidies.

All the provisions of the legislation have been formally notified, with the exception of the one dealing with salaries of employees of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the issuer of Aadhaar.

As of now, the use of Aadhaar is restricted by interim orders of the apex court to the transfer of cooking gas subsidy, the public distribution system, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), all types of pension schemes, the employees provident fund and the Jan Dhan Yojana.

Legal troubles have followed the legislation, with both the apex court and the Delhi high court hearing pleas against the government’s mandatory use of Aadhaar for schemes such as scholarships for students and food distribution. It will have to be seen if these cases will be resolved with the notifying of the Act.

S.L. Rao, a Bengaluru-based sociologist and former director general of the National Council for Applied Economic Research, said, “I think it is a good move if Aadhaar is being made compulsory, but people need to be assured about Aadhaar being an authentic form of identification, as biometrics can be misused.”

Another case, challenging the passage of the Aadhaar law as a money bill, is also pending in the apex court. A money bill does not need the consent of Rajya Sabha, where the government is in a minority.

In March, the government got the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill passed, after introducing it as a money bill. Earlier, UIDAI was backed by a 2009 notification of the now- defunct Planning Commission.

Last week, as part of provisions of the Act, the government appointed former information technology secretary 

J. Satyanarayana as part-time chairperson of UIDAI, and Rajesh Jain, founder and managing director of netCORE solutions, an IT-based firm, and Anand Deshpande, founder and chief executive officer of Persistent Systems, as part-time members.

As of now, the enrolment in the Aadhaar scheme has reached 1.05 billion.

Priyanka Mittal also contributed to the story.

10411 - Linking BPL ration card with Aadhaar made mandatory - The Hindu

BENGALURU, September 11, 2016

Linking BPL ration card with Aadhaar made mandatory

Linking below the poverty line (BPL) ration cards with Aadhaar has been made mandatory for obtaining monthly rations under the public distribution system in urban areas of the State. All BPL card holders have been told to link their cards with Aadhaar by September-end.

Food and Civil Supplies Minister U.T. Khader told press persons on Saturday that cards that have not been linked with Aadhaar would be treated as bogus ration cards.

So far, only 72 per cent of the BPL families have linked their cards with Aadhaar. In rural areas, families can submit online applications seeking BPL cards from this month-end. After document verification by panchayat development officers, ration cards would be issued in a week, he said.

In rural areas, he said, BPL cards would be delivered through India Post. A sum of Rs. 70 would be collected from the beneficiaries for the delivery of cards, the Minister said.

To avoid inconvenience caused to ration card holders, Mr. Khader said three months’ coupons would be given in one go. Owing to power cuts and snags in computers, there has been delay in the distribution of coupons in rural areas.

10406 - New legal proceedings aimed at Aadhaar usage - Biometric Update

New legal proceedings aimed at Aadhaar usage

By Rawlson King

September 9, 2016 - 

India’s Supreme Court will hear new contempt proceedings against various federal departments and state governments that insist on the mandatory usage of Aadhaar.

Aadhaar is the 12-digit unique identification number issued by the Indian government to every individual resident of India. The Aadhaar project aims to provide a single, unique identifier which captures all the demographic and biometric details of every Indian resident. Currently, Aadhaar has issued over 900 million Aadhaar numbers, and has enrolled approximately 850 million people, with a goal of ultimately enrolling 1.28 billion people.

According to India’s Tribune, among those named in the petitions include the Ministry of Human Resource Development, named for forcing students to use Aadhaar to obtain scholarships, and the Government of Karnataka, named for denial of subsidised food grains to the poor under the Public Distribution System unless people use the card issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India.

The article states the Supreme Court has allowed some of the institutions like banks, civil supplies departments and petroleum companies to make use of Aadhaar on a voluntary basis to prevent misuse of subsidies and irregularities in payment of wages under the employment guarantee scheme.

In May, BiometricUpdate.com reported that more than 130 million people used Aadhaar in March 2016 to authenticate their identity and receive a government benefit or service, according to figures submitted to the Prime Minister’s Office.

The Court has explored a wide range of issues concerning Aadhaar’s usage over the past several years, especially focused on its extended mandatory usage for social program administration.

10395 - Why is Aadhaar mandatory for scholarships: Delhi HC - Live Mint

Why is Aadhaar mandatory for scholarships: Delhi HC

The Delhi high court issued notice to the government on its rule requiring students from minority communities to submit Aadhaar numbers for taking scholarships

Priyanka Mittal

A bench headed by chief justice G. Rohini sought the government’s response within two weeks. Photo: Pradeep Gaur/Mint

New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Thursday issued notice to the Union government on its rule requiring students from minority communities to submit their Aadhaar unique identification (UID) numbers for availing of scholarships.

The ministry of minority affairs mandates Aadhaar for pre-matric, post-matric and merit-cum-means scholarships it offers through the National Scholarship web portal to students from minority communities.

A bench headed by chief justice G. Rohini sought the government’s response within two weeks.

She was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) brought by the Nasimuddin Educational & Charitable Trust, a non-governmental organization, which also challenged the option of having only an online scholarship application process for minority students.

It alleged that a policy forcing a student to apply only online and compulsorily submitting Aadhaar is “unconstitutional, arbitrary, unjust” and violates Article 14 (Right to Equality). It further says that having an online application process alone discriminates against students who do not have access to the Internet.

According to the petitioner, such a policy is unlawful as it is in violation of a Supreme Court judgment which had hold that the UID number cannot be made mandatory for any citizen to avail of benefits under any government scheme or scholarship.

On 11 August 2015, the Supreme Court had held that Aadhaar cannot be made mandatory for any government scheme and subsequently restricted the use of the unique identity number to a few schemes.

This is currently under challenge in a contempt petition against the government for allegedly making use of Aadhaar numbers mandatory.

In March, the government passed the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill as a money bill.

A challenge to the passage of the law as a money bill is also being heard by the apex court. The matter will be heard next on 23 September.

Priyanka Mittal