Cabinet nod to Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill

The amendments proposed are the same as those contained in the ordinance promulgated by President on March 2, 2019. The bill will be introduced in ensuing session of Parliament.

"The decision is expected to go a long way in meeting the people friendly and citizen centric nature of Aadhaar," Union Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters here after the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The decision would enable UIDAI to have a more robust mechanism to serve the public interest and restrain the misuse of Aadhar.

Subsequent to this amendment, no individual shall be compelled to provide proof of possession of Aadhaar number or undergo authentication for the purpose of establishing his identity unless it is so provided by a law made by Parliament.

For the convenience of general public in opening of bank accounts, the proposed amendments would allow the use of Aadhaar number for authentication on voluntary basis as acceptable KYC document under the Telegraph Act, 1885 and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

The amendments include provision for voluntary use of Aadhaar number in physical or electronic form by authentication or offline verification with the consent of Aadhaar number holder; provides for use of 12-digit Aadhaar number and its alternative virtual identity to conceal the actual Aadhaar number of an individual and giving an option to children who are Aadhaar number holders to cancel their Aadhaar number on attaining the age of 18 years.

The Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019 was considered by the Cabinet in its meeting held on February 28, 2019 and the Ordinance was promulgated by the President on March 2.

The Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2019 amongst other things envisaged strengthening of the Aadhaar Act as per the directions of the Supreme Court and recommendations of Justice B.N. Srikrishna (Retd) Committee.

Image credit: UNI