Delhi govt plans Aadhaar vault system to store residents’ details

The system is also intended to encrypt Aadhaar data and reduce the risk of identity misuse, officials said

New Delhi:The Delhi government is planning to implement an Aadhaar vault system across departments to securely store residents’ Aadhaar details, an official said. The move aims to strengthen data protection and ensure strict compliance with privacy norms, they added.

The government’s Information Technology (IT) department has already implemented the system and the initiative is being undertaken in line with Unique Identification Authority of India guidelines. (HT Archive)

The government’s Information Technology (IT) department has already implemented the system and the initiative is being undertaken in line with Unique Identification Authority of India guidelines.

“We are planning to implement the system for departments that have a public interface. This is being done to reduce data duplication. Most of the departments use Aadhaar details for processing documents. With the Aadhaar vault in place, a single key will be generated for one Aadhaar,” said an official.

The system is also intended to encrypt Aadhaar data and reduce the risk of identity misuse, officials added.

Officials said the Aadhaar vault will function as a secure repository where Aadhaar numbers collected for government schemes and services will be stored in encrypted form. The system is expected to restrict direct access to sensitive information and ensure that departments use reference tokens during processing and verification, he said.

According to officials, the move is part of a broader government effort to strengthen cybersecurity safeguards and align digital governance practices with evolving data protection requirements.

The development comes as several welfare schemes and public service delivery mechanisms in Delhi increasingly rely on Aadhaar-based authentication for beneficiary identification, verification and direct benefit transfers.

The system is expected to be rolled out in phases, handling citizen data, particularly that linked to welfare schemes, certificates, subsidies and social security programmes.

In a related development, the verification process for beneficiaries under the old-age pension scheme has encountered hurdles because Aadhaar data cannot legally be shared with a third-party agency tasked with conducting the exercise, officials said.

The government’s Social Welfare department is planning to launch a large-scale verification drive of beneficiaries under the scheme to remove ineligible recipients and streamline distribution of welfare benefits.

The government had roped in a third party agency to carry out the exercise, officials said. However, privacy provisions governing Aadhaar data sharing have complicated the process, since external entities engaged for verification cannot be given direct access to beneficiaries’ Aadhaar information.

Officials said the department is examining alternative mechanisms to allow beneficiary verification while remaining compliant with UIDAI norms and data privacy safeguards.