
Aadhaar-less bank accounts will be shut down after December 31
Bank accounts that are not linked to Aadhaar will be frozen and no new accounts can be opened without the 12-digit biometric identity number after December 31, according to new government rules.
Aadhaar cards along with Permanent Account Numbers (PAN) or Form 60 for those outside the tax net will also be mandatory from now on for transactions above Rs50,000. Those who don’t have the documents will have to prove they have applied for them.
The latest regulations, issued by the revenue department on June 1, come as amendments to the anti-money laundering law that the government is seeking to tighten to fight black money and funding of terrorism.
Frozen accounts can be reactivated by linking to Aadhaar details. “The money will be safe but the accounts will not be operational. Once the account holder shows the required documents they will be unfrozen,” a finance ministry official said.
The new rules apply to individual account holders and the authorised signatories where accounts are in the name of companies and partnerships firms.
Some 65% of India’s estimated 70 crore savings accounts are Aadhaar-linked. Similar official data for current and other kinds of accounts wasn’t immediately available. The government issued one billion Aadhaar cards till April 2016, the latest year for which data is available.
The government has also moved to watch more closely small accounts with deposits under Rs50,000.
So far these accounts could be opened without adhering to the stringent Know Your Customer (KYC) norms, but now they will have to comply with the new norms within a maximum period of two years.
“The small account shall be monitored and when there is suspicion of money laundering or financing of terrorism or other high risk scenarios, the identity of client shall be established through the production of officially valid documents,” the notification said.
The central government has been pushing for the use of Aadhaar, saying it is necessary to plug leakages in its subsidy schemes and to ensure benefits reach those targeted.
But critics say the move violates privacy, is vulnerable to data breaches and helps government spy on people. The Supreme Court is hearing several petitions against making Aadhaar mandatory to avail public services.
“As per the Aadhaar Act and the orders of the Supreme Court, Aadhaar cannot be made mandatory,” said Gopal Krishna of the Citizens Forum for Civil Liberties.
The government has already made the use of Aadhaar mandatory for filing income tax returns.

SC notice on plea to ban Mirzapur web series, set up pre-screening body for OTT
- The petition demanded an immediate ban on further screening of the web series and sought directions from the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to set up a pre-screening committee for censoring content of similar web series, movies or other programmes release on OTT platforms.

Double temperature checks, regular monitoring keep vaccines safe in Uttarakhand
- Uttarakhand at present has over 92,000 doses of Covishield vaccine, after a second consignment was received by the state on Wednesday afternoon. The state received the first consignment of 1.13 lakh vaccines on January 13.

SC issues notice on BJP leader's plea, wants Mumbai mayor's response in 15 days
- The plea before the court was made by BJP councillor Prabhakar Tukaram Shinde, who is currently the Group Leader of the BJP in MCGM.

Nadda meets UP ministers, asks them to prep for 2022 assembly polls
- BJP state unit general secretary Ashwani Tyagi said the party’s national chief reviewed the working of the ministers. He applauded the state government and CM Yogi Adityanath for providing momentum to development work amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

Citizenship row hits GTA chairman Anit Thapa after Nepalese portal’s claim
- Anit Thapa refuted the portal's claim and claimed it was a conspiracy.

Dissent escalates in K’taka BJP against BSY after cabinet reshuffle

Sasikala tests positive for Covid days before release from prison

Will decide in 4 weeks on mercy plea of Rajiv case convict: TN Guv to SC

Internal elections, upcoming assembly polls in focus as Cong Working Committee meets today

Ahead of elections, TMC says BSF being misused

5 dead as fire breaks out at Serum facility

IT panel quizzes Facebook, Twitter over data protection

‘Construction in our own territory’: China on Arunachal village report

Army plans to deploy 10,000 troops as LAC reinforcements

Lalu Prasad under observation at RIMS after contracting pneumonia
- RIMS Director Dr Kameshwar Prasad said it seems to be a case of acute pneumonia and he has been put under round-the-clock observation.