Govt plan may open Aadhaar up again foruse by private firms

At present, financial institutions and telecom companies are the only agencies that can seek Aadhaar for authentication of users or clients

The Union government on Thursday released for feedback changes to rules regarding Aadhaar, suggesting the identity verification mechanism be opened for entities other than government ministries and departments, and expanding the purpose for which the ID can be used to include “ease of living” services.

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If formalised, the rules could reopen the Aadhaar system to more private companies, which will need to submit a proposal to a government department or ministry to be allowed to use Aadhaar for authentication.

At present, financial institutions and telecom companies are the only agencies that can seek Aadhaar for authentication of users or clients. They were included by way of a 2019 law, after the Supreme Court in its 2018 order on Aadhaar barred all private companies from seeking the 12-digit identity number.

“The new rules will essentially allow any private entity other than a bank, insurance company or telecom provider to ask people to present their Aadhaar numbers voluntarily,” said an official aware of the matter, asking not to be named.

The government, in a statement, said the new rule was meant to “enable ease of living and better access to services for citizens”.

Enable ease of living will, if the rule is adopted, become the fourth purpose for which Aadhaar can be sought, in addition to “ensuring good governance”, “prevention of dissipation of social welfare benefits”, and “enablement of innovation and the spread of knowledge”.

The new rule also says that any entity that desires to use Aadhaar authentication for the listed purposes shall prepare a proposal giving justification and demonstrate that it is “in the interest of state” to gain permission by the ministry or department related to use Aadhaar.

Experts said the move could be at odds with the spirit of the Supreme Court rulings, including the one on privacy.

“The amendments, particularly those at Rule 4, need to be implemented keeping in mind the caution from the Supreme Court in the Puttaswamy judgment. Consent or choice built into the Aadhaar Act also has to be adhered to whilst evaluating proposals. Need for specificity on the entities to which this facility is being extended means that UIDAI intends to adapt to protect or ring fence against misuse is critical,” said NS Nappinai, Supreme Court lawyer and founder of Cybersaathi.

“In seeking to provide for Aadhaar authentication by entities other than ministries and departments of the Union and state governments, the draft amendments stand in violation of the Puttaswamy judgement,” said Prateek Waghre, a policy advisor with tech policy thinktank Internet Freedom Foundation.

“Further, that this is happening despite a pending challenge to the Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Act, 2019, in the Supreme Court and the absence of a robust and functional data protection regime, which will adversely affect the Right to Privacy of the citizens of India,” he added.

Aadhaar is a 12-digit number that links to biometric data of an individual, creating a unique identity. This identity is linked to the person’s bank details, phone number, government schemes and other financial services.

At present, over 300 government ministries and departments are allowed to use Aadhaar-based authentication.