Aadhaar Bill or Aadhaar Act, 2016

What is Aadhaar Act or Aadhaar Bill?

The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, benefits and services) Act, 2016 is a money bill of the Parliament of India. It aims to provide legal backing to the Aadhaar unique identification number project. It was passed on the 11 March 2016 by the Lok Sabha

The Aadhaar or the unique identity of an individual came into operation with the seting up of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) by the Government of India on January 28, 2009 as an attached office of the erstwhile Plan­ning Commission of India. The UIDAI was mandated to assign a 12-digit unique identification (UID) number (termed as Aadhaar) to all the resi­dents of India. As per the notification, the UIDAI had been given the responsibility to lay down plan and policies to implement UID scheme, to own and operate the UID database and be responsible for its updation and maintenance on an ongoing basis. Starting with issuing of first UID in September 2010, the UIDAI had been targeting to issue UID—a unique 12 digit Aadhaar number to all the residents that (a) is robust enough to eliminate duplicate and fake identities, and (b) can be verified and authenticated in an easy and cost- effective way online anywhere, any­time. The Government of India in a notification dated December 16, 2010 recognize the letter issued by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) containing details of name, address and Aadhaar number, as an officially valid document. It neither aims to replace any existing identity cards nor is it a cognizance of citizenship. Aadhaar neither confers citizenship nor it guarantees rights, benefits or entitlements. Aadhaar is a random number which never starts with a 0 or 1, and is not loaded with profiling or intelligence into identity numbers that makes it in susceptible to fraud and theft. The unique ID is qualified for as a valid ID while avail­ing various government services, like a LPG connection or subsidised ration or kerosene from PDS or benefits under NSAP or pension schemes, e-sign, digital locker.

Most of the provisions of the Bill have been borrowed from the previous National Identification Authority of India Bill, 2010. The major difference is that the three-member committee called the Identity Review Committee of the previous bill was removed in the new bill.

The passage of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2016 provides legal structure not only to the DBT Scheme but also paves the way for the iden­tification of real citizens of India. Ultimately the Aadhaar number can identify unauthorized immigrants from neighbouring countries. The Bill intends to provide for targeted deli­very of subsidies and services to individuals residing in India by assigning them unique identity num­bers, called Aadhaar numbers.

Every resident shall be entitled to obtain an Aadhaar number. According to clause 2 (v) of chapter 1 of the bill, a resident is a person who has resided in India for 182 days, in the one year preceding the date of application for enrolment for Aadhaar.

Information Needed for application of Aadhaar Card:

1. Biometric identities

- photograph,

- finger print,

- iris scan and

2. Demographic information of individual:

- Name,

- date of birth,

- address.

Uses of Aadhaar Number:

- To verify the identity of a person receiving a subsidy or a service.

- Any public or private entity can accept the Aadhaar number as a proof of identity of the Aadhaar number holder, for any purpose. (However, the number is not a proof of citizenship or domicile).

Other Possible Applications of Aadhaar Number:

i. Aadhaar-enabled biometric attendance systems (AEBAS) was introduced in government offices.

ii. Issue of Passport.

iii. Linking of Aadhaar with SIM card.

iv. Employees' Provident Fund Organisation of India (EPFO) began linking provident fund accounts with Aadhaar numbers.

v. Making Aadhaar mandatory for men to create a profile on matrimonial websites, to prevent fake profiles.

vii. The National Electoral Roll Purification and Authentication Programme (NERPAP) of the Election Commission of India was started. It aims to link the Elector’s Photo Identity Card (EPIC) with the Aadhaar number of the registered voter. It aims to create an error-free voter identification system in India, especially by removing duplications.

viii. Linking Aadhaar with ration cards (Telangana and Andhra Pradesh).

ix. Enrolling all school students in the state in the Aadhaar project to implement the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Act properly(Maharashtra).

The Offences and Punish­ments for Violation of rules

A person may be punished with imprisonment up to three years and minimum fine of Rs. 10 lakh for unauthorised access to the centralised data-base, including revealing any information stored in it. If a request­ing entity and an enrolling agency fail to comply with rules, they shall be punished with imprisonment up to one year or a fine up to Rs. 10,000 or Rs. 1 lakh (in case of a company), or with both

The Exceptions for Information Sharing

As per Section 33 of the Bill there are two cases when information may be revealed :

a. In the interest of national security, a joint secretary in the central government may issue a direction for revealing,

•                   Aadhaar number,

•                   Biometric information (iris scan, finger print and other biological attributes specified by regulations),

•                   Demographic information, and

•                   Photograph.

Such a decision will be reviewed by an oversight committee (comprising Cabinet Secretary, Secretaries of Legal Affairs and Electronics and Information Technology) and will be valid for six months.

b.  On the order of a court:

i. An individual's Aadhaar number,

ii. Photograph, and

iii. Demographic information, may be revealed.

Apprehensions about Aadhaar Number:

1. Encroachment of an Indivi­dual's Privacy: The case on whether the implementation of the Aadhaar number indeed encroaches the privacy of a person is still pending in the Supreme Court. So the Opposi­tion parties were of the opinion that Parliament cannot legislate since the matter is before Supreme Court.

2. The term 'national security' is Ambiguous: 'National security' as mentioned in Section 33 (that deals with exceptions for not disclosing identity) can be misused. The con­cern is not without basis given the emotions being whipped up around nationalism and patriotism. Congress Member of Parliament Jairam Ramesh wanted the words 'national security' to be replaced by "public emergency and public safety" for sharing the bio­metric details.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley gave a detailed clarification of the term 'national security'. Jaitley said security of state over the years has come to be defined as a well defined concept. The phrase has been borrowed from the 2010 law, which was brought in by the UPA. "(The term national security) has evolved and is defined. It is something to do with integrity of the India, sovere­ignty of India. (But) there is no concept of public emergency. While national security is limited, public safety and public emergency are not constitutional phrase. "They are undefined and unjustified…….. Public safety is a vaguer phrase," while, "national security over the years is a narrower phrase. It involves interest of the security of the state, integrity of India."

3. Concerns about the Privacy of an Individual : A group of social activists are apprehensive about the legislation which may be misused for 'mass surveillance' as it does not address concerns over privacy. "It will be used for mass surveillance. The law will be an infringement on the rights of privacy of people," activist Kavita Srivastava was quoted saying in a PTI report.

Certain academicians might be apprehensive about the implications of Aadhaar on ill conceived grounds. But, this system can revolutionize the transfer of income system in the country. It is a well known fact that large sums of public money go waste every year in the form of leakages in food subsidies, kerosene subsidy, social security pensions and other transfers. Such leakages can be eliminated through the linking of Aadhaar of the beneficiary. Issue of about 100 crore Aadhaar shows the success of the scheme.

Passing of the Aadhaar Bill, 2016 empowered the union government to go with Aadhaar seeding of bene­ficiaries' accounts for both the Direct Benefit Transfer scheme and the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana. It is estimated that over Rs.6,000 crore is transferred every month as cash benefits. At present, 56 schemes across 14 ministries are already using the DBT route to reach 29.86-crore beneficiaries. Almost 60 per cent of all beneficiaries' data is Aadhaar seeded, though around 97 per cent of the adult population already has the number. Now the Union government would once again take up Aadhaar seeding, as it expects nearly Rs.45,000 crore of savings once all accounts are seeded. There will not be any exclusion from scheme benefits if Aadhaar seeding is not there, but the idea is to encourage it as it will ensure better delivery of services and cut down on fake beneficiaries.

A concern for the government is committed to reduce its subsidy bill by plugging leakages. Aadhaar based DBT is the best possible solution so far. Since, a large chunk of the popu­lation still does not have Aadhaar seeding, though the DBT scheme has expanded significantly. The govern­ment is also hoping to bring in more schemes and ministries involved in cash transfers under the DBT plat­form. In some cases, the beneficiary may have an Aadhaar number but it has not been included in his/her data. This category of beneficiaries can not be excluded from obtaining the benefits under any scheme.

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