In a major win for BJP Govt. the cabinet has passed an ordinance which will allow the legal use of Aadhaar by banks and telecom companies. What does this mean? Meanwhile, we will share the three important services, for which Aadhaar is mandatory now.
Aadhaar Ordinance Passed: What Does This Mean?
The Union Cabinet has passed the promulgation of an Ordinance, which makes
the voluntary use of Aadhaar legal by banks and telecom operators.
the voluntary use of Aadhaar legal by banks and telecom operators.
PM Modi, Law and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and other ministers held a meeting, after which this promulgation was passed.
The President of India will now promulgate this ordinance, after which Indian citizens can use Aadhaar voluntarily.
IT Minister Prasad said, “Aadhaar can be used as KYC on a voluntary basis under the Telegraph Act and PMLA rules. Any entity using Aadhaar will have to adhere to privacy guidelines,”
On December 18th, 2018, Supreme Court had banned any entity from enforcing Aadhaar usage, and had declared that banks, telecom firms, and other private entities have no right to use and store Aadhaar data.
This had posed a big problem, as KYC of those users who had opted for Aadhaar went invalid, and without KYC, the services cannot be used. Mobile connections of 50 crore users were at risk.
But now, as the ordinance has been passed, and only it only awaits the President’s final approval, it is now safe to assume that all Aadhaar based mobile connections will remain connected.
Aadhaar Is Mandatory For These Three Services
Notwithstanding the latest ordinance passed by the Union Cabinet, Aadhaar remains mandatory for these three types of services, which has been approved by the Supreme Court:
Aadhaar-PAN Card Linking: As per section 139AA of the Income Tax Act, linking of Aadhaar and PAN Card is mandatory. This has been done to stop tax evaders from holding multiple PAN Cards to steal tax.
Welfare Schemes: For availing welfare schemes by Govt, Aadhaar is mandatory. This includes Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Mission (AB-NHPM), wherein every economically backward family will receive Rs 5 lakh per year as health insurance.
Besides, the recently launched PM-KISAN or Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana also needs Aadhaar for 3rd installment of subsidy. For the first 2 installments, Aadhaar is not necessary.
As per a report released last year, more than Rs 90,000 crore was saved due to Aadhaar, as 3 crore+ people are using the Aadhaar related services.
