New Delhi: The Union IT Ministry has withdrawn a warning issued regarding the transfer of a copy of the Aadhaar card. The IT ministry said the warning was likely to be misunderstood. The instruction was not to hand over the photostat copy of the Aadhaar card. The latest announcement is that normal precautions are sufficient when sharing Aadhaar information. The ministry said the Aadhaar card has the necessary facilities to protect privacy.
The central government had directed that the photocopy of the Aadhaar card should not be shared with any institution. The Union IT ministry had issued the directive citing the possibility of misuse of Aadhaar. The central directive also said that instead of providing photocopies, the ‘masked Aadhaar’ displaying only the last four digits of the individual’s Aadhaar number should be used.
According to a notification issued by the IT Ministry on May 27, only companies licensed by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) are allowed to use Aadhaar for identification. The ministry also asked private companies such as unlicensed hotels and cinema halls not to accept or possess copies of Aadhaar cards.
The ministry said such illegal possession of a copy of Aadhaar would be a punishable offense under the Aadhaar Act 2016. The ministry had also directed such institutions to check whether they have a UIDAI license if they require an Aadhaar card or a copy of it. The proposal, which includes all of these warnings, has now been withdrawn.
English Summary: Centre withdraws ‘don’t share Aadhaar photocopy’ advice, says exercise ‘normal prudence’