Crucial Aspects of the Aadhaar Bill 2016

BENGALURU: On 3^rd March 2016, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, introduced the Aadhaar Bill which is all set to see the light of the day as an enforceable law for it has been passed by Lok Sabha, by voice vote, as a money bill. It is deemed to be passed in a couple of weeks after the Rajya Sabha holds a discussion over it given the fact that Rajya Sabha cannot make amendments in a Money Bill passed by Lok Sabha and transmitted to it. Here are the crucial aspects of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill 2016 cultivated from prsindia.org.

Banking upon Aadhaar’s Huge Repository

The Aadhaar Project is considered as the worlds largest of its kind; Arun Jaitley stated that 97 percent of Indian adults held Aadhaar cards.  Upon enacting the bill government can provide targeted services to beneficiaries using the 12 digit unique identity number called Aadhaar, to which the beneficiary’s bank account can be linked to. This would ensure transparency in the transaction while curbing possibilities of delays and corruption. Consequently Aadhaar number would be made mandatory for availing government subsidies.  The Aadhaar number has already been successfully employed for Direct Benefit Transfer and Public Distribution System and has also been in use by various other central as well as state government agencies.

Eligibility and Information Required

“Any person who has resided in India for 182 days in the one year preceding the date of application for enrolment for Aadhaar.” as the bill quotes is eligible for Aadhaar. The information required to avail an Aadhaar card would be his/her biometrics (photograph, finger print, iris scan) and demographics (name, date of birth, address). The bill also states that any public or private entity may accept the Aadhaar number as a proof of identity but specifically states that Aadhaar number cannot be treated as a proof of citizenship.

Authentication

The bill states that the authentication record would be maintained by the UID authority which would consist of a chairperson, two part-time members and a chief executive officer.  The chairperson and members are required to have experience of at least ten years in matters such as technology, governance, etc. As per the bill, the key functions of the UID Authority include (i) specifying demographic and biometric information to be collected during enrolment, (ii) assigning Aadhaar numbers to individuals, (iii) Authenticating Aadhaar numbers, and (iv) Specifying the usage of Aadhaar numbers for delivery of subsidies and services. 

Revealing the Information

Any entity (an agency or person) will require the consent of the individual before authenticating his/her information from the UID authority. The bill also states that the entity may use the disclosed information only for purposes for which the individual has given consent. The UID would respond to an authentication query with a positive, negative or other appropriate response. However, the UID is not permitted to share an individual’s finger print, iris scan and other biological attributes. The authority would also record the entity requesting verification along with time of request and response received while the purpose for which an individual's identity needs to be verified will not be maintained.

Biological Data to be Withheld

An individual’s biological attribute which includes, finger print, iris scan etc. would only be used for Aadhaar enrolment and authentication. The bill guarantees that the information would not be shared to anyone nor be displayed publicly, except in the interest of national security whereby if a Joint Secretary in the central government issues a direction for revealing the same. The bill quotes,” “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.”

Enforcing Privacy and Protection

The bill has also included provision for ensuring privacy and protection of this crucial data of the population. “A person may be punished with imprisonment up to three years and minimum fine of Rs 10 lakh for unauthorized access to the centralized data-base, including revealing any information stored in it.” it reads and also adds that “No court shall take cognizance of any offence except on a complaint made by the UID authority or a person authorized by it.” Lets us hope the digital security of the data is too good for hackers to break in.

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