Parliament passes Aadhaar amendment bill

Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad moved the bill to allow voluntary use of Aadhaar as proof of identity for opening bank accounts and getting mobile connections for consideration and passage in the Upper House.

Aadhar card

Published : Jul 8, 2019, 6:07 PM IST

Updated : Jul 8, 2019, 7:16 PM IST

New Delhi: Parliament on Monday passed an amendment bill which allows voluntary use of Aadhaar as proof of identity for users to open bank accounts and get mobile
phone connection.

The Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019, was passed by Rajya Sabha by a voice vote.

The Bill, which also provides for a stiff Rs 1 crore penalty and a jail term for private entities violating provisions on Aadhaar data, was already passed by Lok Sabha on
July 4.

The Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019, was introduced in Lok Sabha on June 24.

The amendments provide for use of Aadhaar number for KYC authentication on voluntary basis under the Telegraph Act, 1885, and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

New Delhi: Parliament on Monday passed an amendment bill which allows voluntary use of Aadhaar as proof of identity for users to open bank accounts and get mobile
phone connection.

The Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019, was passed by Rajya Sabha by a voice vote.

The Bill, which also provides for a stiff Rs 1 crore penalty and a jail term for private entities violating provisions on Aadhaar data, was already passed by Lok Sabha on
July 4.

The Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019, was introduced in Lok Sabha on June 24.

The amendments provide for use of Aadhaar number for KYC authentication on voluntary basis under the Telegraph Act, 1885, and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

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Bill on voluntary use of Aadhaar as ID proof moved in RS
New Delhi, Jul 8 (PTI) A bill to allow voluntary use of
Aadhaar as proof of identity for opening bank accounts and
getting mobile connections was moved in Rajya Sabha on Monday.
The Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019, which
is intended to replace an ordinance issued in March 2019, has
already been passed by Lok Sabha last week.
Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad
moved the Bill for consideration and passage in the Upper
House.
He assured the House that use of Aadhaar is voluntary and
informed consent of the biometric identity holder has to be
obtained before it is used.
The minister clarified that the Supreme Court has clearly
stated that Aadhaar subserved the legitimate aim, it does
not violate the principle of privacy, and is clearly needed
for disbursal of subsidies and saving the entire misuse
of those provisions.
"India has a population of 130 crore out of which 123.81
crore Indians are having Aadhaar. 69.38 crore mobile numbers
are linked with Aadhaar and 65.91 crore bank accounts are
linked with Aadhaar.
"We have sent Rs 7.48 lakh crore of direct benefit
transfer in more than 240 schemes to people around the country
and we have saved Rs 1.41 lakh crore," Prasad informed the
House.
He said once a child becomes an adult, he/she has the
right to withdraw or give fresh consent for obtaining Aadhaar.
"We have made amendments in the Telegraph Act whereby we
have permitted the caveat that it shall not be mandatory but
voluntary. The customer can come with Aadhaar or any other
document like passport or any other document permitted by the
regulations.
"In case of banks also it will not be mandatory by
voluntary. Aadhaar shall be one of the means of identification
among passport or others by regulation," the minister said.
Prasad said Aadhaar can be used if there is a state
objective or Parliament has passed a law backing such an
objective.
"Thirdly, the authority permits the entity that your
initiative is covered by proper privacy and security concerns
only in those scenarios this can be passed but voluntary," he
said.
Under no circumstances, the services shall be denied to
any of the beneficiary, Prasad said.
Moreover, Prasad said, to safeguard the interest of
customers vis a vis Aadhaar law, the present law also makes a
provision categorically that a banking or telecom company
violating the provisions on Aadhaar number or biometric data
shall be liable to pay Rs 1 crore fine and Rs 10 lakh per day
fine.
The amendments provide for use of Aadhaar number for KYC
authentication on voluntary basis under the Telegraph Act,
1885, and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
Put simply, this means it will allow voluntary use of
Aadhaar number for authentication and identity proof in
opening bank accounts and procuring mobile phone connections.
It also gives option to children to exit from the
biometric ID programme on attaining 18 years of age, while
stipulating stiff penalties for violation of norms set for the
use of Aadhaar and violation of privacy. PTI RSN
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Last Updated : Jul 8, 2019, 7:16 PM IST

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Parliament passes Aadhaar amendment bill

Information Technology Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad moved the bill to allow voluntary use of Aadhaar as proof of identity for opening bank accounts and getting mobile connections for consideration and passage in the Upper House.

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