Lok Sabha Question No. 3349 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-03-22
Subject: Aadhaar for Various Services
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: M. K. RAGHAVAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3349

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 22.03.2017

## AADHAAR  FOR  VARIOUS  SERVICES

## 3349.  SHRI M.K.  RAGHAVAN:

Will the Minister of ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Supreme Court has intervened in the compulsory demand of Aadhaar Card for various usages in Government sector and issued an interim order on the same;
- (b) if so, the details including the details of the interim order;
- (c) whether  the  Government  is  further  insisting  for  compulsory  production  and  linkage  of Aadhaar Card in various sectors other than those identified by the Supreme Court;
- (d) if  so,  whether  it  has  come  to  the  notice  that  EPFO  has  now  made  compulsory  Aadhaar linkage of accounts for its pensioners;
- (e) if so, the various other services for which Aadhaar has been made mandatory; and
- (f) the steps Government will take to protect the interim judgment of the Supreme Court and also the privacy of the citizens?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND   INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI P.P. CHAUDHARY)

- (a) and (b): The Hon'ble Supreme Court in W.P. (C) No. 494 of 2012 and connected matters had passed the following Interim orders:
- (i) In its Interim Order dated 23-09-2013 the Hon'ble Court had directed '....In the meanwhile, no person should suffer for not getting the Aadhaar card inspite of the fact that some authority had issued  a  circular  making  it  mandatory  and  when  any  person  applies  to  get  the  Aadhaar  Card voluntarily, it may be checked whether that person is entitled for it under the law and it should not be given to any illegal immigrant'
- (ii) While referring the tagged matters to a larger bench, the Hon'ble Supreme Court had inter alia directed the following in its interim Order dated 11.08.2015:-
- '…1. The Union of India shall give wide publicity in the electronic and print media including radio and television networks that it is not mandatory for a citizen to obtain an Aadhaar card;
2. The production of an Aadhaar card will not be condition for obtaining any benefits otherwise due to a citizen;

3. The Unique Identification Number or the Aadhaar card will not be used by the respondents for any  purpose  other  than  the  PDS  Scheme  and  in  particular  for  the  purpose  of  distribution  of foodgrains,  etc.  and  cooking  fuel,  such  as  kerosene.  The  Aadhaar  card  may  also  be  used  for  the purpose of the LPG Distribution Scheme;

4.  The  information  about  an  individual  obtained  by  the  Unique  Identification  Authority  of  India while issuing an Aadhaar card shall not be used for any other purpose, save as above, except as may be directed by a Court for the purpose of criminal investigation...'

(iii) In its Order dated 15-10-2015 the Hon'ble Supreme Court had inter alia directed the following:'3. After hearing the learned Attorney General for India and other learned senior counsels, we are of the  view  that  in  paragraph  3  of  the  Order  dated  11.08.2015,  if  we  add,  apart  from  the  other  two Schemes,  namely,  P.D.S.  Scheme  and  the  L.P.G.  Distribution  Scheme,  the  Schemes  like  The Mahatma  Gandhi  National  Rural  Employment  Guarantee  Scheme  (MGNREGS),  National  Social Assistance Programme (Old Age Pensions, Widow Pensions, Disability Pensions) Prime Minister's Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) and Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) for the present, it would  not  dilute  earlier  order  passed  by  this  Court.  Therefore,  we  now  include  the  aforesaid Schemes apart from the other two Schemes that this Court has permitted in its earlier order dated 11.08.2015.'

(c), (d)  and (e): The role of UIDAI under the Ministry is limited to issue of Aadhaar numbers and provide authentication services for establishing identity of the beneficiaries.  The usage of Aadhaar for delivery of welfare service benefits or any other purpose and the extent to which Aadhaar is to be used  is  to  be  determined  by  the  Implementing  agencies  such  as  State  Governments  /  Central Ministries and other agencies.

The  usage  of  Aadhaar  is  governed  by  The  Aadhaar  (Targeted  Delivery  of  Financial  and  Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016('Act').   Section 7 of the Act provides that the Central Government  or,  as  the  case  may  be,  the  State  Government  may,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing identity  of  an  individual    as  a  condition  for  receipt  of  a  subsidy,  benefit  or  service  for  which expenditure is incurred from the Consolidated Fund of India, require that such individual undergo authentication, or furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar number or in the case of an individual to whom  no  Aadhaar  number  has  been  assigned,  such  individual  shall  make  an  application  for enrolment.  Section 7 further provides that, if an Aadhaar number is not assigned to an individual, the  individual  shall  be  offered  alternate  and  viable  means  of  identification  for  delivery  of  the subsidy, benefit or service.

(f): The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 (Act No. 18 of 2016) ('Act'), has come into force from 12.09.2016. The Act provides for a robust  framework  to  ensure  the  privacy  including  data  integrity  and  data  security  of  identity information and authentication records of individuals. Section 29 of the Act provides that no core biometric information (iris and fingerprints) shall be shared with anyone for any reason whatsoever, and the same shall not be used for any purpose other than Aadhaar generation and authentication.  It further provides that no Aadhaar number or core biometrics collected or created under this Act in respect of an Aadhaar number holder shall be published, displayed or posted publicly, except for the purposes as may be specifically provided for by the regulations framed under this Act.

Section 33 of the Act provides in detail the circumstances and manner in which disclosure of identity information (except core biometrics) or authentication records can be made. Disclosure can be made only pursuant to an order of a court not inferior to that of a District Judge and / or disclosure made in the interest of national security in pursuance of a direction of an officer not below the rank of a Joint Secretary  to  the  Government  of  India  specially  authorized  for  the  said  purpose.  Further,  any direction  issued  pursuant  to  concerns  of  national  security,  shall  be  reviewed  by  an  Oversight Committee consisting of the Cabinet Secretary and the Secretaries to the Government of India in the Department of Legal Affairs and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, before it takes effect. Any such direction would be valid for three months from date of issue and extended for further period of three months after review by the Oversight Committee.

UIDAI's  Central  Identities  Data  Repository  (CIDR)  facilities,  Information  Assets,  Logistics  and Infrastructure and Dependencies installed at UIDAI have been classified as Protected System under section 70 (1) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 w.e.f. 11 December 2015. UIDAI in order to further  strengthen  its  security  protocols  has  received  ISO  27001  certification  which  is  globally accepted as the highest standard for IT security.

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