Lok Sabha Question No. 312 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-02-03
Subject: Aadhaar Cards
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Raghu Ramakrishna Raju Kanumuru

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND  INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 312

TO BE ANSWERED ON 03.02.2021

## AADHAAR CARDS

## 312. SHRI KANUMURU RAGHU RAMA KRISHNA RAJU:

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

(a)  whether  the  Government has been  able to achieve the task of providing UIDAI Cards to the citizens across the country;

(b) if so, the details thereof;

(c) the details of the challenges being faced by the Government in enrolment of the people;

(d)  whether the Government has taken note of the fact that there is little awareness about  the  Aadhaar  Enrolment  Centres  among  the  people  and  if  so,  the  remedial measures being taken by the Government to increase awareness about these centres;

(e)  whether  the  Government  has  taken  note  of  the  fact  that  Aadhaar  Card  is  still treated  as  only  an  additional  document  as  compared  to  Ration  Card  and  Driving Licence for authentication and if so, the reaction of the Government thereto and the reasons therefor; and

(f) the measures being taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR  ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## (SHRI SANJAY DHOTRE)

(a) to (d): Yes, Sir. The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits  And  Services)  Act,  2016  is  an  act  to  provide  for,  as  a  good  governance, efficient,  transparent,  and  targeted  delivery  of  subsidies,  benefits  and  services,  the expenditure  for  which  is  incurred  from  the  Consolidated  Fund  of  India  or  the Consolidated Fund of the State to  individuals  residing  in  India  through  assigning  of unique identity numbers (Aadhaar number) to such individuals.

Any individual who has resided in India for a period or periods amounting in all to one hundred and eighty-two days or more in the twelve months immediately preceding the date of application for enrolment or an NRI holding valid Indian passport are eligible for Aadhaar enrolment on providing valid documents at the enrolment centre within the country;

As on 15 th January 2021, a total of 127.83  Crore Aadhaar have been generated against the projected population (2020) of about 137.05 crore. However, the actual number of Aadhaar  holders  is  lesser  due  to  deaths.  Hence,  the  concept  of  'Live  Aadhaar'  has been introduced to estimate the number of persons holding Aadhaar who are alive. It is estimated that the number of 'Live Aadhaar' stands at 123.49 crore. Overall Aadhaar

(live) saturation in the country is 90.11%. As on 15 th January 2021, more than 50,000 Aadhaar  counters are operational, which includes 23,706 of State Registrars, 11,270 of Banks, 10,003 of India Post, 4,617 of CSC e-Gov, 488 of UIDAI Aadhaar Seva Kendras, 370 of BSNL & 20 of UTIITSL. The  details  of  Aadhaar  Enrolment  &  Update  Centres  is  made  available  to  general public on the official website of UIDAI at the link https://appointments.uidai.gov.in/easearch.aspx?AspxAutoDetectCookieSupport=1 and on  the  mAadhaar  App.  In  order  to  spread  awareness  about  the  centers,  UIDAI  has constantly been providing information through various platforms of Social Media. (e) and (f): Aadhaar number is a twelve-digit identification number which enables an Aadhaar number holder to establish his/ her identity. As  per  Section  4(3)  of  the  Aadhaar  (Targeted  Delivery  of  Financial  and  Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, every Aadhaar number holder to establish his identity, may voluntarily use his Aadhaar number in physical or electronic from by way of authentication or offline verification or in such other form as may be notified, in such manner as may be specified by regulations. Section 4(6) of the Act provides that, every requesting entity, to  whom  an authentication request is made by an Aadhaar number holder under Section 4(3) of the Act,  shall  inform  to  the  Aadhaar  number  holder  of  alternate  and  viable  means  of identification and shall not deny any service to him for refusing to, or being unable to, undergo authentication. Further, as per section 4(7) of the Act, mandatory authentication of an Aadhaar number holder  for  the  provision  of  any  service  shall  take  place  if  such  authentication  is required by a law made by Parliament.

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