UIDAI mulling to issue Aadhaar with photo, QR code to discourage offline verification
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New Delhi (PTI): The Unique Identification Authority of India is mulling issuing an Aadhaar card with the holder's photo and a QR code to prevent misuse of individuals' data and discourage offline verification practices, which are in contravention of the present law, a top official said on Tuesday.
In an open online conference on a new app for Aadhaar, UIDAI CEO Bhuvnesh Kumar said that the authority is considering introducing a new rule in December to discourage offline verification by entities such as hotels, event organisers, etc, and enhance the age verification process using Aadhaar while maintaining the privacy of individuals.
"There is a thought process as to why there should be any detail on the card. It should be only a photo and a QR code. If we keep printing, then people will keep accepting what is printed. People who know how to misuse it will keep misusing it," Kumar said.
The Aadhaar Act prohibits the collection, use, or storage of an Aadhaar number or biometric information of any individual for any purpose in case of offline verification.
However, several entities continue to collect and store photocopies of the Aadhaar card.
Kumar said that legislation is in work to discourage offline verification by using an Aadhaar card copy, which will be taken up for consideration by the Aadhaar authority on December 1.
"Aadhaar should never be used as a document. It should only be authenticated with the Aadhaar number or verified using QR code. Otherwise, it can be a fake document," Kumar said.
The UIDAI held a joint meeting with several stakeholders including banks, hotels, fintech firms etc to update them on the new app in the works which is expected to be rolled out soon.
The new app is expected to fine tune Aadhaar authentication service in line with Digital Personal Data Protection Act which will be completely operational in 18 months.
The app will enable users to update their address proof documents on the new app and add other family members on the same app who don't own any mobile phone.
An UIDAI official said that the new app will also enable updating of mobile number of Aadhaar holders within the family using face authentication feature in the app.
Kumar said that the new app will replace the mAadhaar app, and it will ease the authentication process for the various entities that need to verify an individual for various purposes.
The new app will work like Aadhaar verification done by the Digiyatra app.
He said that the authentication service can generate various use cases and entities can give feedback to UIDAI on new use cases of Aadhaar authentication services.
Another UIDAI official explained that the new app will help in the verification of individuals in several cases, including entry into events, cinema halls, buying certain products where the minimum age requirement is 18 years, as well as student verifications, check-in at hotels, entry into residential societies, etc.
The official authority has published details online to update systems of offline verification seeking entities (OVSE).
He said that OVSE can use the new system to verify Aadhaar number holders both online and as proof of physical presence.
"Aadhaar holder will show the QR code in the scanner of OVSE. The system will then prompt for face verification. This will also work as proof of the presence of an Aadhaar number holder. We will open an application for OVSE very soon. We will verify details of OVSE, and once approval is done, then OVSE will have to initiate technical integration to access a QR code for updating data from the Aadhaar database," the official said.
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Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accuses Mamata Banerjee of stalling SIR; TMC hits back
Kolkata (PTI): Alleging that her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court to stall the SIR exercise to prevent the identification of infiltrators, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday claimed that the people of the state have made up their minds to dislodge the Trinamool Congress from power.
The TMC countered strongly, urging Gupta to "look into her own backyard" and accused her of making absurd allegations against the TMC government without checking facts.
Addressing participants at the 'Nari Sankalp Yatra' organised by the BJP's women's wing at Science City auditorium here, Gupta alleged that the "hands-off" and appeasement policies of the TMC government had allowed thousands of infiltrators to enter the state in recent years.
She claimed that this had put a strain on basic rights such as access to water, electricity, ration, education, livelihood and the right to vote for genuine citizens.
"She wants to perpetuate this and hence is trying to stall the SIR exercise, which aims at identifying and deporting infiltrators. Imagine a chief minister going to the apex court to argue against an exercise meant to ensure free and fair polls," Gupta said.
The BJP leader alleged that appeasement politics had reached an "alarming level" under the TMC regime.
Raising concerns over women's safety, she claimed that women in the state were not secure despite having a woman chief minister.
Referring to the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Gupta alleged that the state government had failed to respond adequately to such crimes.
She also referred to the alleged rape of a woman medic in Durgapur and another law student on a Kolkata college campus, claiming that criminals had been emboldened to commit brutalities against women.
She alleged that in crimes against women, overall crime incidents and child marriages, West Bengal remained among the top -- "a slur on a state which once led intellectual and social movements and set examples for the rest of the country," she said.
Criticising the state government's welfare initiatives, she said schemes such as Kanyashree were built on "false claims" and asserted that women needed security rather than assurances.
Accusing the state government of blocking central schemes, Gupta alleged that funds worth "lakhs of crores of rupees" had not reached the poor due to non-implementation of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission by the state.
"You are only interested in renaming projects and taking credit," she said.
Gupta also alleged that the education sector in the state had been adversely affected, saying several state-run schools had closed due to a shortage of teachers and that the government was opposed to the National Education Policy.
Drawing a comparison with BJP-ruled Delhi, Gupta said, "People have already voted out 'Bhaia' (a reference to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal). Now it is your turn to bid farewell to 'Didi'." Calling upon women to resist what she termed "strong-arm tactics", she urged them to assert their strength, invoking the imagery of Goddess Durga.
"Bengal has the right to live with dignity, and women have the right to live with dignity," she added.
Reacting to Gupta's allegations, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare minister Shashi Panja accused her of making "absurd allegations" against the Trinamool Congress government ahead of elections.
Panja alleged that during Gupta's tenure in Delhi, several incidents had raised serious concerns, including reports of missing young women and a blast near the Red Fort.
She also criticised the air pollution situation in the national capital, claiming that people were struggling to breathe.
The TMC leader said that despite being in power for a year, Gupta was making "tall claims" instead of addressing key issues in Delhi.
Panja further alleged that the Delhi CM visited West Bengal during elections to "peddle false allegations" against the state government.
Rebutting Gupta, the TMC said in a post on X said, "Madam why did you go off-script again? For your edification, here are the cold, hard facts: In total cases of crimes (IPC + SLL), Bengal ranks a respectable 15th, far safer than BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which languish near the bottom."
"In overall crime rate, Bengal sits comfortably at 28th. Who's second? Your own Delhi. Double Engine Gujarat and Haryana grab 4th and 5th as top-tier crime havens," the TMC said.
"In child marriage, Assam again takes the shameful pole position. And yet you dare lecture Bengal? Stop embarrassing yourself, stop the hypocrisy, and maybe fix the rotting mess in your own backyard before pointing fingers at a state that's outperforming your disasters on every key metric," the TMC countered.
