New Delhi:
The Unique Identification Authority of India has asked state governments and entities to verify Aadhaar before accepting it in physical or electronic form to monitor its misuse, an official statement on Thursday said.
Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) said it claims that verification of Aadhaar number after authorization of Aadhaar holder is the right step to establish the authenticity of any form of Aadhaar – Aadhaar letter, e-Aadhaar, Aadhaar PVC card, and m-Aadhaar, presented by an individual.
“UIDAI has requested the state governments by stressing the need for pre-use verification and has urged the states to provide the necessary guidance so that when Aadhaar is submitted as proof of identity – authentication/verification of the residents is performed by the concerned entity who uses Aadhaar as an identity proof,” the statement said.
UIDAI has also issued circulars to emphasize the need for verification and specify the protocol to follow.
“It prohibits unscrupulous elements and anti-social elements from indulging in potential abuse. It also promotes usage hygiene and reaffirms UIDAI’s position that any 12-digit number is not Aadhaar. The tampering with Aadhaar documents can be detected by offline verification and tampering is a criminal offense and subject to penalties under Section 35 of the Aadhaar Act,” the statement said.
Any Aadhaar can be verified using the QR code available on all forms of Aadhaar using the mAadhaarApp or the Aadhaar QR code scanner.
“The QR code scanner is available for free for both Android and iOS-based mobile phones, as well as window-based applications,” the statement said.
Aadhaar is accepted for about 1,000 government schemes and UIDAI is in active discussions with states to use the Aadhaar platform in several other schemes.
It is voluntary for residents to use the Aadhaar number to establish their identity by presenting their Aadhaar in paper or electronic form.
UIDAI has spent more than 135 crore Aadhaar so far.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is being published from a syndicated feed.)
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