The Centre recently issued a statement, two days after the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) advised people not to provide photocopies of their Aadhaar to establishments like hotels and cinemas to prevent potential misuse. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology expressed concerns that the advisory may be misinterpreted.
The original advisory, issued on May 27 by the UIDAI’s regional office in Bengaluru, was prompted by an individual allegedly involved in an international drug trafficking operation. This person was caught using forged Aadhaar cards to book illegal export cargo of prohibited substances, with one shipment destined for Australia being seized at the Bengaluru airport.
The Customs Intelligence Unit seized 4.4 kg of ephedrine crystals worth Rs 90 lakh hidden in a shipment of garments at the Bengaluru airport’s international courier terminal. The accused individual was apprehended on May 20.
In its advisory, the UIDAI urged people to only share their Aadhaar details with entities licensed by the Authority, without specifying how to verify this.
While withdrawing the UIDAI’s advisory, the IT Ministry emphasized the need for “normal prudence” and assured that the Aadhaar identity authentication system provides adequate features to protect privacy. The ministry did not define “normal prudence.”
Before the advisory was withdrawn, many people were surprised and expressed concerns on social media as they regularly provided Aadhaar photocopies for various services. This seemed to contradict the security claims made by the former UIDAI chief in 2018.
Critics have raised privacy concerns related to Aadhaar, with a recent report noting that UIDAI did not ensure the security of personal information used for Aadhaar authentication.
In 2018, the Supreme Court struck down a part of the Aadhaar Act, which allowed private entities to collect Aadhaar details, deeming it unconstitutional. However, the UIDAI later clarified that Aadhaar eKYC can be used to authenticate government beneficiaries, and new laws were passed to allow banks and telecom operators to collect Aadhaar details as proof of identity.
divSoumyarendra Barik is Special Correspondent with The Indian Express…
