MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

RAJYA SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 373

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 18.11.2016

SUPREME COURT’S ORDER ON AADHAAR

373. SHRI RAJEEV CHANDRASEKHAR:

Will the Minister of Electronics & Information Technology be pleased to state:

• Whether the Ministry has taken cognizance of the fact that several Government agencies have violated the Supreme Court’s Order dated 11 August, 2015 and 15 October, 2015 on Aadhaar; and
• If so, whether the Ministry has taken any action to ensure that any such violations are prevented in future?

ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI P.P. CHAUDHARY)

(a): The role of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), under the Ministry, is limited to issue of Aadhaar numbers and provide authentication service 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.

(b): To ensure compliance with the Supreme Court orders, wide publicity to the voluntary nature of Aadhaar have been given. The usage of Aadhaar is governed by The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016. Section 7 of the Act provide that the Central Government or the State Government, may require that the individual shall undergo Aadhaar authentication for the purpose of establishing identity of such individuals, as a condition for receipt of a subsidy, benefit or service 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.

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