Almost 210 sites of the state and central government divisions were discovered to be showing Aadhaar numbers and personal data of beneficiaries. The Parliament was later made knowledgeable about this matter.
“The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has taken this matter into consideration and is frequently checking the status to get the Aadhaar information eliminated from the cited sites,” said PP Chaudhary to the media in a statement in Lok Sabha. Chaudhary is the Minister of State for Electronics and IT.
The checking came after it was discovered that almost 210 sites of State Government as well as Central Government Departments comprising educational organizations were showing the catalog of beneficiaries coupled with their address, name, as well as other data along with Aadhaar numbers. “There has been no seepage of Aadhaar details from the UIDAI,” Chaudhary further added.
Chaudhary claimed that private companies have not purchased any Aadhaar details comprising biometrics from the UIDAI. Sharing of Aadhaar data is carried out only with authorized organizations via secure apps after following deep-rooted protocols and procedures. The sharing of Aadhaar data is synchronized in terms of the Aadhaar regulations 2016 shaped below the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, Benefits and Services), Act 2016.
“As on this week, 123 proposals of various Central Departments/Ministries have been notified below Section 57 or 7 of Aadhaar Act, 2016. Regarding these schemes, Aadhaar number is essential for the purpose of creating identity of a person to allow benefits, receipt of subsidies, and services among others,” he further added. To another question, he stated that the connection of PAN (Permanent Account Number) database with Aadhaar number will permit a “healthy way” of de-repetition. This will be possible as Aadhaar is derived from biometric attributes of iris images and finger prints.
“Some cases were discovered where various PANs have been given to one individual or one PAN has been given to several individuals in spite of the application of de-replication procedure based on demographic information,” he claimed. “Seeding of Aadhaar will permit elimination any unnoticed duplicate PANs,” he further added while talking to the media.###
