The central government advised not to share the photocopy of Aadhaar with anyone, then took it back
The Central Government has withdrawn the press release issued by the Aadhaar issuing body UIDAI on Friday, 27 May, in which people were advised not to give photocopies of Aadhaar to any institution. The Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has given this information in a new press release on Sunday. The reason for this has been attributed to the apprehension of misinterpretation of what was said in the UIDAI press release.
Earlier, the Regional Office of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) in Bengaluru on Friday advised that people should not share their photocopy of their Aadhaar with any organization as it could be misused.
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UIDAI had also suggested this option in its press release dated 27th. It was said that people can give ‘masked Aadhaar’ instead of photocopy of Aadhaar.
At the same time, the government has advised people to apply their understanding in using and sharing Aadhaar numbers. The government has also re-claimed that adequate arrangements have been made to protect identity and privacy throughout the Aadhaar system.
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What else did UIDAI say?
In the release of UIDAI, it was told how to check any Aadhaar number online or offline. To check it online, we have to go to the official website of UIDAI and fill the required information through this link.
At the same time, to check offline, we have to scan the QR code printed on the e-Aadhaar or Aadhar card through the QR code scanner present on the app named mAadhaar.
It was also told in the release that through Aadhaar, a person can be identified only by an organization that has obtained a user license from UIDAI. According to this, unlicensed private entities such as hotels and cinema halls are not allowed to take a copy of the Aadhar card to prove the identity of a person. And doing so is an offense under the Aadhaar Act, 2016.
It was said in the release that if any private entity asks for your Aadhar card or its photocopy, please check whether that entity has a valid user license from UIDAI.
UIDAI had advised people to avoid downloading e-Aadhaar from public use computers like cyber cafes. It was also told that if it is necessary to download e-Aadhaar from those computers, then after downloading it, delete its copy from the computer forever.
Also tell how to download ‘Masked Aadhaar’
The UIDAI release also suggested the use of 4-digit ‘masked Aadhaar’ along with the possibility of misuse of Aadhaar. Along with this, the process of how to download Masked Aadhaar was also told in it.
For this, one has to go to the official website of UIDAI, where the option of ‘Download Aadhaar’ is given.
There you have to download Aadhaar by clicking on the option ‘Do you want a masked Aadhaar’. From that we get only the last four digit aadhar card. The first 8 digits are not printed in it.
There is a threat to privacy from the beginning
The Supreme Court had given a historic decision in 2018 on a petition that threatened the privacy of Aadhaar users.
According to that decision, those companies who had given their Aadhaar number to mobile companies, banks or other private companies, those companies can no longer use their data legally. If they are found to be using the data, they can be prosecuted.
If a person’s Aadhaar is misused, then they can themselves go to the police station and complain about it. A case is filed against the wrong use.
Work on Aadhaar’s plan to provide every Indian citizen with their unique identity data and use those data appropriately began in 2009. For this, an organization named UIDAI was formed in January 2009 under the leadership of Nandan Nilekani.
However, due to the opposition of the people in many countries, a plan like Aadhaar could not be implemented. Projects like Aadhaar were stopped in countries like Britain, China, Australia, France, Philippines. There is no such identity card in America also.
Surprisingly, when the Aadhaar project was proposed, the example of Britain was given. But the Government of India, ignoring this, continued with the Aadhaar scheme.
