Can you also be denied foodgrains for not having the Aadhaar number?

Till the time Aadhaar is assigned to a beneficiary, subsidised foodgrains will have to be given on production of ration card, enrolment slip and other stipulated documents like election card.
Aadhar card
Aadhar card

NEW DELHI: Amid persisting confusion over the linking of the Aadhaar number to mobile numbers among others, telecom operators have insisted they will need to link the SIM to the Aadhaar number when a consumer, who does not have an Aadhaar card, opts to get a new connection. The government had on Wednesday said it can extend the deadline for linking of Aadhaar to bank accounts, mobile numbers and welfare schemes till March 31, 2018, for those who do not have the 12-digit biometric identification number.

Commenting on the issue, Rajan Mathews, director general, Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI), the apex body of mobile operators across the country, said: “There might be some retailers who would not have understood the government’s direction. But an individual has to provide other government-authenticated documents and verification may take more time, since it has to be, as of now, mandatorily re-verified and linked to Aadhaar, which they will have to eventually get.”

The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) issued a comprehensive order in this regard on Wednesday allowing Aadhaar-based re-verification of mobile numbers at users’ doorstep and also with one-time password-based authentication.

The department had earlier issued a letter on March 23, 2017, referring to a Supreme Court order earlier this year regarding e-KYC based re-verification of all existing mobile phone subscribers. A two-judge bench had on February 6 asked the Centre to put in place within a year an effective mechanism to scrutinise the details of identity of over 100 crore existing and future mobile telephone consumers.
Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi had told the apex court then that a mechanism would be put in place to scrutinise the identity of mobile users and new subscribers would be required to fill up Aadhaar-based e-KYC forms to ensure correct identity.

Referring to the SC directive, the DoT letter sought UID/Aadhaar based verification of new mobile subscribers and re-verification of all existing mobile subscribers. Another key issue that continues to create confusion is when non-possession of Aadhaar card can lead to denial of foodgrains and other commodities under public distribution systems (PDS).

According to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, till the time Aadhaar is assigned to a beneficiary, subsidised foodgrains will have to be given on production of ration card, enrolment slip and other stipulated documents like election card.

But again, the reality is different. Three persons, including an 11-year old girl, have allegedly died of starvation in Jharkhand recently after being denied foodgrain under PDS because of non-possession of Aadhaar card. Clarifying the position in this regard, Ajay Bhushan Pandey, CEO of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which issues the Aadhaar card, said: “The intention is to ensure that no one is denied any food benefits for lack of Aadhaar, lack of linking, or any other technical difficulty in biometric authentication. As long as a person is genuine, he has to be given the benefit, in this case, ration.”

When it comes to the Stock Exchange, too, there is confusion whether brokers will be able to operate for clients (individuals or companies) who do not have an Aadhaar card as on October 31, 2017.
To ensure compliance with anti-money laundering rules, the BSE on Thursday asked its brokers to submit details about preparedness for furnishing Aadhaar details of their clients by October 31.

This follows the government’s amending in June the Prevention of Money Laundering Rules with regard to collection of Aadhaar number from clients. For clients having an account-based relationship with reporting entities prior to June 1, Aadhaar details have to be submitted by December 31, 2017.
The amended PML rules states:  “Where the client has not submitted Aadhaar number at the time of commencement of an account-based relationship with the reporting entity, then the same should be furnished within six months. The period would be calculated from the date of starting the account-based relationship.”

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