A significant new regulation aimed at curbing the widespread practice of hotels, event organisers, and other entities collecting and storing physical photocopies of customers' Aadhaar cards is set to be notified soon. This move directly targets activities that contravene the existing Aadhaar Act.
Mandatory Registration for Offline Verification
Bhuvnesh Kumar, the CEO of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), revealed that the authority has approved a new rule requiring the registration of all entities that seek to perform Aadhaar-based verification. The primary objective is to strongly discourage paper-based verification methods that pose privacy risks.
"The new rule has been approved by the authority and will be notified soon. It will mandate registration of offline verification-seeking entities like hotels, event organisers. The objective is to discourage paper-based Aadhaar verification," Kumar stated in an interview.
Technology-Driven Solution for Secure Checks
Upon registration, these entities will gain access to new technology, including an Application Programming Interface (API), to integrate their systems for seamless, digital verification. The cornerstone of this new system will be identity verification via QR code scanning or through a dedicated Aadhaar application currently under development.
This technological shift is expected to resolve persistent service disruptions caused by the downtime of intermediate servers that connect to the central Aadhaar database. The new app-to-app verification method, being beta-tested by UIDAI, eliminates the need for a constant connection to the central server for every single transaction.
Enhanced Privacy and User Benefits
The upcoming app is designed for versatile use at various touchpoints, from airport check-ins to shops requiring age verification for certain products. Bhuvnesh Kumar emphasized that this digital ease will enhance offline verification without using paper, thereby maintaining user privacy and eliminating the risk of Aadhaar data leakage and misuse.
Furthermore, the official highlighted that the new app will fine-tune Aadhaar authentication services in alignment with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, which is scheduled to become fully operational within the next 18 months.
In a significant user-centric feature, the application will also empower citizens to directly update their address proof documents and add family members who do not own a mobile phone to the same app, streamlining the management of family data securely.
