Plan panel to seek govt nod for Phase II of Aadhaar scheme

The Planning Commission today said that it would soon seek Cabinet nod for the second phase of the Aadhaar scheme under which national identity cards are issued.

"The Unique Identification Authority of India [UIDAI] has to get periodic approval [from government]. For the second phase of the Aadhaar, we are preparing a Cabinet note," Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said while addressing the Economic Editors' Conference here.

The UIDAI, headed by Nandan Nilekani, is entrusted with the task of generating the Aadhaar unique identity cards and so far it has enrolled 10 crore citizens under the scheme and issued unique indentity numbers to 5 crore people.

Under the first phase of the project, UIDAI is to enrol 20 crore citizens by March 2012. The project aims to provide about 60 crore unique identification numbers by 2014.

The scheme was launched in September 2010 and is intended to improve implementation of social sector schemes of the government. Aadhaar identity cards are accepted as valid documents under the Know Your Customer (KYC) norms for opening bank accounts, securing mobile connections and cooking gas connections.

The Aadhaar cards will also be used to plug leakages in the government's poverty alleviation programme. The Task Force on Direct Subsidies, also headed by Nilekani, has been tasked to prepare a payment infrastructure based on the scheme.

Ahluwalia also clarified that there were no differences within the government over financial and executive authority of the UIDAI.

"UIDAI is getting our full support. We have resolved all issue related to the financial and executive authority of the body and it has been approved by the Finance Ministry," he said.

Earlier this month, he had met Expenditure Secretary to sort out the differences between the Commission and the authority regarding the functional autonomy of the UIDAI.

The controversy had erupted after Plan panel Member- Secretary Sudha Pillai had reportedly expressed reservations over UIDAI's functioning. In a letter to the Finance Ministry, she had suggested a relook into the structure of UIDAI.

Pillai had reportedly said that the Authority did not get any of its financial proposal examined by the Plan panel's Secretary or Financial Adviser.

Nilekani, however, had last month asserted that the Authority was working under a set government framework and on the basis of powers delegated to it by Prime Minister.

"We are working within the powers granted to us. If somebody feels that power should be different, then that is a different matter," Nilekani had said.