PFRDA mulls non-Aadhar KYC tools for online NPS scheme

To allow new subscribers avail NPS scheme online, the pension fund regulator PFRDA is working on an alternative to know KYC details of customers after the Supreme Court imposed restrictions on use of Aadhar card for the verification purpose.

"It (allowing new subscribers to open NPS scheme online) was dependent on Aadhar verification and if we can't do that, the whole things fall flat...We are exploring other things, non-Aadhar related ways... We are going ahead with plans. It will take little more time," PFRDA Chairman Hemant Contractor told reporters here on the sidelines of a CII event.

The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is all set to launch an online facility for opening of accounts under the National Pension System (NPS) to net in prospective customers.

At present, subscribers have to go to a bank or any other agency designated as a point of presence by PFRDA to open their accounts.

"The issue was that this (allowing new subscribers to open NPS scheme online) was going to be an Aadhar-based facility, we would have depended on Aadhar card for the KYC, which meant that person wanting to join NPS, he would give Aadhar card number," Contractor said.

He further said, "Based on that number, we would check with UIDAI whether this person was indeed the person he claims to be, now in view of the Supreme Court order, the UIDAI is now prohibited from sharing any member subscriber information with third parties. So we cannot do the checking."

The Supreme Court in an interim order on August 11 had said Aadhar card will be optional for availing various welfare schemes of the government and no personal information of the holders of such cards shall be shared by any authority.

On the issue, IDFC Executive Chairman Rajiv Lall said, "Supreme Court's interim order on privacy issue related to Aadhar is potentially trublesome...There should be no objection to allowing banks or other financial institution for using Aadhar card for the purpose of authorisation."

Echoing similar views, Alok Pande, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, said that not making Aadhar mandatory for social schemes like MNREGA would result in leakage of government subsidies.

"The other big ticket item under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) is NREGA after LPG. Since Aadhar is not mandatory, there will be issues at the village level. Because there might be many people with the similar name...There is no house number in many cases; without Aadhar number you might find it very difficult to route subsidies to correct person," Pande said.