No agreement with any US co for linking Aadhaar: Ravi Shankar Prasad

The government today said the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has not entered into an agreement with any American multinational company linking up a video- and voice-enabled call application with Aadhaar.

Last month, technology giant Microsoft said it had been working on a pilot to link Skype with the Aadhaar database to explore if the identification service can be used on video calls, including those with government institutions.

However, Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said there is no such proposal pending or under consideration.

"UIDAI has not entered into any agreement with any American multinational company linking up a video- and voice-enabled call application with Aadhaar," Prasad said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.

The US-based software giant has said it's very enthusiastic and has "embraced the universal ID system".

"We have been pursuing work, initially on a pilot basis, but it will continue to grow, to use that specific technology and integrate it into Skype," Microsoft President and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith said.

Citing an example, Smith said he expects Skype to evolve in a way that will enable somebody at home to authenticate themselves using the ID system with a fingerprint or an iris scan.

Details of the pilot were, however, not disclosed.