UIDAI CEO elevated to position of secretary

The government has promoted the Aadhaar-issuing body UIDAI's CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey to the position of secretary.
Pandey is a 1984-batch IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre and has been the head of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) since September 2015.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has promoted Pandey as secretary, official sources said.
The department of personnel and training (DoPT) issued an order to this effect on June 21.
The UIDAI is the nodal body responsible for rolling out Aadhaar, the 12-digit biometric identification number to all residents.
While more than 115.8 crore Aadhaar numbers have been generated in the country, the Aadhaar authentications have crossed 650 crore till date.

The elevation comes at a time when the Aadhaar is being made mandatory for availing the benefits of various government schemes and services.
Recently, the government made quoting of the biometric identity number compulsory for opening of bank accounts as well as for any financial transaction of Rs 50,000 and above.