16-digit virtual identification: UIDAI system to protect privacy partially

Under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the government has mandated the linking of Aadhaar with all banking and financial instruments by March 31

A day after the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) introduced a mechanism to protect the Aadhaar data of 1.2 billion residents in the country, experts and government officials were divided over the effectiveness of the new system.

The government on Wednesday provided an option to individuals that they can generate a 16-digit virtual identification (VID) number and give it for authentication instead of Aadhaar, a 12-digit unique number which was generated after obtaining their biometric details. 

The government action followed media reports alleging a few Aadhaar User Agencies (AUAs), which are authorised to carry out authentication, illegally storing and