Page 2 - Aadhaar

Aadhaar not proof of birth, residence, or citizenship: CEC Gyanesh Kumar

Kumar emphasised that providing an Aadhaar number is optional under both the Aadhaar Act and the Representation of the People Act, 1950

Why the Supreme Court is right to question ECI's voter review in Bihar

The court has correctly stepped in to point out that, under the law as written, a unique ID must be accepted as proof of identity, more so as the ECI plans a countrywide SIR

Accept Aadhaar card as 12th document: EC tells Bihar poll authority

The Election Commission has asked its Bihar poll machinery to accept Aadhaar card as an additional document to establish the identity of electors following the Supreme Court's directives. In a letter to the state Chief Electoral Officer on Tuesday, the Commission said "The Aadhaar card shall be treated as the 12th document, in addition to the 11 documents listed..." The EC made it clear that the Aadhaar card is to be accepted and utilised as a "proof of identity and not as a proof of citizenship", in terms of Section 9 of the Aadhaar (Delivery of Financial And Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act. Under Section 23(4) of the Representation of People Act, 1950, the Aadhaar Card is already one of the documents enumerated for the purpose of establishing the identity of a person. The poll panel also cautioned that "any instance of non-compliance or refusal to accept Aadhaar in accordance with this directive shall be treated with utmost seriousness". The Supreme Court on Monday .

Bihar SIR case: SC allows excluded voters to submit claims with Aadhaar

'Surprised' at limited role of parties in helping voters whose names were deleted

Aadhaar not sole proof of citizenship in voter rolls, must be verified: SC

The Supreme Court agreed with the Election Commission that Aadhaar cannot alone prove citizenship for voter lists and must be verified before including or keeping names in electoral rolls

Aadhaar face authentication transactions surpass 2-billion mark, says MeitY

In its monthly data released on August 8, the ministry also said that face authentication reached an all-time high of 193.6 million transactions in July 2025

EC's refusal to accept Aadhaar as voter ID in Bihar is 'absurd': ADR

ADR criticised the Election Commission's refusal to accept Aadhaar as valid voter ID in Bihar's roll revision, calling the move "patently absurd" given Aadhaar's widespread use in official documents

No plan to scrap post-matric scholarship for ST/SC students: Centre

The Centre has said there is no proposal to discontinue the Post-Matric Scholarship scheme for Scheduled Tribe or Scheduled Caste students. There have been concerns about whether the scheme will continue beyond 2025-26. In a written response in Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale said the objective of the scheme is to increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) of SC and ST students in higher education and that there is no plan to scrap the scheme. Both schemes are currently being implemented with funding and eligibility parameters approved by the Cabinet and Expenditure Finance Committee, which remain valid from financial year 2021-22 to 2025-26. The Centre-State funding patterns differ for SC and ST students. For SC students, the cost-sharing ratio is 60:40 between the Centre and the states, except for the North-Eastern states, where it is 90:10. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment releases the central share directly to studen

Have the right to 'verify citizenship', EC tells SC on Bihar roll revision

The Election Commission told the Supreme Court that it is legally bound to verify citizenship in Bihar's voter roll revision, citing constitutional and legal duty to ensure only citizens are included

Children's Aadhaar may be deactivated if biometrics not updated by 7: UIDAI

UIDAI said that the first Mandatory Biometric Update must be done between ages of five and seven to avoid any charges

No slips, no forms: Aadhaar e-KYC now live for Post Office RD, PPF

Depositors can open and manage recurring deposit and public provident fund accounts using Aadhaar biometrics

UPI leads digital shift as 48% MSMEs use it for business transactions

A new report shows nearly half of MSMEs now prefer UPI for transactions, highlighting a major shift towards digital tools to boost efficiency and income across small businesses

Himachal first to use Aadhaar face recognition for ration distribution

Himachal Pradesh became the first state in the country to introduce Aadhaar-based face authentication (FaceAuth) for the distribution of ration to eligible beneficiaries under the Public Distribution System (PDS), officials said on Saturday. Until now, authentication was carried out using either OTP-based or biometric methods. However, frequent challenges such as SMS delivery failures and biometric mismatches at the UIDAI end were causing inconvenience to the beneficiaries, Gokul Butail, Principal Advisor to the Chief Minister, said in a statement. With the launch of the FaceAuth mechanism, the process has now been streamlined and made more accessible, Butail noted, adding that, unlike traditional methods, this new facility uses a mobile camera via an app installed on the fair price shop (FPS) owner's smartphone, enabling direct facial authentication of beneficiaries. "In a significant technological advancement, the department of Digital Technologies and Governance (DDTG), Himachal

Aadhaar authentication hits 2.29 bn-mark in June; face authentications rise

The Aadhaar-based authentication is being used to deliver welfare services and enable people to access services from various providers

RBI issues final guidelines on due diligence of AePS touchpoint operators

RBI's new AePS guidelines, effective January 2026, require acquiring banks to perform due diligence, monitor transactions, and update KYC of inactive operators

Face authentication to be made mandatory for Anganwadi beneficiaries

The women and child development ministry has directed all states and Union territories to implement mandatory face recognition system for take-home ration distribution and child attendance monitoring at Anganwadi centres. According to a letter issued by the ministry last month, the face recognition feature will now be accessible within the beneficiary profiles on the Poshan tracker application. Beneficiaries will also have the option to self-register using the citizen module of the tracker for e-KYC and photo capture. From July 1, marking attendance and recording hot cooked meal consumption for children aged 3-6 years will be compulsory across Anganwadi centres. The same date marks the beginning of mandatory face recognition-based authentication for take-home ration distribution. The move aims to ensure last-mile delivery and plugging leakages in the system. The ministry has also said that from August 1, face recognition will be made mandatory at the time of new beneficiary ...

Tatkal tickets to be available only for Aadhaar-verified users from July 1

The Railways Ministry said allowing only Aadhaar-authenticated users for Tatkal train tickets will help ensure the Tatkal scheme's benefits reach genuine, common users

Verify Aadhaar via app, act on fake ids used for travel: Railway Ministry

Ticket checking staff will authenticate passengers' Aadhaar IDs in real-time using the mAadhar application developed by the Unique Identification Authority of India, the Railway Ministry said in an official communication to all zones. The ministry said that the initiative has been taken after instances of individuals staying unauthorisedly in India with fake or forged Aadhaar cards and using them as identity proof for various purposes, including employment and travel, have been brought to its notice. "In order to curb impersonation and misuse of Aadhar Card, it is imperative to strengthen identity verification mechanisms. TC (Ticket checking) staff must check and verify Passenger IDs at random on every trip," the Railway Ministry said in the letter addressed to the Principal Chief Commercial Managers. It noted, "The mAadhaar application, developed by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), is useful for easy verification. The App provides several features, including QR ...

How Indian Railways plans to curb fraud with Tatkal booking overhaul

Indian Railways has made Aadhaar verification mandatory for Tatkal bookings to stop bots and scalpers, giving verified passengers priority access

Aadhaar sharing for voters to remain voluntary; no legal changes planned

As the Election Commission works to purify electoral rolls of duplicate entries, sources in the government asserted on Tuesday that Aadhaar sharing by voters on a voluntary basis as prescribed in the law will remain unaltered. They underlined that sharing Aadhaar details with poll authorities is voluntary under the Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021 and it will continue to remain so. The sources also noted that there is no plan to tweak the law or related rules in this regard. They were responding to questions on whether there was a proposal to make Aadhaar sharing compulsory as also whether voters who don't share details will have to explain before poll authorities the reasons for not giving out details. They said the ground rules will remain unaltered and no provision is proposed to be added as of now. Amid a debate on the purity of electoral rolls, the Election Commission had said last month that the regular updating process of the voter list will be strengthened in close ...