How Aadhaar hit the headlines in 2017

2017 has been an eventful year that has made the unique identity card, Aadhaar, all the more important, with the government insisting on linking Aadhaar to everything, right from banks to Permanent Account Numbers to investments, insurances, health benefits, driving licences and phones.

It has also been a year in which there has been little good news on the right to privacy and data breaches in relation to Aadhaar. There have been many alleged data breaches on which not much information is available.

As the year comes to an end, we find more and more non-governmental agencies and businesses, right from mobile wallets to social media websites, asking for Aadhaar linkages. The Supreme Court is yet to rule on right to privacy and Aadhaar, and it remains to be seen whether the Aadhaar enforcement will be smoother and safer with adequate checks in place.

In the meantime, let us take a quick look at the headlines on Aadhaar in 2017: (For best visibility of the timeline, use Chrome browser)

Jan 01: Airport makes Aadhar compulsory for employees
Tiruchi Airport made Aadhaar compulsory to avail airport entry passes for employees and officers. [News Source]

Jan 09: Aadhaar must for MGNREGS work
Aadhaar was made compulsory for workers in rural areas enrolled under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), which mandates 100 days of work for a household a year in order to avail salaries [News Source]

Jan 07: SC postpones Aadhaar hearing
The Supreme Court declined the urgent hearing of a Public interest litigation (PIL) on privacy concerns regarding use of the Aadhar card. [News Source]

Jan 07: Aadhaar made compulsory for pension schemes
Pensioners and Employees’ Provident Fund holders were asked to submit either their Aadhaar card or proof that they have applied for one by the end of January, to be able to withdraw their money [News Source]

Jan 20: Aadhaar made compulsory for IT returns
Business Standard quoted unnamed government sources saying that Aadhar would be made compulsory for availing income tax returns, by making PAN and Aadhaar link to each other. [News Source]

Jan 27: Plastic Aadhaar cards not necessary’
UIDAI says Aadhaar card printed on paper is valid and there is no need to pay for plastic laminated Aadhaar cards [News Source]

Jan 29: Aadhaar crosses 111 crore registrations
“Aadhaar generation has crossed the 111-crore mark in a population of 125 crore in the country,” announced Minister for Electronics and IT Ravi Shankar Prasad. [News Source]

Feb 05: ATM Attacker traced through Aadhaar?
Police claimed that Aadhaar card and information from UIDAI helped them nail the infamous ATM Attacker Madhukar Reddy, who had assaulted a bank employee Jyothi Uday, in an ATM near Ulsoor Gate police station [News Source]

Feb 07: Aadhaar-based patient registration in govt hospitals
Karnataka intends to add 47 government hospitals on the Union government’s Online Registration System (ORS) by March 31 which is Aadhaar-based. [News Source]

Feb 10: Get Aadhaar before June 30
The government extended deadline to avail Aadhaar card to June 30 [News Source]

Feb 25: Aadhaar biometric data breach triggers privacy concerns
Data breach was detected after UIDAI found multiple transactions done with the same fingerprint, which raised concerns of illegal storage of the data. This comes at a time when the government is pushing for Aadhaar-based transactions to promote its digital mission and the apex court is poised to debate concerns on privacy. [News Source]

Feb 28: POS industry wary of Aadhaar-enablement over cost, security issues
Mandate to make POS machines aadhaar-enabled triggers suspicion among POS industry [News Source]

Mar 05: Under the right to information law, Aadhaar data breaches will remain a state secret
Under RTI, Aadhaar users have no right to be informed when a crime related to their personal data occurs. And they cannot approach a court directly because under Section 47 (1) of the Aadhaar Act, the Unique Identification Authority of India has the exclusive power to make complaints in case of any violation or breach of privacy. [News Source]

Mar 06: Government refutes allegations of misuse of Aadhaar data
“Aadhaar-based authentication is robust and secure compared to any other contemporary system. The Aadhaar system has the capability to inquire into any instance of misuse of biometrics and identity theft and initiate action,” the UIDAI reiterated in an official statement. [News Source]

Mar 09: Aadhaar now mandatory for Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana connections
The central government made Aadhaar card mandatory for economically backward women to avail of free cooking gas connections [News Source]

Mar 26: Aadhaar-mobile linking saga starts
Cellular operators’ body COAI said its members may meet this week to discuss the modalities of rolling out the verification process for the existing one billion-plus mobile phone users. [News Source]

Mar 27: Aadhaar to be compulsory for driving licence, renewals
The government plans to make Aadhaar mandatory for new licence or renewal of one’s driving licence. [News Source]

Mar 29: Celebrity touch for Aadhaar data leak
Sakshi Dhoni, wife of cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni, says her husband’s privacy has been breached, after a government Twitter handle uploaded Dhoni’s application for Aadhaar card. [News Source]

Mar 31: Govt admits to data breach
The government officially acknowledged that personal identity of individuals, including Aadhaar number and other sensitive information, has been leaked to the public domain, and it was a punishable offence. [News Source]

Apr 06: Unique problems for South Indians in linking Aadhaar to PAN
People, especially those in the south of the country, who do not have surnames attached to their names but only initials, found it difficult to link their PAN with Aadhaar. [News Source]

Apr 10: Aadhaar must for web-access to Survey of India maps
The Survey of India, the country’s scientific and official maker of maps, has set up a web portal called Nakshe that allows 3,000 of its 7,000 maps to be downloaded for free, but the one who downloads needs to have an Aadhaar for such access. [News Source]

Apr 27: Delhi HC asks Delhi govt to allow Afghan girl to study without Aadhaar
The Delhi High Court directed the AAP government to ensure that a 12-year-old Afghan refugee girl, who was allegedly asked by her school not to attend classes as she did not have an Aadhaar card, be allowed to study. [News Source]

Apr 28: SC says Aadhaar must be voluntary
“We are alive to the orders passed by this court which says it should be voluntary,” a bench comprising Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan said. [News Source]

Apr 29: 40,000 ‘erroneous’ payments in Aadhaar-linked subsidy disbursal in Karnataka
There were nearly 40,000 suspected erroneous payments reported, in the first-ever Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS) disbursal of input subsides — given as part of drought relief — to around 18 lakh farmers in the State. [News Source]

Apr 30: Aadhaar to be compulsory for filings under Companies Act
Ministry of Company Affairs (MCA) has started work for implementing a framework to make quoting of Aadhaar compulsory in the filings made under the companies law. [News Source]

May 03: Supreme Court puts critics of Aadhaar-PAN linkage in a spot
“When a citizen is part of a tax regime, can you say that I will pay taxes only the way I want to do it… Is there a right of choice in the limited context of tax laws?” Justice A.K. Sikri, who heads the Bench also comprising Justice Ashok Bhushan, asked, pointing to the line between freedom of privacy and responsibility of a citizen. [News Source]

May 19: June 30 not a ‘deadline’ to get Aadhaar, govt. tells SC
The government retracted its statement on June 30 being the deadline to get Aadhaar, in a supreme court hearing [News Source]

May 31: PAN-Aadhaar linkage through SMS
The Income Tax Department on Wednesday urged taxpayers to link their Aadhaar with their PAN, using an SMS-based facility [News Source]

Jun 01: Postal Department initiates Aadhaar registration
The Department of Post became a registrar of UIDAI. Post office staff across the country, trained and certified by UIDAI to handle the registrations. [News Source]

Jun 04: Two arrested for making UID card without papers
The Delhi Police arrested two persons from outer Delhi’s Mongolpuri for allegedly making Aadhaar cards without documents for a higher fee. [News Source]

Jun 09: Supreme Court upholds Aadhaar-PAN linkage
Supreme Court upheld the validity of an Income Tax law amendment linking PAN with Aadhaar for filing tax returns and making Aadhaar or Aadhaar enrollment slip compulsory to apply for a Permanent Account Number (PAN) card. [News Source]

Jun 10: CBDT says Aadhaar must for filing I-T returns, new PAN from July 1
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Saturday clarified that Aadhaar card will be mandatory for filing Income Tax returns and applying for Permanent Account Number (PAN) from July 1, 2017. [News Source]

Jun 17: Aadhaar becomes compulsory for bank accounts
The government in a notification, amending a prevention of money laundering law, has made it mandatory to provide Aadhaar to open a bank account and to conduct a transaction of Rs. 50,000 or more. [News Source]

Jun 21: TB patients need Aadhaar for cash benefit
Tuberculosis patients, hospitals and healthcare workers availing cash assistance from the government will need to register with the Aadhaar database by August 31, according to the Union Health Ministry. [News Source]

Jun 23: Petitioners question Aadhaar statistics
The government statistics as told to the Supreme Court that 95.1% of the entire population is covered by Aadhaar, which has already seen 115.5 crore enrollments, is sheer “puffery” and includes the dead too. [News Source]

Jul 02: UIDAI snubs police seeking biometrics
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) snubbed all law enforcement agencies, including the Delhi Police, for their repeated requests for biometrics of people for criminal investigations. UIDAI says investigating agencies such as CBI and NIA have been sending requests for details of Aadhaar card holders. [News Source]

Jul 04: Can’t cite tech glitches to refuse Aadhaar enrolment, UIDAI warns agencies
UIDAI issued a stern warning to enrolment agencies for refusing enrolment to residents citing technical glitch or on any other pretext, and termed such refusal as “corrupt practice”. [News Source]

Jul 07: Aadhaar-linked issues to be decided by constitution bench: SC
The Supreme Court said all the issues arising out of Aadhaar should finally be decided by a larger bench and the Chief Justice of India would take a call on the need for setting up a constitution bench comprising seven or nine judges. [News Source]

Jul 10: Data of over 120 million Jio customers leaked
A nondescript website called magicapk reportedly had access to data of over 120 million Reliance Jio users. The website gave out details like first name, last name, mobile number, email-id, circle, SIM Activation Date and even Aadhaar Number. [News Source]

Jul 11: More than half of all bank accounts linked to Aadhaar: Ravi Shankar Prasad
As many as 67 crore of the 110 crore bank accounts in the country are now linked with Aadhaar, the 12-digit unique identification number, IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said. [News Source]

Jul 12: Huge rush to link Aadhaar with PF accounts
Provident Fund authorities expect at least 85% of about 5 lakh pensioners in Karnataka to link their Aadhaars to pension accounts in the next two months since several thousand pensioners didn’t receive their pension. [News Source]

Jul 12: Reliance Jio admits to systems breach in police complaint
Many users registered for Jio using their 12-digit Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) number, commonly known as the Aadhaar number. The government is pushing for Aadhaar numbers to be used in everything from opening a bank account to filing tax returns [News Source]

Jul 14: Gurugram mulling Aadhaar-linked voting
The Haryana Election Commission considers Aadhaar-assisted voting in a municipal ward in Gurugram during the civic body elections scheduled for later this year. The move will involve voter identity cards being linked with Aadhaar cards. [News Source]

Jul 16: Insurers to collect Aadhaar of agents to remove duplications
Regulator, IRDA asked insurance companies to collect Aadhaar, the 12-digit unique identity, of their agents for creation of an online database in order to eliminate duplications. The Insurance Information Bureau of India (IIB) will house the database. [News Source]

Jul 19: Right to privacy is inherent in Constitution, petitioners tell Supreme Court

Senior counsel Gopal Subramanium told the Supreme Court that the right to privacy is a pre-existing natural right which is inherent in the Constitution though not explicitly mentioned. [News Source]

Jul 19: 210 Government sites found displaying Aadhaar details
Central and state government departments were found to be displaying personal details and Aadhaar numbers of beneficiaries, Parliament was informed on this day, by Minister of State for Electronics and IT PP Chaudhary. [News Source]

Jul 27: Privacy built into Aadhaar Act, says UIDAI
“Privacy is non-negotiable, confidentiality is non-negotiable under the Aadhaar Act,” the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the nodal agency implementing the Aadhaar scheme, said in the Supreme Court. [News Source]

Jul 29: Aadhaar centres only at govt. premises from September
UIDAI asked States to ensure that all enrolments, even those by private agencies, shift to government or municipal premises from external sites by September 2017. The move will have a bearing on 25,000 active enrolment centres across India and ensure that they come under direct supervision of the authorities. [News Source]

Jul 29: Probe into Aadhaar data ‘misuse’ begins
Two days after a case was booked against a Bengaluru-based startup for ‘misusing’ the Aadhaar database, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) sources claimed on Friday that the database was not ‘hacked’ nor has there been a ‘data breach’. [News Source]

Jul 31: Govt extends deadline for filing ITR to August 5, Aadhaar-PAN linking till August 31
In a last minute decision, the government today extended the deadline for filing Income Tax Returns (ITRs) and linking Aadhaar with the Permanent Account Number (PAN) of taxpayers. Deadline for filing ITRs by August 5, the deadline for Aadhaar-PAN linking is August 31. [News Source]

Aug 01: Panel to draft data protection Bill, Supreme Court told
Highlighting the need for a comprehensive law on data protection, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) informed a nine-judge Bench of the Supreme Court on Tuesday that the Centre has constituted a committee of experts, led by former Supreme Court judge, Justice B.N. Srikrishna, to identify “key data protection issues” and suggest a draft data protection Bill. [News Source]

Aug 04: Aadhaar required for death certificates
In a move to curb identity fraud, the government made Aadhaar numbers a pre-requisite for issuing death certificates to residents of all States, barring Jammu & Kashmir, Meghalaya and Assam, in order to establish the identity of the deceased. The order comes into effect from October 1, 2017. A date will be notified separately for the three States, the Home Ministry said in a statement. [News Source]

Aug 03: Techie arrested in Bengaluru for accessing Aadhaar data
Abhinav Srivastav, 31, an IIT-Kharagpur graduate, was arrested by the Bengaluru city police on the charge of accessing Aadhaar data, the police said in a statement. [News Source]

Aug 05: Govt extends deadline to get Aadhaar for free LPG connection
The government extended the deadline by which Aadhaar is mandatory for availing free cooking gas (LPG) connections. The government had in March mandated that anyone not having Aadhaar but desirous of availing free LPG connection under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana must apply for it by May 31. [News Source]

Aug 10: Denial of benefit over lack of Aadhaar is violation of norms: UIDAI CEO
Denial of government benefits because of lack of Aadhaar or problems in its authentication is violation of norms and the violators should be punished, UIDAI CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey said. [News Source]

Aug 11: Around 81 lakh Aadhaar deactivated till date: Govt.
The Unique Identification Authority of India has deactivated close to 81 lakh Aadhaar numbers till date, Minister of State for Electronics and IT P.P. Chaudhary said [News Source]

Aug 12: Aadhaar not liable for denial of benefits, says UIDAI chief
Taking on criticism about some individuals being denied benefits owing to issues related to Aadhaar, Ajay Bhushan Pandey, CEO of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), said it is a “technology of people’s empowerment and not a tool of exclusion or denial.” [News Source]

Aug 24: Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilekani set to turn peacemaker
Nandan Nilekani, the Aadhaar architect who was sought by Narendra Modi government despite having fought elections on a Congress ticket, could well turn out to be the peace broker between the warring founders and management at Infosys. [News Source]

Aug 24: Right to privacy judgment keeps Aadhaar case open
A nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court has ruled that Indians enjoy a fundamental right to privacy, that it is intrinsic to life and liberty and thus comes under Article 21 of the Indian constitution. [News Source]

Aug 25: Aadhaar Act will pass privacy test, says UIDAI chief
Tax payers will have to link their PAN with Aadhaar by the stipulated deadline, which is this month-end, as the Supreme Court verdict on privacy has no bearing on the requirement, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey said today. [News Source]

Aug 26: The CIA can access India’s entire Aadhaar database, says WikiLeaks
Whistleblower site WikiLeaks published a secret report revealing that the United States’ Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had the technology to access the unique identification data of Indian citizens that have enrolled for Aadhar. [News Source]

Aug 27: UIDAI refutes Wikileaks reports of Aadhaar data snoop, says system is secure
The statement by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) came after WikiLeaks hinted that CIA had allegedly accessed the Aadhaar database. UIDAI asserted that Aadhaar system had stringent security features to prevent any unauthorised capture or transmission of data. [News Source]

Aug 28: Plea for early Aadhaar hearing
The petitioners in the Aadhaar case is expected to make an urgent mentioning before a Bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, on August 29 for an early decision on the validity of the scheme [News Source]

Aug 30: Call to make Aadhaar available for NRIs
The UAE-based Pravasi Bandhu Trust urged the Centre to make Aadhaar available for all citizens, including Non-Resident Indians (NRIs). Though only resident Indians were eligible for Aadhaar, many NRIs were applying for it because of its requirement for many services in India, Trust chairman K.V. Shamsudheen said in a statement. [News Source]

Aug 30: Aadhaar data kept, processed only on own secure servers: UIDAI
The UIDAI yet again rejected charges that foreign firms were accessing sensitive data, saying no Aadhaar information has ever been stored or processed outside its own data centre and resides only within its fully-secured servers. [News Source]

Aug 31: Tax department extends deadline for Aadhaar-PAN linkage till December 31
The government extended by four months the deadline for linking PAN with biometric identifier Aadhaar till December 31. The deadline for linking PAN with Aadhaar for taxpayers was to end on August 31. [News Source]

Sep 05: Banks without Aadhaar centres face Rs 20k fine from October
The UIDAI gave banks one more month to open Aadhaar enrolment centres in a stipulated 10 per cent of branches and will impose Rs 20,000 as fine per uncovered branch after September 30, CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey said. [News Source]

Sep 09: SIM cards not linked to Aadhaar to be deactivated after February 2018
Informed sources claim the government is moving ahead with linking Aadhaar with mobile SIM cards and all unlinked phones will be deactivated after February 2018. [News Source]

Sep 13: Aadhaar law likely to pass test of constitutionality, says Arun Jaitley
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley exuded confidence that Aadhaar law will pass the test of constitutionality, saying the legislation has adequate safeguards for data protection. [News Source]

Sep 15: Aadhaar linkage trick: man cheated of ₹50K
A senior citizen was tricked into revealing his debit card details, by a conman posing as a representative from his bank and saying he needed the details to link his account to his Aadhaar card. [News Source]

Sep 21: UIDAI slaps notice on Airtel
The UIDAI slapped notices on Bharti Airtel and Airtel Payments Bank over its retailers allegedly opening payments bank accounts without taking “informed consent” of customers who go for Aadhaar-based mobile SIM verification. [News Source]

Oct 15: Supreme Court to hear plea against linking Aadhaar to bank accounts, phones
The Supreme Court will hear a petition challenging the government move to link bank accounts and mobile phones with Aadhaar numbers, saying it violates the fundamental right to privacy and equates citizens, including the elderly, women and students, with money launderers. [News Source]

Oct 21: RBI clarifies why linking of Aadhaar with bank account is mandatory
The Reserve Bank of India clarified that linking of Aadhaar to bank account is mandatory under the Prevention of Money-Laundering (Maintenance of Records). The clarification comes after a section of the media reported while quoting a reply to a Right to Information Act application that linking of bank accounts with Aadhaar is not mandatory. [News Source]

Oct 25: Centre proposes to extend Aadhaar linking deadline to those ‘willing to enrol’
The government proposed extending the deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar with bank accounts and mobile phones from December 31, 2017 to March 31, 2018, but only exclusively for those who are “willing to enrol for Aadhaar”. [News Source]

Oct 29: Government, bank staff to biometrically sign off Aadhaar enrolment
The UIDAI will soon evolve a process for authorised employees of banks, post offices and the government to biometrically sign off Aadhaar enrolment and updation form collection [News Source]

Oct 30: Five-judge statute Bench to decide on Aadhaar validity
The Supreme Court decided to constitute a five-judge Constitution Bench to hear petitions from November against the validity of the Aadhaar scheme. A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra took the step after Attorney General K.K. Venugopal said falsehoods had been spread about Aadhaar linking. [News Source]

Oct 31: Aadhaar a threat to national security: Swamy
BJP MP Subramanian Swamy opposed a move to make Aadhaar compulsory, saying it would be a threat to national security and be struck down by the Supreme Court. [News Source]

Nov 02: Aadhaar link to lift train ticket booking cap
The Railways increased the monthly cap on tickets booked online from six to 12 for Aadhaar-verified passengers. [News Source]

Nov 02: Rajasthan Police uses woman’s Aadhaar details to track her killer
The Rajasthan Police used the biometric information from the Aadhaar card of a 23-year-old woman to track her alleged killer after it couldn’t identify her partially charred body using traditional methods of probe. [News Source]

Nov 03: SC seeks Centre’s reply on pleas challenging Aadhaar Act
The Supreme Court sought the government’s response on four petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar Act and linking of bank accounts and mobile numbers with the 12-digit biometric identification number [News Source]

Nov 05:
Aadhaar to aid rail staff attendance
The railway ministry said it will install Aadhaar-based biometric attendance system across its zones and divisions by January 31 2018 [News Source]

Nov 06: Over 39 percent PANs linked with Aadhaar
Over 13.28 crore Permanent Account Numbers (PANs) have been linked with the Aadhaar till now, official sources said. With this, 39.5 per cent of PANs are now linked with Aadhaar numbers. There are about 33 crore PAN cards, while Aadhaar has been issued to about 115 crore people. [News Source]

Nov 08: TN HC says no to filing of I-T returns without Aadhaar
Making a quick course-correction against an order passed by it on October 31 permitting an advocate to file income tax returns without quoting her Aadhaar number, the Madras High Court on Tuesday rejected a similar plea made by another I-T assessee after finding that the Supreme Court had not dispensed with the requirement of Aadhaar for filing of I-T returns. [News Source]

Nov 08: Linking Aadhaar with insurance policies mandatory: IRDAI
In sharp contrast to Irdai’s clarification two months ago when it said such linkage was voluntary, the Insurance Regulatory Authority of India (Irdai), through a communication on Tuesday, clarified that all insurance policies must be linked with Aadhaar. [News Source]

Nov 15: UIDAI nod to telcos’ blueprint on new SIM reverification modes
The Unique Identification Authority of India approved the blueprint presented by telcos to operationalise new modes like OTP for Aadhaar-based SIM reverification of existing subscribers from December 1. [News Source]

Nov 17: SC to hear NRI plea for relief from Aadhaar-bank link
The Supreme Court gave liberty to a UAE-based professional to approach the Bench, expected to be set up shortly to hear the various petitions challenging the Aadhaar scheme, with his plea to exempt Non-Resident Indians from linking their bank accounts with Aadhaar. [News Source]

Nov 21: Aadhaar a double whammy for the disabled
Activists say that there should be doorstep Aadhaar enrolment as well as special camps for those with disabilities to get their Aadhaar cards now that all social security schemes have been linked with it. [News Source]

Nov 22: Telcos seek ‘realistic timeline’ to offer Aadhaar linking via OTP
The Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI) sought at least one more month to implement the OTP-based system for linking Aadhaar with mobile numbers, slated to come into effect December 1 onwards. [News Source]

Nov 23: Private schools demand Aadhaar for 3-year-olds
The sudden surge in the number of Aadhaar applications is because nursery admissions have begun in the city and private schools are asking for Aadhaar details in admission forms. [News Source]

Nov 24:
About 500 missing children traced through Aadhaar: UIDAI
As many as 500 missing children have been traced over the last few months through Aadhaar, the CEO of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), Ajay Bhushan Pandey, said. [News Source]

Nov 25: Aadhaar a must for crop insurance
The possession of Aadhaar number became a must for a farmer to be part of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) or Prime Minister’s crop insurance scheme, which was launched in January 2016. [News Source]

Nov 27: Aadhaar must for post office savings schemes
The Department of Posts said that Aadhaar and mobile numbers are mandatory for opening all post office small saving schemes, public provident fund, national savings certificate scheme, and Kisan Vikas Patra. [News Source]

Nov 29:
Aadhaar to be big weapon against benami properties: PM Narendra Modi
Describing Aadhaar as a major “”power”” to bring about an “”irreversible change”” in the common man’s life, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the Unique Identification Number will now be used in cases involving benami properties. [News Source]

Dec 03: Government to give 3-6 month for PAN-Aadhaar linkage, if SC rules in favour: Senior official
The government will give 3-6 months to link the biometric identifier Aadhaar with PAN in case the apex court rules in its favour, after which it may cancel all PANs that have not been linked, a senior official said. [News Source]

Dec 03: Fading fingerprints disconnect Aadhaar link for the elderly
Many senior citizens visiting banks for providing life certificate for pension and linking their Aadhaar numbers with bank accounts have been put to a lot of hardship. They complained that there was no common rule for banks and each of them was following whatever pattern their head offices had decided. [News Source]

Dec 05: Woman loses pension as biometrics don’t match
The story of Sajida Begum, 65, a leprosy patient from Bengaluru, losing her pension as her biometrics don’t match, highlights how Aadhaar-based systems can be problematic. [News Source]

Dec 06: Bengaluru woman gets Aadhaar without biometrics for pension
After her plight hogged national attention following a report in The New Indian Express, Sajida Begum (65) along with six other leprosy patients got enrolled for Aadhaar on Tuesday. A special enrolment camp was held for them at Leprosy Hospital on Magadi Road by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). [News Source]

Dec 09: Checks and balances needed for mass surveillance of citizens, say experts
A number of measures are required to protect law-abiding citizens from mass surveillance and misuse of their personal data, according to top technology and legal experts. The measures include issuing of tokens by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) instead of Aadhaar numbers and having an official in the judiciary give permission to vigilance. [News Source]

Dec 14: Aadhaar linking: CJI frowns upon hyperbole
Sajida Begum, who lost her hands and vision due to leprosy, was enrolled for an Aadhaar card without the mandatory biometrics of her iris and fingerprints to restore her monthly welfare pension, her doctor said. [News Source]

Dec 15: Fake documents, forged gazetted letters used to enrol for Aadhaar
Unique Identification Authority of India officials discovered two methods in which persons without adequate documents have received or tried to receive Aadhaar cards by hoodwinking the authorities. While one method involved presenting forged gazetted letters as identity proof, the other helped people enrol using fake documents. In a separate case of vishing scam involving Aadhaar, a person was duped of `39,000 after the victim was asked to provide his Aadhaar number and ATM number to seed Aadhaar to his bank account. [News Source]

Dec 15: SC extends Aadhaar linkage deadline for welfare schemes, bank accounts and mobile services to March 31
A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, in an interim order, also modified its earlier order with regard to linking of Aadhaar with mobile services and said the deadline of February 6 next year for this purpose also stood extended till March 31. [News Source]

Dec 16: UIDAI temporarily suspends Airtel, Payments Bank’s Aadhaar linked e-KYC services
“We can confirm that we have received interim order from the UIDAI regarding temporary suspension of Aadhaar linked e-KYC services till their satisfaction on certain processes relating to Airtel Payment Bank’s onboarding of customers,” the company said in a statement. [News Source]

Dec 17: Link Aadhaar, bank account by March 31
An Aadhaar holder will have to furnish his unique ID card to open a new bank account, a five-judge Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra orally clarified on Friday. The Bench, however, extended the last date of the linking process to March 31, 2018 for existing bank accounts. [News Source]

Dec 18: Aadhaar, PAN to be linked to insurance policies by March 31, 2018
In a circular issued to all the life, non-life (including standalone health insurers) the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) said the date of submission of the Aadhaar Number and Permanent Account Number or Form 60 by clients to reporting entity is March 31, 2018. [News Source]

Dec 19: No proposal to make Aadhaar linkage mandatory for property deals’
In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri, however, said the rural development ministry had advised the states and union territories to explore the possibilities of using consent-based Aadhaar authentication for registration of properties under the provisions of the Registration Act, 1908. [News Source]

Dec 21: UIDAI gives conditional nod to Airtel for resuming telecom eKYC verification till January 10
Bharti Airtel was allowed to use Aadhaar for re-verification of its mobile customers till January 10 with stiff riders after it returned Rs 138-crore LPG subsidy flown into unsolicited payment bank accounts. [News Source]

Dec 22: Aadhaar required for availing food under National Nutrition Mission
Aadhaar registration is required for children availing food under the centrally-sponsored National Nutrition Mission, the Lok Sabha was informed. Union Minister of State for Women and Child Development Virendra Kumar said the use of Aadhaar as identity document for delivery of services or benefits or subsidies simplifies the government delivery processes. [News Source]

Dec 24: Fake PAN, Aadhaar card racket busted in Uttar Pradesh
Police in Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli district claimed to have busted a gang which made fake Aadhaar and PAN cards with the arrest of one person. [News Source]

Dec 27: FB tries to enter Aadhaar game
Social network Facebook introduces a prompt that asks a new user to use the name as in Aadhaar card. [News Source]

Dec 27: 71.24 crore mobile connections linked with Aadhaar: IT Minister
Close to 71.24 crore mobile numbers – both new connections and existing – and 82 crore bank accounts have been linked with 12-digit biometric identifier Aadhaar, the Rajya Sabha has been informed. [News Source]

Dec 28: Facebook denies collecting Indian users’ Aadhaar data
A day after some reports suggested that Facebook was asking new users in India to enter their names as mentioned in their Aadhaar Card when they sign up for an account, the social media giant on Thursday clarified that it is not collecting Aadhaar data. [News Source]

Dec 28: Denial of info for lack of Aadhaar breach of RTI Act: CIC
The Commission imposed maximum penalty under the act on the then RTI handling officer of the Housing & Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) for not providing information on gifts purchased by it and expenses incurred by its CMDs on the grounds that identification documents were not provided by the applicant. [News Source]

Dec 28: From January 1, fertiliser subsidy tied to Aadhaar
The Centre and State together spend around Rs 75,000 crore on subsidised fertiliser every year. It was found that some people who bought fertiliser under the subsidy were not farmers. The central government was seeking to cut out such middlemen who bought fertiliser under subsidy to sell it outside. [News Source]