The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is set to ban the collection and storage of physical Aadhaar photocopies to protect the personal information of citizens. Once the new rule is implemented, entities like hotels, event organisers and telecom companies will need to register with UIDAI for digital Aadhaar verification using QR codes or the Aadhaar app.
The QR code on Aadhaar cards contains encrypted demographic information, allowing for secure verification without exposing sensitive details. The Aadhaar app will facilitate secure verification, address updates and family member additions.
Bhuvnesh Kumar, who is the CEO of UIDAI, told PTI that this fresh framework would require entities that conduct Aadhaar-based verification to register with the system and access the new verification technology, which would be faster and also reduce the risk of data breaches and identity theft.
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"The new rule has been approved by the authority and will be notified soon. It will mandate registration of offline verification-seeking entities like hotels, event organisers," Kumar was quoted as saying by news agency PTI. "The objective is to discourage paper-based Aadhaar verification."
As per the news agency, Kumar said that the authorities are beta-testing a new app that will enable app-to-app verification even without the central Aadhaar database server.
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"The ease of verification will enhance offline verification without the use of paper while maintaining privacy of users or any risk of their Aadhaar data getting leaked for misuse," Kumar said.
The new rule is expected to be notified soon, and entities will need to register with UIDAI to conduct Aadhaar-based verification.
