Short Note : The Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019

The Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019 is set to be introduced in the Parliament today.

Salient Features of the Bill

• The bill will be an amendment to the AADHAR Act 2016 (replacing an earlier ordinance promulgated in March 2019).
• The bill allows the use of the AADHAR number for the authentication when opening a bank account.
• Banks can use the UIDAI number to perform Know Your Customer (KYC) as it now is an acceptable document under the Telegraph Act, 1885 and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.
• The Bill also states that the authentication of an individual s identity via Aadhaar, for the provision of any service, may be made mandatory only by a law passed in the Parliament.
• Under the earlier AADHAR Act, an individual’s identity could be established by an Aadhaar number by the State or a corporate body under any law. The new BILL has now removed this provision.
• Now an entity can use the AADHAR for verification only when the UIDAI is satisfied that the entity is compliant with data security & privacy provisions, have been allowed to do so by the law and the use is approved Central Government only in the interest of the State.
• Under the earlier AADHAR Act, the fees and revenues collected were credited to the Consolidated Fund of India. In the new Bill, this provision has been removed and a new Unique Identification Authority of India Fund has been created.
• All fees, grants, and charges received by the UIDAI shall be credited to this fund.
• The fund shall be used for expenses of the UIDAI, including salaries and allowances of its employees.

In Concise

The new Bill has defined the Aadhaar ecosystem as including the enrolling agencies, requesting agencies, and offline verification-seeking entities. It also allows the UIDAI to issue directions to them when necessary for the proper discharge of its functions under the Act.