Enabling welfare benefits, UIDAI asks banks to not to discontinue Aadhaar payment system

NewsBharati    01-Dec-2018
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New Delhi, December 1: With all the chaos and confusion running around on clarity of Aadhaar being linked to bank accounts, the UIDAI on Friday asked banks not to discontinue the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS) as it may create obstruction in the delivery of welfare benefits.

The clarification came after the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) took note of a letter from the State Bank of India (SBI) to the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). In the letter, dated November 19, 2018, SBI informed NPCI of its intention to discontinue Aadhaar enabled payment system purportedly based on the understanding that its continuation may be in violation of the recent Supreme Court judgement.

UIDAI said the matter has been carefully examined, and the apex court has upheld the constitutionality of the Aadhaar programme, specifically Section 7 of the Aadhaar Act.

Citing this the UIDAI informed in a circular marked to banks, CEO of NPCI and Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) that any action to discontinue such payment or receipt mechanism (AEPS, BHIM, Aadhaar Pay) or bank accounts by banks, on the ground that it is not possible to distinguish their use for delivery of welfare benefits or other purposes may be held contrary to Section 7 of Aadhaar Act and it will also result in creating obstruction in delivery of benefits and may cause denial in deserving cases.

The Supreme Court had in a landmark verdict in September restricted the use of Aadhaar authentication by private entities in the absence of a legal provision, but allowed its mandatory use for welfare schemes, filing of Income Tax (IT) returns and allotment of Permanent Account Number (PAN).