Aadhaar rules or the Aadhaar card which are perhaps one of the most discussed topics in the country are all set for a change soon. A few days back, Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019 was approved by Union Cabinet to be introduced in the ensuing session of Parliament. The Bill which will be in form of amendment to Aadhaar Act 2016 and other laws will replace an ordinance issued in March, 2019 and is reportedly going to have features to make it people- friendly.

It can be recalled that Aadhaar was launched in 2010 and since then there has been a history of events associated with this card and at one point of time the clamour for its possession almost reached the point of obsession. There were also lots of disagreements on the issues of its usage and privacy that led to the knocking of the apex court on various times. And the present amendment can be viewed as  an attempt to address the disagreements to make it more acceptable to the masses. When the Bill emerges as  law  it will add to the convenience of general public in opening of bank accounts, which would allow the use of Aadhaar number for authentication on voluntary basis as acceptable KYC document under the Telegraph Act, 1885 and Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. This means there will be no force or compulsion on the customer which will be extremely beneficial since there are many parts of the country where Aadhaar cards have not yet reached the hands of the people.

Also, Aadhaar users will have the privilege to hide their actual number and instead furnish the Virtual Identity provided by UIDAI. Also, a child after attaining the age of 18 years will have an option to get his or her Aadhaar number cancelled. The other vital addition will be that, it proposes deletion of section 57 of the Act relating to the use of biometric identifier by private entities and will effectively prevent denial of services for refusing to, or being unable to undergo authentication. In simple terms the sensitive issue of authentication can be carried out only when it is permitted under any law made by parliament or prescribed to be in the interest of the particular state by the central government. But a welcome aspect must be on the emphasis of the much debated security part. The proposed bill will enable to provide security to Aadhaar card holders and prevent its misuse with a stronger overall framework. Unauthorised use of identity information has been made punishable with more stricter norms of imprisonment as well as fines.

With all these new people-friendly inclusions it will now be interesting to see how it satisfies the pan Indian public in the long run.