Aadhaar enrollment made mandatory for financial benefits under centre's schemes
Victims of violence perpetrated by terrorists or Naxals must have an Aadhaar card before receiving financial benefits from a designated central government scheme, the Home Ministry has said. As per a notification issued today, individuals and families of victims looking for compensation and monetary benefits will be required to either submit their individual, and unique, Aadhaar numbers or be willing to undergo Aadhaar authentication.
The notification comes into effect in all states and union territories except Assam and Meghalaya, where the Aadhaar programme has not yet covered all residents.
"Any eligible beneficiary desirous of receiving benefits... (but) who does not possess the Aadhaar number or, has not yet enrolled for Aadhaar, shall have to apply for Aadhaar enrolment," the notification states.
A senior Home Ministry official said financial assistance would initially be provided by the state governments and this would be reimbursed by ministry when "it gets their demand".
The annual budget for the scheme - the Central Scheme for Assistance to Civilian Victims/Family of Victims of Terrorist/Communal/LWE Violence and Cross Border Firing and Mine/IED Blasts on Indian Territory - is between 6 and 7 crore, the official added.
The notification also states that the ministry, through the implementing agency, is required to offer Aadhaar enrollment to the beneficiary in case there is no enrolment centre in his/her/their respective block, taluka or tehsil.
Until Aadhaar numbers are assigned (for those who do not have one but remain eligible for benefits), financial assistance will be given subject to the production of an identification slip (indicating Aadhaar enrollment process has begun) or any government-issued ID, such as a PAN card, a voter ID card, a ration card or a certificate of identity having the applicant's photograph and issued by a Gazetted Officer or Tehsildar on official letterhead, or any other document as specified by the ministry.
The Home Ministry has also been charged with ensuring wide publicity to make potential beneficiaries aware of the requirement of Aadhaar to avail the scheme.
In cases where Aadhaar authentication fails due to poor biometrics or any other reason, a number of remedial mechanisms may be adopted, such as the use of a One-Time Password (OTP) or Time-Based-One-Time Password (TOTP) or the verification of QR code printed on the physical Aadhaar document.
Last month the government also made Aadhaar mandatory for subscribers of the Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana, a pension scheme for senior citizens.