Plan panel to seek govt nod for second phase of Aadhaar scheme

UIDAI is entrusted with task of generating Aadhaar cards, so far 10 crore citizens enrolled

PTI | October 21, 2011



 The Planning Commission on Thursday said that it will soon seek Cabinet nod for the second phase of the Aadhaar scheme under which national identity cards are issued.

"The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has to get periodic approval (from government). For the second phase of the Aadhaar we are preparing a Cabinet note," Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said while addressing the Economic Editors' Conference here.

The UIDAI, headed by Nandan Nilekani, is entrusted with the task of generating the Aadhaar unique identity cards and so far it has enrolled 10 crore citizens under the scheme and issued unique indentity numbers to five crore people.

Under the first phase of the project, UIDAI is to enroll 20 crore citizens by March 2012. The project aims to provide about 60 crore unique identification numbers by 2014.

The scheme was launched in September 2010 and is intended to improve implementation of social sector schemes of the government. Aadhaar identity cards are accepted as valid documents under the Know Your Customer (KYC) norms for opening bank accounts, securing mobile connections and cooking gas connections.

The Aadhaar cards will also be used to plug leakages in the government's poverty alleviation programme. The Task Force on Direct Subsidies, also headed by Nilekani, has been tasked to prepare a payment infrastructure based on the scheme.

Ahluwalia also clarified that there were no differences within the government over financial and executive authority of the UIDAI.

"UIDAI is getting our full support. We have resolved all issue related to the financial and executive authority of the body and it has been approved by the Finance Ministry", he said.

Earlier this month, he had met Expenditure Secretary to sort out the differences between the Commission and the authority regarding the functional autonomy of the UIDAI.

The controversy had erupted after Plan panel Member- Secretary Sudha Pillai had reportedly expressed reservations over UIDAI's functioning. In a letter to the Finance Ministry, she had suggested a relook into the structure of UIDAI.

Pillai had reportedly said that the Authority did not get any of its financial proposal examined by the Plan panel's Secretary or Financial Adviser.

Nilekani, however, had last month asserted that the Authority was working under a set government framework and on the basis of powers delegated to it by Prime Minister.

 

Comments

 

Other News

Income Tax dept holds Ghatkopar Outreach on new IT Act

The Income Tax Department organised an outreach programme in Ghatkopar, Mumbai, to raise awareness about the key features of the Income Tax Act, 2025, effective April 1, 2026. The initiative is part of a nationwide effort to promote taxpayer awareness, simplify compliance, and strengthen a transparent, eff

Making AI work where governance is closest to people

India’s next governance leap may not solely come from digitisation. It will come from making public systems more intelligent, more adaptive, and more responsive to the dynamics at the grassroots. That opportunity is especially significant at the panchayat level, where governance is not an abstract po

Borrowing troubles: How small loans are quietly trapping youth

A silent crisis is playing out in the pocket of young India, not in stock markets or government treasuries, but in smartphones of college students and first-jobbers who clicked on the Apply Now button without reading the small print.  A decade ago, to take a loan, you had to do some paperwor

A 19th-century pilgrim’s progress

The Travels of a Sadhu in the Himalayas By Jaladhar Sen (Translated by Somdatta Mandal) Speaking Tiger Books, 259 pages, ₹499.00  

India faces critical shortage of skin donors amid rising burn cases

India reports nearly 70 lakh burn injury cases every year, resulting in approximately 1.4 lakh deaths annually. Experts estimate that up to 50% of these lives could be saved with adequate access to skin donations.   A significant concern is that around 70% of burn victims fall wi

Not just politics, let`s discuss policies too

Why public policy matters Most days, India`s loudest debates stop at the ballot box. We can name every major leader and recall every campaign slogan. Still, far fewer of us can explain why a widow`s pension is delayed or how a government school`s budget is actually approved. That


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter