As Supreme Court debates Aadhaar privacy: here are 10 general FAQs answered

The Supreme Court's five-judge Constitution bench on Thursday continued hearing pleas filed with regards to the Aadhaar matter.

The bench, headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra will began hearing a number of petitions filed challenging the constitutional validity of the identification number.

But as the apex court debates the privace related issue related to Aadhaar following are some of the frequently asked questions answered for you. 

1. Is it possible to link Mobile Number with Aadhaar through OTP? 
As per DOT Directive, some Telecom Operators have started linking of SIM with Aadhaar via OTP based authentication. Users can contact their respective telecom operators to further understand the process. 

2. Is it necessary to link bank account with Aadhaar?
As per gazette notification of Ministry of Finance, dated 1st June 2017, Individuals are required to provide Aadhaar number for linking all their bank accounts. However, now the government had extended the deadline for linking Aadhaar to March 31, 2018. 

3. Is it necessary to submit Aadhaar in Bank while transaction amount is Rs 50,000 or above?
As per gazette notification of Ministry of Finance, dated 1st June 2017, Aadhaar will be sought for all transactions for an amount Rs 50,000 or above, the UIDAI website stated. 

4. How is Aadhaar different from any other identity issued by the government?
Aadhaar is essentially a paperless online anytime-anywhere identity assigned to a resident to cover his/her entire lifetime. The verification of his identity is done online with the help of authentication devices which connect to UIDAI’s Central Identity Repository and return only a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response to the basic query-“Is the person who he/she claims to be?” based on the data available with UIDAI, the UIDAI website stated. 

5. Can Aadhaar users register/ change their mobile number online?
For any online update request, including updation of mobile number, resident should already have an active number registered with UIDAI where person can receive OTP SMS and authenticate himself/herself. Otherwise, you would need to visit nearest UIDAI permanent Enrolment centre, UIDAI stated on its website. 

6. Can NRIs also get Aadhaar?
As per the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, only a resident who has resided in India for a period or periods amounting in all to 182 or more in the 12 months immediately preceding the date of application for enrolment.

7. What to do if your name is different in PAN card from your Aadhaar card? 

In order to Link Aadhaar with PAN, ideally your demographic details (i.e. Name, Gender and Date of Birth) should match in both the documents.

In case of any minor mismatch in Aadhaar Name provided by taxpayer when compared to the actual data in Aadhaar, One Time Password (Aadhaar OTP) will be sent to the mobile registered with Aadhaar. Taxpayers should ensure that the date of birth and gender in PAN and Aadhaar are exactly same.

In a rare case where Aadhaar name is completely different from name in PAN, then the linking will fail and taxpayer will be prompted to change the name in either Aadhaar or in PAN database.

Note:
For PAN data update related queries you may visit: https://www.utiitsl.com.

For Aadhaar update related information you may visit UIDAI official website: www.uidai.gov.in

In-case linking problem still persists you are requested to visit Income Tax official website or call IT department helpline.

8. If you are unable to access Aadhaar online services / Website from outside India. What to do?
UIDAI's official website i.e. www.uidai.gov.in doesn't have any such restriction and should be accessible from anywhere. However, some of the UIDAI web based features like Resident Portal, eAadhaar, Self Service Update Portal (SSUP), Aadhaar Linking Status etc are Geo-Based policy enabled and therefore, will not be accessible from outside India.

9. Name different in Aadhaar vis-à-vis service delivery database?
Based on which document needs name correction, such document should be corrected. In case the name correction is to be done in Aadhaar, then you can visit the nearest permanent enrolment center to update your name, age, address, mobile number and other demographic details (list available at www.uidai.gov.in) or you can also update the details online by using SSUP portal (https://ssup.uidai.gov.in/web/guest/update) or by sending the updation/correction form by Post on Address avilable on website along with supporting documents. Based on the type of update relevant documentary proof will required to be furnished.

10. How to update Aadhaar in ration card?
UIDAI recommended that you submit a photocopy of your Aadhaar with a copy of ration card to your PDS shop. They may ask you to place a finger on a sensor to authenticate to check that you and your Aadhaar number are matched.