Union Government notifies AADHAR Act giving UIDAI legal basis

In Indian Affairs
July 16, 2016

The Union Government has notified the UIDAI (Terms and Conditions of Service of Chairperson and Members) Rules, 2016 to give legal shapeto Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

These rules have been framed as per provisions of Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016. for appointment of its chairperson and members.

Impotant points

According to the notification, the next chairperson of UIDAI will be selected on the recommendation of a committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary.

Secretaries of Department of Personnel and Training, Finance and Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEITY)and two experts to be nominated by Communications and IT minister will recommend names for the chairperson and members for selection.

Presently over 102 crore persons in the country have Aadhaar card and unique identity numbers. Aadhaar had been linked to more than 27 crore bank accounts, 12 crore LPG consumers, 13 crore ration cards holders and 7 crore MGNREGA workers.

The central Government is waiting for the final verdict of the Supreme Court in this case.The Aadhaar Act will be notified in two phases for operationalisation of the Act. The chairperson and members once appointed will pass the regulations for notifying rest of the Act.

Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is a central government agency of India.

Its objective is to collect the biometric and demographic data of residents, store them in a centralised database, and issue a 12-digit unique identity number called Aadhaar to each resident. It is considered the world’s largest national identification number project.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) was set up by the Government of India in 28 January 2009,as an attached office under aegis of Planning Commission vide its a gazette.
On 11 March 2016, the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, benefits and services) Act, 2016, was passed in the Lok Sabha.
The UIDAI data center is located at Industrial Model Township (IMT) Manesar in Haryana.