Aadhar card
Unique Identification Authority of India i.e. UIDAI is considering issuing Aadhaar cards with the card holder’s photograph and QR code to prevent misuse of people’s information and completely eliminate offline verification. Speaking at an online summit on a new app for Aadhaar, UIDAI CEO Bhuvnesh Kumar said the authority is considering bringing in a new rule in December to eliminate offline verification by entities like hotels, event organisers, etc., and enhance the age verification process using Aadhaar while maintaining the privacy of individuals. Kumar said that it is being considered as to why any more details are needed on the card. It should contain only picture and QR code. If we publish more information, people will believe the same and those who know how to misuse it will continue to do so.
Offline verification process will end
According to the Aadhaar Act, the Aadhaar number or biometric information of any person cannot be collected, used or stored for offline verification. Still, many institutions collect and store photocopies of Aadhaar cards. Kumar said a law is in the works to end offline verification using a copy of the Aadhaar card, which will be considered by the Aadhaar authority on December 1. Kumar said that Aadhaar should never be used as documents. It should be authenticated only with Aadhaar number or verified using QR code. Otherwise, it may be a fake document.
Authentication service will be improved
UIDAI held a joint meeting with various beneficiaries including banks, hotels, fintech companies etc. to brief them about the new app under construction, which is expected to be launched soon. The new app is expected to further improve the Aadhaar authentication service in line with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, which will be fully operational in 18 months. Through this app, users will be able to update their address certificates on the new app and will also be able to add those family members who do not have a mobile phone. A UIDAI official said that the mobile numbers of family Aadhaar holders can also be updated using the facial recognition facility in the new app.
How will the app work?
Kumar said that this new app will replace the mAadhaar app and will simplify the authentication process for various entities who have to verify an individual for various purposes. This new app will work like the Aadhaar verification done by DigiYatra app. He said that authentication services can have various uses and entities can give feedback to UIDAI on new uses of Aadhaar authentication services. Another UIDAI official said that this new app will help in verification of individuals in many cases, including events, entry into cinema halls, purchase of certain products with a minimum age limit of 18 years, as well as verification of students, check-in at hotels, entry into residential societies, etc.
Applications will be open for OVSE
The official authority has published details online to update the systems of Offline Verification Seeking Entities (OVSEs). He said that OVSE can use this new system for verification of Aadhaar number holders as online and physical presence proof. The official said that the Aadhaar holder will show the QR code in the scanner of OVSE. After this the system will prompt for facial verification. This will also serve as proof of presence of the Aadhaar number holder. We will open an application for OVSE soon. We will verify the details of the OVSE, and once approved, the OVSE will have to start the technical integration to access the QR code to update the data from the Aadhaar database.