Outlook Money – 01.03.2018

residing in Assam, J&K, and

Meghalaya. Similarly, the ministry of

communications in December 2017

provided alternative procedures for

re-verification of mobile connections

in respect of subscribers of foreign

nationalities/NRIs etc. But the

requirement to link their Indian

bank accounts with Aadhaar doesn’t

seem to have been relieved, which

has put them in the category of

individuals who compulsorily

require Aadhaar. A clarification

in this regard would further help

foreign nationals.

Can someone who has not lived

in India for more than 182 days in

the preceding 12 months voluntarily

apply for an Aadhaar number? If yes,

the application form should not seek

confirmation of this condition. In

this instance, the government could

consider providing the facility of

issuing Aadhaar at its overseas high

commissions and embassies. This

way NRIs and foreign nationals who

are visiting India can obtain Aadhaar

easily without entering the country.

On the other hand, if the intent

of the law is to issue Aadhaar only

to those who have been in India for

more than 182 days in the previous

12 months, NRIs or Indians settled

abroad and returning permanently

would have to wait for six months

before they can apply!

Aadhaar has brought along its

own set of confidentiality issues,

technological errors, execution

hassles, grievance redressal failures.

Amidst many speculations about

weakness of the UIDAI in protecting

confidential data submitted by an

individual at the time of applying

for Aadhaar, the government rolled

out a mechanism wherein the

individual has an option to lock his/

her biometrics on the portal, thereby

preventing any misuse. Recently,

an option to look at one’s Aadhaar

history has been initiated on the

portal – you can log in to your

account using your Aadhaar number

and check if your data has been used

by anyone during a specific period.

One can expect things to get

better as the government keeps

resolving these challenges, but

listing down the requirements of

Aadhaar on one comprehensive

communication channel would really

help the public at large to smoothly

comply with the requirements.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the

article are personal.

could have been achieved through
PAN cards, but due to some
individuals possessing multiple
PANs, data analytics is hindered.
Foreign nationals and senior
citizens initially faced a challenge
in filing their tax returns due
to Aadhaar requirement. The
government later relaxed this
requirement for foreign nationals,
non-residents, those who are
80 years old or more, and those

Service

Aadhaar

required?

remarks

Bank accounts/

credit cards

Y

Mobile

connections

Y

Alternative procedure prescribed

for verification of mobile

connections for subscribers of

foreign nationality/ NRIs/ senior

citizens/ physically challenged

persons

PAN (new or

existing), filing of

income tax return

Y

Exemption provided for

individuals who are not citizens

of India, non-resident as per the

Income Tax Act, 1961, resident

individuals of age 80 years or

more, or residing in Assam, J&K,

and Meghalaya

School admissions Y

Insurance policies Y

LPG connections Y

Demat accounts Y

Investments/

securities/mutual

funds etc

Y

Passport

N

Quoting Aadhaar will help

Withdrawal from faster processing

Provident Fund

Voter ID

N

Proposal under discussion to

Driving licence mandatorily quote/link Aadhaar

Show Your Card

http://www.outlookmoney.com March 2018 Outlook Money 73