Outlook Money – 01.03.2018

(Ben Green) #1
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

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