India proposes enabling non-govt entities to use Aadhaar

The Indian government has proposed a draft rule allowing non-government and state entities to use Aadhaar authentication, a unique identification number, to improve service delivery to the public. This draft comes in the wake of a request from the Delhi High Court for the Indian government to respond to a proposal to link Aadhaar with property ownership records.

The amendments allow non-government entities to seek permission for Aadhaar authentication for specific purposes. To do this, these entities would need to submit a proposal to the concerned ministry or department, which would then vet the proposal to ensure it is in the public interest. If approved, the proposal would be forwarded to the central government, which would forward it to the Unique Identification Authority of India. The public can provide comments on the proposed amendments until 5 May.