Aadhaar biometrics not required for government aid but coming available for securities eKYC checks

Biometrics will not be required for government aid disbursement in Telangana, after the Indian state’s high court ruled that thousands of individuals whose ration cards were cancelled, and many others who cannot produce them, must receive rations, The Hindu reports.

A pair of judges notes the possibility of technical glitches causing false biometric non-matches, in response to a public interest litigation claim by social activist S.Q. Masood. The judges observed that climatic conditions, age and other factors could prevent matches, and asked why ration cards had been cancelled by the government without notice to the card-holders.

The government of Telangana is providing 12kg of rice and other essentials to support the state’s poor during the lockdown period.

The use of Aadhaar biometrics for targeted aid is one of the program’s main functions.

On the other side of the socio-economic spectrum, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has named eight entities as Aadhaar biometric authentication providers for eKYC processes by entities such as stock brokers, mutual fund companies and investment advisors.

Securities market companies can use services from Bombay Stock Exchange, National Securities Depository, Central Depository Services (India), CDSL Ventures, NSDL Database Management, NSE Data and Analytics, CAMS Investor Services Private, and Computer Age Management Services Private to perform eKYC based on the requirements of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), according to a circular from SEBI.

The move to support voluntary biometric authentication with Aadhaar for eKYC checks by the securities industry was announced by Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey in April, when there were reported to be nine entities in consideration for status as recognized authentication service providers.

Article Topics

Aadhaar  |  authentication  |  biometrics  |  financial services  |  government services  |  identity verification  |  India  |  KYC