Government to provide consent form for sharing of Aadhaar details
The central government is expected to share a consent form with citizens seeking their permission for the sharing of their Aadhaar details. If a citizen gives their consent, the details will be used for the creation of an Aadhaar-seeded database and for availing benefits under various government welfare schemes. The consent form will reportedly be shared through email or SMS.
Why does this story matter?
The government's consent form is crucial as questions about infringement of privacy through Aadhaar have been raised from time to time. The Supreme Court of India, in its final judgment on Aadhaar, had upheld the constitutional validity of the identity document. It had, however, barred private companies from using Aadhaar details for the purpose of KYC authentication.
UIDAI shared consent form with government
The government move comes after the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) reportedly received requests from several ministries and departments to provide guidance to citizens regarding the use of their Aadhaar data. The UIDAI has since shared a consent form with the government which can be provided to citizens. The form says the citizen agrees to share their Aadhaar number, demographic details, and photograph.
What does the form say?
"I understand that the Government of India shall create an Aadhaar-seeded database containing my Aadhaar number, photograph, and demographic information and government shall ensure requisite mechanisms have been put in place to ensure safety, security, and privacy of such information," the consent form reportedly reads.
Citizens can also revoke consent
The consent form will enable the government to create an Aadhaar-seeded database that all government ministries and states can use to link their welfare programs. Currently, Aadhaar data is collected separately for each scheme. According to the form, citizens also have the right to withdraw their consent in the future by communicating the same to the government.
