Aadhaar card lost? Here’s what you need to do

Have you lost your Aadhaar card? Well, then worry not! The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has launched a new service that allows citizens to order a reprint of their respective aadhaar cards.

The service avalaible on their website is on a pilot basis.

Earlier, the lost aadhaar card could not be printed, individuals would need to download the e-version from the UIDAI website and present it as proof of identity which was acceptable.

Meanwhile, in what could turn out to be a significant development, the Aadhaar issuing body, UIDAI, has proposed the inclusion of an ‘opt out’ clause to the Aadhaar Act that will enable people to withdraw their biometric details from the servers of the authority.

A draft Cabinet note has already been prepared by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to include this amendment, according to a senior government official. Once implemented, the opt-out provision can be availed by all and their Aadhaar number and details including demographic and biometrics will be deleted from the servers of the UIDAI.

However, if a person opts out of the Aadhaar scheme, he/she won’t be able to avail many government schemes and subsidies where Aadhaar linkage is still mandatory.

The draft note has already been vetted by the law ministry.

A window of a specified time frame will be decided, under which people can withdraw their 16-digit number if they want, the official said. “It will exist just as an option since currently, there is no such provision available. The amendments will be duly brought in after the approval of the Cabinet.”

The development comes months after the Supreme Court on September 26 struck down Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act, which allowed private entities to use the Aadhaar number to verify new users.

Aadhaar remains a valid document for customer verification like other government-authorised documents including passport, PAN card, driving license and voter ID. However, while getting a new connection, no biometrics authentication (real time authentication) of subscriber details by UIDAI will be done.