Linking of Permanent Acount Number, PAN with biometric identifier Aadhaar will continue as previously directed and so will be the quoting of the 12-digit Aadhaar number for availing various government subsidies. UIDAI CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey said this yesterday after the Supreme Court verdict holding privacy as a fundamental right. He said the verdict, in no way, stops quoting of Aadhaar for various schemes as well as filing of income tax returns.
He said, the Aadhaar Act, which entails its quoting for services ranging from getting subsidised cooking gas to opening bank account and obtaining a new phone number, had been drafted keeping in mind privacy as a fundamental right. judgement has not said anything about the Aadhaar Act so the Aadhaar Act is a valid Act passed by the Parliament (and) is the law of the land,” he said. Section 7 of the act “prescribes that for getting certain subsidy or benefit the government can insist on an Aadhaar number. That position holds today,” he added.
The UIDAI CEO added that Aadhaar Act protects privacy of people as a fundamental right and its provisions provide for safeguarding of personal data and how such data can be used. He noted that core biometric can never be shared with anyone for any reason whatsoever, except in particular circumstances which too has to be cleared by a committee headed by cabinet secretary.