Aadhaar linking to bank accounts and mobiles, is it mandatory?

Asia

Banks and telecom companies have been sending constant reminders to link Aadhaar to your respective accounts, but is that mandatory or even legal?

The stipulated deadline for this is 31 December 2017 (bank accounts) and 6 February 2018 (mobile phones), post which the accounts will get disabled.

The case will be heard in SC in November. But, till then, what?

Why is the Modi government so hell-bent on linking Aadhaar?

The government is trying to link Aadhaar to almost every service, be it phones, PAN card, or bank accounts but why such obsession?

As India moves towards digitization, perhaps the Modi government is aiming to plug all gaps, to ensure this happens.

The Centre is using Aadhaar to combat "terrorism, money laundering, black marketing and other frauds, all at once".

Dates to earmark for Aadhaar

If you do not want your accounts cancelled or fear missing out on social schemes, here are the important dates to remember: 31 December'17 to link it with PAN, to avail social security schemes and submission to financial institutions and by 6 February'18, mobiles to be linked.

Indianswary of Aadhaar, Nilekani admits security is a concern

Indians wary of Aadhaar, Nilekani admits security is a concern

While some may believe the linking is a good idea, a large number of Indians have raised red flags like privacy concerns, identity theft, and even profiling.

Even former chairman of UIDAI, Nandan Nilekani had admitted that security was a big concern for Aadhaar. But he added UIDAI has the best security systems in place.

Aadhaar linking: What does 'right to privacy' even mean then?

On 24 August, a Supreme Court bench unanimously ruled that "every citizen had a fundamental right to privacy".

If this is true then it casts doubt on whether Aadhaar was valid, let alone it being linked to bank accounts and mobile phones.

The privacy judgment is scheduled for November and only then will the nation gain clarity on this.'

Telecom companies misinterpreting SC orders to link Aadhaar

Meanwhile, the telcos are using SC's 6 March directive to Department of Telecom to push Aadhaar linking.

A closer look at the directive reveals that it did not make this mandatory.

This is, at its best, Centre's way of using the judgement to their benefit.

Moreover, after the privacy judgement, this could be seen as undermining SC orders.

Source: newsbytesapp