UIDAI Plans to Simplify Aadhaar Card with Photo and QR Code to Enhance Data Protection

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is contemplating the issuance of a simplified Aadhaar card featuring only the holder's photo and a QR code. This initiative aims to safeguard individuals' data and discourage offline verification practices that currently violate existing legislation, according to a senior official's statement on Tuesday.

During an open online conference discussing a new Aadhaar app, UIDAI CEO Bhuvnesh Kumar revealed that the authority is considering implementing a new regulation in December. This would discourage offline verification by entities such as hotels and event organizers while enhancing age verification processes through Aadhaar, all while maintaining individual privacy.

"We're questioning why any details should appear on the card. It should consist of just a photo and QR code. Continued printing enables continued acceptance, and unfortunately, those with malicious intent will continue exploiting this," Kumar explained.

Current legislation under the Aadhaar Act explicitly prohibits collecting, using, or storing an individual's Aadhaar number or biometric information for any offline verification purpose. Despite this prohibition, numerous entities persist in collecting and retaining photocopies of Aadhaar cards.

Kumar mentioned that legislation to discourage offline verification through Aadhaar card copies is being developed and will be presented for consideration by the Aadhaar authority on December 1st.

"Aadhaar was never designed to function as a document. Verification should only occur through Aadhaar number authentication or QR code verification. Otherwise, document forgery becomes possible," Kumar stated.

The UIDAI recently conducted a joint meeting with various stakeholders including banks, hotels, and fintech companies to brief them about the forthcoming app expected to launch soon.

This new application aims to refine Aadhaar authentication services in alignment with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, which will become fully operational within 18 months.

Users will be able to update their address documentation through the app and add family members who don't possess mobile phones. A UIDAI representative indicated that the app will also facilitate updating mobile numbers of Aadhaar holders within families using facial authentication technology.

Kumar confirmed that this new application will replace the existing mAadhaar app and simplify the authentication process for entities needing to verify individuals for various purposes. The functionality will be similar to the Aadhaar verification currently performed by the Digiyatra app.

He noted that the authentication service could generate diverse use cases, and organizations are encouraged to provide feedback to UIDAI regarding potential new applications for Aadhaar authentication services.

Another UIDAI official elaborated that the new app will assist in verifying individuals across numerous scenarios, including event entry, cinema access, age-restricted purchases requiring minimum age of 18 years, student verifications, hotel check-ins, and residential society entry. The authority has published online instructions for offline verification seeking entities (OVSE) to update their systems.

The official explained that OVSEs can utilize the new system to verify Aadhaar number holders both online and as proof of physical presence. "The Aadhaar holder will display the QR code to the OVSE scanner. The system will then prompt for facial verification, which also serves as proof of the Aadhaar holder's presence. We'll soon launch an application for OVSEs. After verifying OVSE details and granting approval, OVSEs will need to implement technical integration to access QR codes for retrieving data from the Aadhaar database," the official explained.