Parliament Meetings and Amendment in Aadhar bill

Narendra Kumar

21 Feb, 2020

The Amendment in Aadhar bill was introduced and passed in the 17^th Lok Sabha on, 4^th July 2019. Further, it was sent to the Rajya Sabha and the Sabha approved it on 8^th July 2019. The Aadhar bill Amendment {and other amendments} has come up with alteration of various laws which can bring ease to common people of India. In this meeting, the ruling government has made various amendments in the ordinances of Aadhar Act 2016 and other acts. This article will enlighten you with all the updates of this meeting.

Brief Introduction to Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha

The Lok Sabha also is known as House of the People is the lower house of Indian bicameral parliament. The upper house is the Rajya Sabha.

The below mentioned are a few functions of the lower house;

• Lok Sabha plays an important role in the formulation of laws in India. The house amends laws and formulates bills. Also, when the upper house also is known as Rajya Sabha passes an ordinance it comes to the lower house for approval.
• Also, the lower house has a number of members than the upper house.
• The Lok Sabha formulates laws on financial matters
• The house has the power to force The Council of Ministers to resign by passing a vote of no-confidence against it.
• The Lok Sabha shares the power combined with Rajya Sabha to amend the constitution.
• The Sabha participate in the election of President, Vice- President, Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
• The judicial body has the right to punish anyone who breaches the law
• They partake in the impeachment of the President of India
• Moreover, they share power with the Rajya Sabha to remove the judges of the Supreme Court and the High Court.
• The members look for solutions to the problems in their respective state by raising them in the meetings of the lower house.
• The discussions held in the Sabha meeting help the general public learn the different aspects of Indian Politics.

All about the Amendment in Aadhar bill

The Lok Sabha introduced the Aadhar and other laws {amendment} Bill, 2019 on 24 June 2019 and passed the bill on 4^th July 2019. The Law Minister, Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad passed this bill in Rajya Sabha by voice note and this made into law on 8^th July 2019. The highlights of this bill are as follows;

• Emphasis on 256-bit encryption of Aadhar to ensure its safety and security.
• Only the name, gender and address will be visible after encryption and biometrics will not be shared.
• People will be able to buy ration even when they don’t have Aadhar card
• A comprehensive data protection laws will be introduced in the house to focus on data protection of cardholders.
• Offline verification of the identity of the Aadhar card-holder will be permitted as an alternative to biometric verification method.
• A penalty of Rs. 1 crore and a jail term is set in case of leakage of Aadhar details by private entities.
• The passed bill now allows users to voluntary use the Aadhar as proof of identity connection {as KYC document} to open a bank account or to get a mobile phone.
• The bill focuses on preventing the misuse of Aadhar and making it more people friendly.
• The new bill also gives an option to opt out of the biometric ID program {Aadhar} when they attain the age of 18.
• This bill created the Unique Identification Authority of India Fund to credit it with all the fees, grants and charges received by UIDAI. This fund will be used to provide salary and allowance to employees of UIDAI.

Other laws that were changed in this meeting were the Indian Telegraphic Act, 1885 and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002.

Rules of Previous Aadhar bill under the Aadhar Act 2016

The (Aadhar Targeted delivery of financial and other subsidies, benefits and services) Act, 2016 is a money bill of the Indian Parliament. This act backs the Aadhar which is a unique identification number project. It was enacted on 11 March 2019 in Lok Sabha by the Ministry of Law and Justice. The regulations of this act are as given in chapters namely, “Preliminary” “Enrollment”, “Authentication”, “Unique Identification Authority of India”, “Grants Accounts and Audit and Annual Report”, “Protection of Information”, “Offences and Penalties”, and “Miscellaneous”. The brief introduction to these regulations is given below;

Chapter 1- Preliminary

This chapter provides all the definitions used in this act. It also states that the rules of this act are not liable for the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Furthermore, this act is also applicable for those who commit any crime outside India.

Chapter 2 -Enrollment:

Chapter 2 of this act states;

• Every resident must obtain an Aadhar number by submitting their demographic {name, DOB, address and other relevant information} and biometric {photograph, fingerprint, iris scan or other biological attributes} details.
• The enrolling agency has to inform the individual undergoing enrollment with details specified by regulations like; the method in which the information will be used, the nature of the recipients with whom the details will be shared and the procedure to access this information.
• When an Aadhar number is assigned to a person, the same number cannot be reassigned to any other individual.
• Aadhar number should be a random number and should not be related to the recipient.
• The Aadhar number can be used as a proof of identity for any purpose either in physical or electronic form.
• The authorities should take special measures to provide the Aadhar number to the categories of individuals not possessing a permanent dwelled house.

The chapter 3-Authentication

This chapter states that;

• A person must hold an Aadhar Card in case they are receiving any subsidy and should apply for the same if they already don’t have it.
• The UIDAI performs the process of verification after taking consent from the individual possessing the card. Also, they need to enlighten them with the nature of information which will be shared to them.
• UIDAI might share demographic details of a person but they are not allowed to share the biometric details.
• Aadhar is not proof of citizenship

Chapter 4 – Unique Identification Authority of India

The details provided in chapter 4 are the functions of UIDAI and the powers they possess.

• UIDAI sets the rules which specify the documents needed for registration.
• The organization can issue the card and perform verifications.
• They also specify the services for which Aadhar can be used.
• Clause 12 of this act states that the organization should have a chairperson, two part-timers and a chief executive officer
• Clause 13 specifies that the chairperson should have knowledge and experience of 10 years in matters related to technology, governance, law, development, economics, management, finance, public affairs/ administration.

Chapter 5- Grants Accounts and Audit and Annual Report

Clause 25 of this act states that any funds collected by UIDAI need to be deposited in the Consolidated Fund of India. Also, they need to submit an annual report to the central government. The annual report should contain activities of the past year, revenues and expenditures of the last year and the plans for the coming year.

Chapter 6- protection of Information

This chapter focuses on the security of the Aadhar data of individuals. Furthermore, the UIDAI has to present the identity of a particular person if ordered by the District Judge or Higher Court including the core biometric details of the person.

Chapter 7- Offences and Penalty

This chapter specifies the penalty for providing incorrect details with a motive to impersonate is imprisonment of 3 years and/ or a fine of Rs 10, 000. Also, the fine for leaking any information is 3years jail and/ or a minimum fine of Rs.1, 00,000. UIDAI or an individual authorized by it can register a complaint under clause 47 of this act to the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate or Chief Judicial Magistrate.

Chapter 8- Miscellaneous

Clause 48 declares that the central government might supersede/ take over UIDAI in case of non-compliance for a period of 6 months. Furthermore, clause 57 says that the state or private agencies may use Aadhar to verify/ confirm the identity of a person for any purpose.

To Conclude

The Aadhar bill passed in the Rajya Sabha meeting has made significant changes in the functioning and regulations relating to Aadhar. Moreover, the passing of this bill has made provisions to increase the securities and safety measures to protect from the threats that were there before.

Also, Read

• What is Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2018?
• What do you mean by Cheque Truncation System
• How Right To Privacy Judgment Impact Us