UIDAI LAUNCHES MUCH-AWAITED VIRTUAL ID FOR AADHAAR
Service providers yet to accept Aadhaar number’s replacement
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on Monday launched the virtual ID (VID) facility for Aadhaar, which provides a more secure way of protecting the 12- digit biometric number by mas king it and generating a 16-digit randomly generated VID instead
The UIDAI tweeted that residents could generate their V IDs right away, but service providers were expected to start accepting them “soon ”. The authority added the new V IDs could be used for updating registered addresses on the Aadhaare-portal.
The V ID system was announced in January amid rising security concerns over the security of Aadhaardata, which is shared with service providers such as banks, insurance companies and telecom operators. While announcing the launch of VID, the U ID AI had claimed the new system would provide the required anonymity with a randomly generated number that could be de activated andre generated according to one’s need.
The new system was supposed to be launched on March 1 but the UIDAI had remained silent for the last four weeks about the launch.
Though the V ID system was launched on Monday, service providers have until June 1 to start accepting V IDs, failing which their authentication facilities can be revoked.
“While it is important to ensure that A ad ha ar number-holders can use their identity information to avail many products and services, the collection and storage of A ad ha ar numbers by various entities has heightened privacy concerns ,” the circular issued by the U ID AI in January said.
“The A ad ha ar number being a permanent ID for life, there is a need to provide a mechanism to ensure its continued use by the holder, while optimal ly protecting the collection and storage of the A ad ha ar number itself in many databases ,” the circular added.
It was expected that the UIDAI would allow multiple virtual IDs to be generated with each UID. In its current form, however, only one VID can be generated for an Aadhaar number at a time.
The V ID launch also comes in the midst of an ongoing Supreme Court case on the constitutional validity of the U ID project. Last week, U ID AI Chief Executive Officer A jay B hush an Pan dey made a presentation to a five judge Bench led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra and said the V ID would solve security problems related to Aadhaar.
However, the Bench questioned the ease of use of VID and asked how people in the rural parts of the country would generate the number off the internet each time they needed to link their A ad ha ar number to a service. The Bench had also asked Pan dey to submit a note to the court on how the V ID would function.
Subhas his Banerjee, professor of computer science at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi and a member of the UIDAI’s security review committee, said the limitation of being able to generate only one V ID per day did not “make much sense”.
“I do not understand the reason behind this restriction. So, if you have to give it to one telecom operator and one wallet company, then you have to wait for a day to generate a new VID,” hesaid.
“If VID has to work, it has to be implemented well and service providers will take time to come on board. Right now, clear directions on implementation and specifications are also missing ,” he added.