Seniors may not need Aadhaar, says Centre

New Delhi, May 16: The government on Wednesday allowed injured, ill and infirm old aged persons to use alternative means of authentication in place of national biometric ID Aadhaar to confirm their identity for bank accounts.

In a gazette notification, the government said Prevention of Moneylaundering rules have been amended to provide for alternative means of identification, for such select category of people who face difficulties in their biometric authentication.

The amendment provides for "appropriate exemptions, limitations and conditions and alternative and viable means of identification, to pro- vide account based services to clients who are unable to undergo biometric authentication owing to injury, illness or infirmity on account of old age or otherwise, and such like causes."

“Every reporting entity will formulate and implement a client due diligence programme...", it said further.

When contacted, UIDAI CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey told PTI that the rules will help old people, injured and ill who were facing problems in undergoing biometric authentication to continue with banking and other financial services without difficulty.

This will also ensure that no genuine account holder is denied banking services owing to problems of biometric authentication, Pandey added.

It may be recalled that the Supreme Court on May 10 has reserved its verdict on a batch of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar scheme and its enabling 2016 law after a marathon hearing.