Aadhaar must to get driving licence, access services soon

NEW DELHI: You will soon have to produce an Aadhaar number to access government services, right from applying for a driving licence to registering a property deed.

Delivering targeted subsidies isn’t all that the Aadhaar bill passed by Parliament this month seeks to achieve. It also makes the 12-digit unique identity number the new weapon in the government’s armoury to fight black money, put an end to benami transactions and check frauds, too.

Once the new law comes into force, the government will start identifying public services that you can access only on producing an Aadhaar number. Those who do not have it will have to give proof that they have applied for one. Nearly 78% of the 128 crore population has been issued an Aadhaar number.

Notwithstanding the risks to privacy, this will have its share of advantages.

“It will significantly reduce the problem of ghosts and duplicates in the system... what is called retail fraud,” ABP Pandey, director general and mission director, Unique Identification Authority of India, told HT.

For instance, Aadhaar will ensure that a person can get only one driving licence, irrespective of which corner of the country he gets it from.

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