Aadhaar will be linked to driving licences now

Gurgaon, Sept. 15: The Centre will soon start linking driving licence with Aadhaar, electronics and IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Friday.

“It will be done soon to check the menace of multiple licensing,” he said after inaugurating the Haryana Digital Summit-2017 in Gurgaon.

“I have already had a word with Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari, in this regard and the process to link Aadhaar with driving licence will be set in motion soon,” he said.

Referring to the debate on security of Aadhaar data, Mr Prasad said the biometric information — which includes iris scan and fingerprints — is stored in an encrypted form and is very secure.

“If you look at the physical card, it has my photo, says I am a male and has my permanent Patna address at the back. It does not have details like names of my parents, caste, religion, educational qualification, financial income or health records. None of the things by which you can be profiled are mentioned on the Aadhaar card,” he said.

He added that “Aadhaar is a digital identity” which confirms the physical identity with the help of biometrics, and there are laws in place to check against unauthorised usage of Aadhaar.

The central government has linked PAN card to Aadhaar to stop money laundering, an official statement quoting him said.