The Reserve Bank of India on Saturday clarified that linking of Aadhaar to bank account is mandatory under the Prevention of Money-Laundering (Maintenance of Records).
The clarification comes after a section of the media reported while quoting a reply to a Right to Information Act application that linking of bank accounts with Aadhaar is not mandatory.
"The Reserve Bank clarifies that, in applicable cases, linkage of Aadhaar number to bank account is mandatory under the Prevention of Money-Laundering (Maintenance of Records) Second Amendment Rules, 2017 published in the Official Gazette on June 1, 2017.," the central bank said.
"These Rules have statutory force and, as such, banks have to implement them without awaiting further instructions," it added.
The central bank has not issued any separate directions to banks for linking of Aadhaar with bank accounts after the government revised the PML Act.