The missing connection

Over a year ago, the government made Aadhaar a mandatory document for all government-related services. After a few months, it was made compulsory to link the Unique Identification Number (UIN) to all official documents.

Recently, the Centre informed the Supreme Court that all subscribers had to link their mobile phone numbers with Aadhaar by February 6. It is also a necessity to produce Aadhaar as a proof for opening new bank accounts. This step taken by the Centre is garnering a lot of attention, both online and offline. Oswald Ernest, a sales manager in the city, points out, “Having an Aadhaar card is essential right now.

The UIN separates us from the crowd and gives us our own identity. This apart, linking the identification number to all the legal and official documents will make it easy for officials to find out details of a person. For instance, if someone’s phone is stolen, it will make the investigation process easier if one’s Aadhaar is linked to their mobile number. This goes for one’s bank account too. Tracing someone’s lost credit or ATM card will be an easier task if they have linked their UIN with their account. This way, finding the culprit will be a smooth task. This is a mature decision taken by the Government.”

While the government is taking many steps to ensure the citizens have their UIN, there are still many who have not applied for theirs. This attitude of people, Oswald says, is sheer laziness. “With a social security number, the flow of black money will reduce a lot and this issue can also be curbed from the grass root level,” he adds.

Amidst all the buzz on the importance of having an Aadhaar card, there are also people like Rini (name changed), whose attempt at getting an Aadhaar card has been an unpleasant experience. She says, “I have made a few visits to the different enrolment centres including the ones in Hebbal and Frazer Town but I was told that my rental documents are wrong because it doesn’t match the address of my native place. If I have to get one made, I will have to apply it from my native place only. Though I have not faced any issues till now, the new steps are going to be difficult. I am trying to figure out the loopholes and fix this.”

Jaya Sharma, who works with RBL Bank, Residency Road, says, “Linking one’s Aadhaar has become mandatory with everything and it is an extremely positive step taken by the Centre. The ones who will have a problem are people who don’t have an Aadhaar card. It is a basic requirement for an identity and everyone must possess one. However, I would like to suggest that the Centre should work on a process where the Aadhaar number gets automatically linked to different government documents, rather than people having to do it manually with each document.”