UIDAI allows 20,000 CSCs to provide facility to update Aadhaar

The Unique Identification Authority of India has permitted around 20,000 common service centres (CSCs) that are currently functioning as banking correspondents to update Aadhaar details of people.

The move by the UIDAI on April 24 to grant conditional approval to the CSCs to help with updating details of Aadhaar comes a relief to citizens, particularly from the rural areas.

Until now, the facility to update or make changes in Aadhaar cards were available only at certain banks, post offices, and centres specifically set up by the government for this purpose.

The UIDAI said that the system is expected to be ready by the end of June 2020.

IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad put out posts on social media about the permission granted by the UIDAI to the CSCs.

Prasad said he would like the CSC village level entrepreneurs (VLEs) to start the Aadhaar work with responsibility and as per the instructions issued by the UIDAI. “I am sure this facility will help a large number of rural citizens to get Aadhaar services closer to their place of residence,” Prasad said.

To make Aadhaar updating easier for citizens, @UIDAI has permitted @CSCegov_ which are designated banking correspondents of banks, to offer #Aadhaar update services. Around 20,000 such CSCs will now be able to offer this service to citizens.

— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) April 27, 2020

CSC e-Governance Services CEO Dinesh Tyagi said the CSCs handling banking correspondent work will do everything once their technical system is integrated with that of UIDAI. However, the CSCs will not be permitted to allow fresh registration by applicants for Aadhaar.

“Only the demographic update facility will be allowed. The authentication of operators and residents shall be done using two factors, fingerprint and Iris,” the UIDAI said in a letter to Tyagi.

“Apart from 20,000 BCs, over 30,000 CSCs are delivering banking service using AePS (Aadhaar-enabled payment system). About 1.2 lakhs AePS transactions worth ₹20 crore are taking place a day. This is helping farmers, Jan Dhan account holders, pensioners, Ujwala beneficiaries in withdrawing the amount, transferred to their accounts by the government through DBT,” LiveMint quoted Tyagi as saying.

He said that CSCs will update biometrics details of children, change or correct addresses, and do other such minor changes.

There are around 2.74 lakh CSCs functioning across the country, providing government services to people in rural areas.

The UIDAI has already authorised CSC e-Governance Services offices at the district level to make changes in Aadhaar.

Earlier, all service centres authorised by CSC India e-Governance Services Limited were allowed to provide Aadhaar-related services. These CSCs had helped generate at least 20 crore Aadhaar cards, before their services were stopped in December 2018 after the Supreme Court issued an order against it.

(With inputs from agencies)