An Aadhaar card is a unique identification number which is issued to each and every citizen of India. It is a biometric system that stores all the personal details in a database maintained by the government. It provides a unique identity that helps serve various purposes. It can be used for all government programs or services.
The Indian Government found immense success in the implementation and issuance of Aadhaar, every Indian’s Unique Identification Number. Almost 90% of Indian’s have a UID, and the government and total population of India have a UID. The government and various businesses have now started using Aadhaar in innovative and interesting ways.
Advantages of Aadhaar:
Universal address proof: An address proof is required at various places in the country. If you are living away from home, it will become a huge task for you to provide an address proof. You can use your Aadhaar card as an address proof for a variety of tasks.
Open a bank account, invest in mutual funds or buy an insurance policy: There is no requirement for KYC compliance if you hold an Aadhaar. You can now open a bank account, invest in mutual funds as well as purchase an insurance policy with ease.
Posting an income tax return verification acknowledgement not required: Aadhaar makes the entire process of tax returns paperless. You can now verify your income tax returns using an Aadhaar OTP and log in to your vault and review past returns using your Aadhaar number.
Easier EPF withdrawals: You can now link your Aadhaar with the EPF account number. Through it, you can directly approach the EPFO for a withdrawal.
Receive government benefits directly: You can now obtain all government benefits directly to your bank account. Be it gas subsidy or pension benefits, the process is easy and enables quick receipt.
Advantage of digital locker: The government has initiated a Digi-locker system for individuals to store their personal documents. The process requires the individual to link their Aadhaar and then store the documents on the government’s secured server.
Voter card linkage: The Aadhaar card number is linked to voter ids to eliminate bogus voting. This would make it impossible for multiple voter id holders to make use of multiple ids.
Digital life certificate: The digital life certificate or the Jeevan Praman for pensioners, abolishes the requirement for a pensioner to be physically present in order to receive his/her pension. Pensioner can continue to receive their pension without leaving home.
It is believed that the Aadhaar card will continue to gain prominence over the next few years, additionally the government is trying to link the system with multiple other systems and further enhance its significance.