Aadhaar Verification New Rules: A significant change to Aadhaar verification is expected to take effect soon. The government is preparing to introduce a new rule under which hotels, event organisers, and similar establishments will no longer be allowed to collect or store physical photocopies of Aadhaar cards.
According to a senior official who spoke to PTI, keeping paper copies of Aadhaar constitutes a serious privacy risk and violates the Aadhaar law. This concern has led to the decision to phase out paper-based Aadhaar verification completely.
UIDAI Approves the New Aadhaar Verification Framework
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has already approved the new rule, and it is expected to be officially notified soon. Under this framework, any organisation that wishes to conduct offline Aadhaar verification must first register with UIDAI.
Once registered, institutions will be required to verify Aadhaar details only through digital methods, ensuring better data protection and compliance with the law.
QR Code and App-Based Verification to Replace Paper Copies
UIDAI Chairman Bhuvnesh Kumar has confirmed that all organisations will now have to use secure APIs for Aadhaar verification. This will include QR code-based and app-based authentication methods.
As a result, people will no longer need to submit physical photocopies of their Aadhaar card at hotels, event venues, or other service locations. The main objective of this move is to eliminate paper-based verification and significantly reduce the chances of Aadhaar data misuse.
New UIDAI App to Enable Offline Aadhaar Verification
UIDAI is also beta-testing a new application to support app-to-app Aadhaar verification. One of the most significant advantages of this app is that it will not require a live connection to the central Aadhaar server every time.
This will make Aadhaar verification easier at places like airports, retail outlets, and event venues, even in areas with poor network connectivity.
Additional Features and Privacy Benefits
Through the new application, users can also update their address and add family members who do not have a mobile phone. Another significant benefit of the new system is that it will eliminate server downtime, which often disrupts Aadhaar verification processes today.
With QR code and app-based offline verification, these technical interruptions are expected to disappear. UIDAI has stated that the new model will significantly strengthen user privacy and eliminate risks linked to Aadhaar photocopy leakage.
This entire overhaul is being implemented in line with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, which is expected to be fully enforced within the next 18 months.