5 New Features Added to Aadhaar by UIDAI

Aadhaar has become one of the most important government identity proofs today. UIDAI, the 12-digit Aadhaar number issuing body, has generated more than 1.23 billion such numbers till January 2019. The institution keeps on upgrading its infrastructure and processes to weed out loopholes and become a highly effective tool for service delivery in the country. It is worth noting that Aadhaar is still mandatory for availing subsidies under government welfare schemes. In this article, we will have a look at the recent developments related to Aadhaar card. 

Reprint Aadhaar Card

UIDAI has initiated the facility to reprint Aadhaar card. This service is helpful for those who have lost or misplaced their original Aadhaar card. The applicant receives the reprinted Aadhaar card on the address mentioned in the Aadhaar card. He has to pay a fee of ₹ 50 to avail this facility. The fee is inclusive of GST.  The payment, however, has to be made online at the time applying for the reprint of the card.

One can apply for the Aadhaar card using his virtual ID (VID) as well. The Aadhaar card is sent to the address through speed post and the applicant gets the details on his registered mobile number. UIDAI hands over the reprinted Aadhaar letter to India Post for delivery within five days of the application.

One has to visit the UIDAI portal to order for Aadhaar card reprint and follow the steps mentioned below:

• Click on the “Order Aadhaar Reprint (Pilot Basis)” in the My Aadhaar section
• Enter Aadhaar number/VID and security code
• Tick the option to either get the OTP on unregistered mobile number or enter the TOTP generated through the mAadhaar app
• Alternatively, one can follow the step to send the OTP to the registered mobile number
• Enter the OTP/TOTP and submit the application
• The applicant gets to see the Aadhaar preview. Click on “Make Payment” to pay for the service beforehand
• The payment has to be done online after which a Service Request Number (SRN) is generated
• The SRN can be used to check the status of the request online

UIDAI also provides the facility to check the status of the Aadhaar Reprint Request through its portal. One has to click on the “Check Aadhaar Reprint Request Status” in the Aadhaar Reprint section. The applicant has to enter the SRN and UID (Aadhaar number) to check the status of the reprint request.

Aadhaar Validation Letter

Aadhaar card acts as a valid proof of identity and address. It is not proof of citizenship. Any person residing in India for at least 182 days in the past 365 days can apply for an Aadhaar card. A number of people relocate to a new place for jobs or other purposes. They do not have credible address proof with them. UIDAI has made provisions through which people can update the address in their Aadhaar card.

This process gets completed in three steps – First, the applicant places a request to update an address online through an introducer (verifier), second, the verifier approves the request and third, the applicant finally submits the application online.

In the first step, the applicant fills his details and the verifier’s Aadhaar number after which an OTP and a link are sent to the registered mobile number of the verifier. The verifier has to enter this OTP to validate the request initiated by the applicant. After successful validation by the verifier, an SRN is generated and sent to the registered mobile number of the applicant. The applicant has to enter the SRN and send an OTP to the registered mobile number. The OTP has to be entered and the update request has to be submitted to UIDAI which updates the address after proper verification.

Aadhaar authentication using unregistered mobile number

UIDAI has launched a new function for Aadhaar authenticating the update request or any other task by sending OTP to even the unregistered mobile number. Under this facility, the OTP is sent to the mobile number entered at the time of placing the request. However, this facility is available to only those users who have not registered their mobile number with Aadhaar.

People who already have a mobile number registered with UIDAI, however, will not be able to avail this facility. It is worth mentioning that if the Aadhaar card holder has lost his registered mobile number, he will have to visit a nearby Aadhaar Enrolment Centre to update a new mobile number in Aadhaar’s database.

Masked Aadhaar

Masked Aadhaar is the new facility started by UIDAI to provide hidden Aadhaar card to the Aadhaar holders when they download the e-Aadhaar from UIDAI’s portal. This initiative is taken in addition to the VID (16-digit alternative number generated against an Aadhaar number) to improve the security and safety issues. As per this feature, the first eight digits of the Aadhaar number are hidden and only the last four digits of the Aadhaar number are visible in the Aadhaar card.

The masked Aadhaar is acceptable at all places except in government institutions where the cardholder has applied for availing subsidies under various government welfare schemes.

A secured QR code on the Aadhaar card

UIDAI has replaced QR codes on Aadhaar card with secured QR-codes. These QR codes contain the demographic details of the user along with his photograph. There are two QR codes on the Aadhaar letter, the smaller QR code contains only the demographic details of the Aadhaar holder whereas the bigger QR code contains the demographic details if the user along with his photograph. The smaller QR code is on the front side of the Aadhaar card whereas the rear side of the Aadhaar card contains the bigger QR code.

The new secured QR code is digitally signed and can be read using the windows based UIDAI’s app that is available on the Aadhaar portal. It is worth considering that one needs a good quality QR code reader to verify details of the Aadhaar card. The best thing about this facility is that anybody can use this service to verify Aadhaar number, be it an individual or a service provider such as banks, AUAs, etc. for offline Aadhaar data verification.

UIDAI aims to dynamically correct any flaw in the Aadhaar ecosystem by implementing state-of-the-art technology and improve the security of the system without compromising with its service delivery model.

(This story has not been edited by News Nation staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)