According to a top official on Tuesday, the Unique Identification Authority of India is considering providing an Aadhaar card with the holder’s photo and a QR code in order to avoid data misuse and discourage offline verification methods that are illegal.
UIDAI CEO Bhuvnesh Kumar stated in an open online conference on a new Aadhaar app that the agency is thinking of enacting a new rule in December to improve the age verification process using Aadhaar while protecting people’s privacy and discourage offline verification by organizations like hotels and event planners.
There is a reasoning behind the inclusion of any information on the card. Just a picture and a QR code should be included. People will continue to accept what is printed if we continue to print. Those who know how to abuse it will continue to do so, according to Kumar.
The Aadhaar Act forbids gathering, using, or storing a person’s Aadhaar number or biometric data for any kind of offline verification.
Nonetheless, a number of organizations still gather and preserve copies of the Aadhaar card.
Legislation to prevent offline verification using a copy of an Aadhaar card is being developed, according to Kumar, and it will be reviewed by the Aadhaar authority on December 1.
It is never appropriate to utilize Aadhaar as a document. Only the Aadhaar number or a QR code should be used for authentication. Otherwise, it can be a fraudulent paper, according to Kumar.
In order to provide them with an update on the new app that is being developed and is anticipated to be released shortly, the UIDAI convened a joint meeting with a number of stakeholders, including banks, hotels, fintech companies, etc.
The new app, which will be fully functional in 18 months, is anticipated to improve the Aadhaar authentication service in accordance with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act.
Users will be able to add other family members who do not own a mobile phone to the app and update their address proof documents on the new app.
According to a UIDAI official, the new software will also allow Aadhaar holders in the family to update their mobile numbers using the app’s facial authentication feature.
According to Kumar, the new software will take the place of the mAadhaar app and make it easier for the different organizations that need to authenticate a person for different reasons.
The new app will function similarly to the Digiyatra app’s Aadhaar verification.
According to him, entities can provide UIDAI with comments on new Aadhaar authentication service use cases, and the authentication service can produce a variety of use cases.
According to another UIDAI official, the new app will assist in the verification of individuals in a number of situations, such as student verifications, hotel check-in, entry into residential societies, movies, events, and purchasing certain products where the minimum age requirement is 18.
Information about updating offline verification seeking entities’ (OVSE) systems has been made available online by the competent authority.
According to him, OVSE may verify Aadhaar number holders online and as evidence of their physical presence using the new system.
“The Aadhaar bearer will display the QR code in the OVSE scanner. After that, the system will ask for facial recognition. This will serve as evidence of the existence of an Aadhaar number holder. We will shortly be accepting applications for OVSE. The official stated, “We will confirm OVSE’s details, and after approval is completed, OVSE will need to start technical integration to access a QR code for updating data from the Aadhaar database.”
