Indian government has withdrawn an UIDAI advisory that caution the general public against sharing photocopy of their Aadhaar with any organisation.
The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) said it is withdrawing the press release as it can lead to misinterpretation.
The release advise the people to not to share photocopy of their Aadhaar with any organisation because it can be misuse.
Alternatively, a mask Aadhaar which displays only the last 4 digits of Aadhaar number, can be use.
Statement Said :
MeitY, in the withdrawal statement, said the UIDAI issue Aadhaar card holders are only advised to exercise normal prudence in using and sharing their Aadhaar numbers.
Statement Said :
The Aadhaar card, which has a unique number tied to an individual’s fingerprints, face and eye scan, aims to block theft and leakage in India’s welfare schemes.
But critics fear it could spawn a surveillance state.
A press release issue by the Bengaluru Regional Office of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on Friday ask the general public not to share photocopy of one’s Aadhaar with any organisation because it can be misuse.
Alternatively, a mask Aadhaar which displays only the last 4 digits of the biometric ID can be use for the purpose, it had added.
Release States :
The warning trigger alarm on social media as screengrabs of the press release and news articles went viral, with the issue among the top 10 trending topics in India on Twitter.
India’s Supreme Court in 2018 upheld the validity of the Aadhaar, but flag privacy concerns and reined in a government push to make it mandatory for everything from banking to telecom services.