The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) authorities have been informed that the Aadhaar enrolment has increased to around 85 per cent in Odisha.
The State’s Department of Electronics & Information Technology (DoeiT) has been making efforts to achieve a 100-per cent enrolment as the Central Government is expected to make funding for many welfare schemes Aadhaar-based.
In November 2016, the Aadhaar enrolment was only 78 per cent, which has increased to 85 per cent within four months. UIDAI Assistant Director General D Bhaskar Rao, who recently visited the State, was informed about the progress of the enrolment.
Rao urged the State Government to strictly adhere to the rules for preparing Aadhaar cards. Speaking at a workshop here, Rao said strict implementation of the rules was necessary for effective use of the card.
The workshop was attended, among others, by the Special Secretary Department of Electronics & IT RN Pallai and senior officials of the various other departments which would utilise Aadhaar cards. The departments are Health & Family Welfare, Panchayati Raj and Food Civil Supplies and Consumer Welfare.
The officials were directed not to insist on Aadhaar cards during emergency situations and ensure secrecy of the biometric details of card holders.
The officials were told that divulging the biometric details such as fingerprint or retina may endanger the lives of card holders.
The officials were also advised not to make Aadhaar cards mandatory while seeking an lPG connection. “But Aadhaar cards are essential for availing subsidy in lPG,” Rao said.