New Delhi: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved official amendments to the Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill 2019 that will enable the states to utilize the unique identity number that will help avail benefits and subsidies of of schemes run by the state governments.
Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar said that Aadhaar can now be used for identification for distributing state subsidies as well. “As per Supreme Court order, Aadhaar is allowed where the funds are going for beneficiary schemes coming straight from the central government. The way subsidies to the central schemes are transferred from the central fund, Aadhaar can be used for transferring state subsidies,” he told reporters while briefing about the Cabinet decisions.
The minister said that many states had requested for measures to use Aadhaar in their schemes. The bill with the proposed amendments will be introduced in Parliament during the current session. Javadekar also asserted that 128 crore Aadhaar cards have been registered and the states will be able to disburse subsidies to the needy and curb fraud.
