Dear Comrades,
UIDAI validates digital counterpart to tackle problem of letters lost in transit.
To overcome the unending complaints of Aadhaar letters being lost
in transit by India Post, the Unique Identification Authority of India
(UIDAI) has decided to validate "e-aadhaar" as a secured electronic
document "to be treated on a par with the printed Aadhaar letter".
In an office memorandum issued on March 28 by UIDAI's Assistant
Director General A Kharkwal, it has been noted that the "Information
Technology Act, 2000 provides for legal recognition of electronic
records with digital signatures".
"The issue has been considered and it has been decided that
e-aadhaar is to be treated as a valid document in view of the fact that
it has been digitally certified... The e-aadhaar document is digitally
signed using certificate issued by NIC, as per the IT Act, 2000," the
memorandum read.
"Further, all the data printed in e-aadhaar letter is the same as
that printed in Aadhaar letter. In view of the above, e-aadhaar is a
valid and secured electronic document which should be treated on a par
with printed Aadhaar letter," the memorandum stated.
The Delhi government, as well as other state governments, had
voiced concerns over loss of Aadhaar letters during transit — Newsline
had reported that many were being dumped in bulk at certain places.
India Post had also acknowledged that it struggled to deal with bulk
orders during Phase I of the project, owing to shortage of manpower and
equipment.
The UIDAI notification stated that a "resident portal" has been
launched to enable the residents to download their "e-aadhaar", an
electronically generated letter, from the UIDAI's website.
Indian Express.Com