Govt: uidai status Bill in Winter session

The Bill to provide the authority legal backing was approved by the Union Cabinet in September 2010 and introduced in the Rajya Sabha in December that year.

The government will push for passage of a long-pending Bill to provide statutory status to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) in the Winter Session of Parliament.

We will bring the National Identification Authority of India Bill 2010 in Parliament during the forthcoming Winter Session for discussion and passage, Planning Minister Rajeev Shukla said. The UIDAI,which issues 12-digit Aadhaar numbers to residents,currently operates through an executive order.

The working of the UIDAI has come under scrutiny of the Supreme Court,which in an interim order Monday observed that Aadhaar can be issued only to Indian nationals and the identification number cannot be made mandatory for availing benefits of the governments subsidy schemes.

The Bill to provide the authority legal backing was approved by the Union Cabinet in September 2010 and introduced in the Rajya Sabha in December that year.