Government to introduce new Aadhaar Bill in Parliament today

The government will introduce new Aadhaar Bill in Parliament today. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will introduce the Aadhaar Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services bill 2016 in Lok Sabha. Union Cabinet approved the Bill at a meeting yesterday. 

Mr. Jaitley, yesterday, expressed hope that the Aadhaar Bill will be passed in the ongoing Budget Session. The bill will provide a legal basis to the the unique identification number. Talking to Rajya Sabha TV, Mr Jaitley said it is an important law that can rationalize subsidies.

The Finance Minister, in his budget speech on Monday, had announced that the bill will be



introduced in the ongoing session itself. The minister had said the public money should reach the poor and deserving without any leakage. He had however clarified that the Aadhar number or authentication shall not confirm any rights of citizenship or domicile. 

There is already a National Identification Authority of India Bill, 2010, pending in the Rajya Sabha. The Standing Committee on Finance chaired by Yashwant Sinha in its report submitted in 2011, had however found some deficiencies in that bill. The Committee had recommended the government reconsider the Unique Identification (UID) scheme and introduce a new Bill in Parliament.