More Aadhaar confusion as UGC joins in

By Our Staff Reporter

Guwahati, July 9: Amid the confusion over Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) asking LPG consumers to submit Aadhaar numbers to resume their LPG subsidy, the University Grants Commission has issued a circular stating Aadhaar is mandatory for disbursement of government subsidies, scholarships and fellowships.

State Fince minister Himanta Biswa Sarma today sought to clear the air surrounding the IOC’s SMS to its customers, saying he has spoken to Union Petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan about it. “People in Assam do not have Aadhaar cards, so the SMS is not applicable here,” Sarma said.

Customers this evening received another SMS from IOC, asking them to ignore the previous SMS.

However, it emerged today that the UGC has also written to vice-chancellors of all universities stating that from the year 2016-17, Aadhaar has been made mandatory for disbursement of all government subsidies, scholarships and fellowships which are to be deposited directly to the bank accounts. The universities were asked to seek the details of beneficiaries and upload them on their websites.

“It is requested that in case some beneficiaries do not have Aadhaar cards, they may be instructed to get themselves enrolled immediately in the Regiol Offices of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) for obtaining it,” wrote the UGC.

The Lok Sabha in March had passed the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Fincial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) bill, 2016 as a money bill. The bill seeks to make the use of Aadhaar number mandatory for availing of government subsidies, and addresses concerns regarding privacy and protection of persol information. However, UIDAI has not yet been implemented in Assam and Meghalaya.