Aadhaar card update: Soon, smartphones will become universal authenticator to establish your identity

At present, finger prints, iris and one-time password (OTP) are used for authentication and efforts are on to increase the scope of the same.

New Delhi:  The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is looking at using smartphones as "universal authenticator" to establish a resident's identity, chief executive Saurabh Garg has said.

However, the official has not given any additional details on how the process of identification can get complete using the smartphone. At present, finger prints, iris and one-time password (OTP) are used for Aadhaar authentication and efforts are on to increase the scope of the same.

Addressing the 'ETBFSI Converge' summit, Garg said, "We are looking at how the smartphone can develop as a universal authenticator. That is an area of work that is ongoing and we hope we will be able to proceed rapidly in that direction. It will help people to do authentication right from where they are living, staying etc"

Garg said that of the overall 120 crore mobile connections, 80 crore are smartphones which could be used for the authentication.

The banking and the telecom industry have rapidly adopted the Aadhaar number for fulfilling the know-your-customer norms, he said, adding that 70 crore or half of the overall bank accounts are seeded with Aadhaar.

However, the number of pension accounts (3 crore) and mutual fund holders (around 10 crore) is very less and those industries should make use of the facilities offered by Aadhaar to rapidly expand coverage, Garg said.

He said the UIDAI has now decreased charges for full KYC to Rs 3 per authentication and 50 paise for a simple 'yes or no' authentication in order to drive up the usage.

What is Aadhaar Authentication?

Aadhaar Authentication is a process by which the Aadhaar number along with demographic information (such as name, date of birth, gender etc) or biometric information (Fingerprint or Iris) of an individual is submitted to UIDAI’s Central Identities Data Repository (CIDR) for its verification and UIDAI verifies the correctness of the details submitted, or the lack thereof, on the basis of information available with it.

Why do you need Aadhaar Authentication?

Various government schemes and private service providers such as PDS, NREGA, banks and telecom operators have adopted Aadhaar authentication for verification of their beneficiaries/customers. The authentication is generally done either at the time of delivery of benefits or subscribing to the service.

What are the benefits of Aadhaar authentication?

Aadhaar authentication provides an instant mechanism to prove your identity through online authentication. Therefore one need not carry any other ID proof except Aadhaar number.

With PTI Inputs