Aadhaar Virtual ID: Here's what ex-Finance Minister Chidambaram has to say

Aadhaar Virtual ID will give the users the option of not sharing their Aadhaar number at the time of authentication.

New Delhi: A day after the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) introduced a new concept of 'Virtual ID' for Aadhaar card holders, former finance minister and Congress leader P Chidambaram hinted that it was too late an attempt.

Chidambaram took to Twitter to offer his point of view stating that the new security layer is like locking the stable after horses have bolted.
He tweeted:

Under compulsion, millions of persons have already shared Aadhaar number with many service providers. New security layer is like locking the stable after horses have bolted.

— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) January 11, 2018

He was implying that government's new measure to secure Aadhaar data was meaningless because the damage has been done as millions of citizens have already shared their unique ID number with service providers.

UIDAI yesterday introduced 'Virtual ID' (VID) to safeguard Aadhaar cardholders' data. This will give the users the option of not sharing their Aadhaar number at the time of authentication.

The Virtual ID, which would be a random 16-digit number, together with biometrics of the user would give any authorised agency like a mobile company, limited details like name, address and photograph, which are enough for any verification.

A user can generate as many Virtual IDs as he or she wants. The older ID gets automatically cancelled once a fresh one is generated.