THE AADHAAR (TARGETED DELIVERY OF FINANCIAL AND OTHER SUBSIDIES, BENEFITS AND SERVICES) BILL, 2016
A BILL to provide for, as a good governance, efficient, transparent, and targeted delivery of subsidies, benefits and services, the expenditure for which is incurred from the Consolidated Fund of India, to individuals residing in India through assigning of unique identity numbers to such individuals and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. BE it enacted by Parliament in the Sixty-seventh Year of the Republic of India as follows:–CHAPTER I PRELIMINARY
1. (1) This Act may be called the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other
Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016.
(2) It shall extend to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir and
save as otherwise provided in this Act, it shall also apply to any offence or contravention
thereunder committed outside India by any person.
(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification
in the Official Gazette, appoint; and different dates may, be appointed for different provisions
of this Act and any reference in any such provision to the commencement of this Act shall be
construed as a reference to the commencement of that provision.
2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(a) “Aadhaar number” means an identification number issued to an individual
under sub-section (3) of section 3;
(b) “Aadhaar number holder” means an individual who has been issued an
Aadhaar number under this Act;
(c) “authentication” means the process by which the Aadhaar number alongwith
demographic information or biometric information of an individual is submitted to the
Central Identities Data Repository for its verification and such Repository verifies
the correctness, or the lack thereof, on the basis of information available with it;
(d) “authentication record” means the record of the time of authentication and
identity of the requesting entity and the response provided by the Authority thereto;
(e) “Authority” means the Unique Identification Authority of India established
under sub-section (1) of section 11;
(f) “benefit” means any advantage, gift, reward, relief, or payment, in cash or
kind, provided to an individual or a group of individuals and includes such other
benefits as may be notified by the Central Government;
(g) “biometric information” means photograph, finger print, Iris scan, or
other such biological attributes of an individual as may be specified by regulations;
(h) “Central Identities Data Repository” means a centralised database in one or
more locations containing all Aadhaar numbers issued to Aadhaar number holders
along with the corresponding demographic information and biometric information of
such individuals and other information related thereto;
(i) “Chairperson” means the Chairperson of the Authority appointed under
section 12;
(j) “core biometric information” means finger print, Iris scan, or such other
biological attribute of an individual as may be specified by regulations;
(k) “demographic information” includes information relating to the name, date
of birth, address and other relevant information of an individual, as may be specified
by regulations for the purpose of issuing an Aadhaar number, but shall not include
race, religion, caste, tribe, ethnicity, language, records of entitlement, income or medical
history;
(l) “enrolling agency” means an agency appointed by the Authority or a
Registrar, as the case may be, for collecting demographic and biometric information of
individuals under this Act;
(m) “enrolment” means the process, as may be specified by regulations, to
collect demographic and biometric information from individuals by the enrolling
agencies for the purpose of issuing Aadhaar numbers to such individuals under this
Act;
(n) “identity information” in respect of an individual, includes his Aadhaar
number, his biometric information and his demographic information;
(o) “Member” includes the Chairperson and Member of the Authority appointed
under section 12;
(p) “notification” means a notification published in the Official Gazette and the
expression “notified” with its cognate meanings and grammatical variations shall be
construed accordingly;
(q) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made by the Central Government
under this Act;
(r) “records of entitlement” means records of benefits, subsidies or services
provided to, or availed by, any individual under any programme;
(s) “Registrar” means any entity authorised or recognised by the Authority for
the purpose of enrolling individuals under this Act;
(t) “regulations” means the regulations made by the Authority under this Act;
(u) “requesting entity” means an agency or person that submits the Aadhaar
number, and demographic information or biometric information, of an individual to the
Central Identities Data Repository for authentication;
(v) “resident” means an individual who has resided in India for a period or
periods amounting in all to one hundred and eighty-two days or more in the twelve
months immediately preceding the date of application for enrolment;
(w) “service” means any provision, facility, utility or any other assistance
provided in any form to an individual or a group of individuals and includes such
other services as may be notified by the Central Government;
(x) “subsidy” means any form of aid, support, grant, subvention, or
appropriation, in cash or kind, to an individual or a group of individuals and includes
such other subsidies as may be notified by the Central Government.
