(NDTV)
The UIDAI today sought to allay fears over data protection and privacy issues around the 12 digit biometric identifier, asserting that Aadhaar is an identification tool and not a profiling one.It also stressed that Aadhaar data is governed by strong laws.
Fielding questions on Twitter in a live chat, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey said that Aadhaar is based on minimum information and biometrics which is “least intrusive”. To a specific query on whether UIDAI will go for DNA profiling in future, Mr Pandey said that there were no such plans.
“We take fingerprint, Iris and photo…We have no plans to take something like DNA… photo, fingerprint and Iris is good enough for de-duplication, generating Aadhaar and to authenticate any person,” he said. The UIDAI chief dismissed concerns that linking of various information with Aadhaar could lead to government monitoring, surveillance or possible misuse. “When you give Aadhaar number in bank… UIDAI doesn’t know about your bank account. Bank gives us your Aadhaar number and fingerprint and UIDAI is a matching service. It says a yes or no, or we send a limited eKYC,” he explained.
