10 crore Aadhaar numbers linked to bank accounts: UIDAI

NEW DELHI: Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) today said the number of Aadhaar numbers that have been linked to bank accounts has touched 10 crore, enabling these individuals to digitally receive subsidies and benefits under government schemes.

"A major milestone in government's Digital India mission has been crossed with 10 crore Aadhaar numbers having been linked to bank accounts of Aadhaar holders, enabling these individuals to digitally receive government welfare subsidies and other payments directly into their bank accounts," a UIDAI statement said.

It said establishing a link between an Aadhaar number and a bank account makes it easy for the government to identify genuine beneficiaries and route welfare payments and subsidies directly into their bank accounts.

As on December 9, the Aadhaar Payment Bridge saw transactions cross the 7.94 crore-mark across government welfare programmes such as Direct Benefit Transfer for LPG, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee (MNREGA) scheme, Tribal welfare schemes, Pensions, amounting to Rs 5,151.51 crore, it said

Issuance of Aadhaars crossed the 72 crore-mark as on December 12.

Over 10 crore Aadhaar numbers have been generated in the states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh. These four states with a combined population of about 34 crore, were allocated to UIDAI earlier this year.

The individuals can benefit from this system as it is portable across any bank in the country and the beneficiaries can access these subsidies even if they move to another part of the country, making the whole process hassle-free.

As many as 333 banks are live on Aadhaar platform. These are using Aadhaar payment bridge for financial transactions.

The Aadhaar identity platform is the largest biometric database in the world and serves users ranging from LPG consumers, MNREGA workers, PDS, remittance and scholarship beneficiaries, etc. - all using their Aadhaar number to avail benefits.

For linking Aadhaar number to their bank account, the residents need to provide a copy of their Aadhaar letter or their e-Aadhaar to the bank branch in which they maintain the account.

Once the account is seeded with Aadhaar number, it will be used by government departments to transfer subsidies directly into Aadhaar linked bank account, the statement added.

Residents can check status of the Aadhaar-Bank account linkage by dialling *99*99# on their mobile phone. This facility is provided by NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India) at a cost of Rs 1.50 per enquiry.