Frequently Asked Questions

Question: Who are entitled to get the UID Numbers?

Answer: UID Numbers will be issued to all residents of India who satisfy the
verification process that is in place. Residents means an individual usually
residing in a village or rural area or town or ward or demarcated areas (demarcated
by Registrar eneral of !iti"en Registration#. $he issue of an UID number does
not establish citi"enship rights of the resident who has the number. It only
establishes the identity of the person. It does not entitle the resident to any rights or
entitlements. %stablishing citi"enship is not the mandate of the UID&I.
Question: What is the information that the UIDAI seeks from the resident?
Answer: Name' Date of (irth' ender' &ddress of the resident' )hotograph' all
ten fingerprints and both iris scan is re*uired. In case of minors (children +,years
age#' the name of the -other. /ather.uardian is also re*uired. In addition the
resident can give an option to lin0 his e1isting ban0 account with aadhaar or else
opt for a new aadhaar lin0ed ban0 account.
Question: ow will the information in the database be used? What does
authenti!ation mean and how will it work on a daily basis?
Answer: $he information in the database will be used only for authentication
purposes. &uthentication user agencies can use the e234! service to verify the
identity of the residents see0ing services from them. $he &adhaar ecosystem will
power %234! (%lectronic2 3now 4our !ustomer#' which will utilise the %234!
&)Is' to allow citi"ens to avail different services without carrying any physical
identification proof. $he UID&I has partnered with 56 ban0s' and has also tied2up
with the N)!I (National )ayments !orporation of India# and 7isa for payments
powered by %234!. It can be deployed for customer verification for mobile
connections' ban0 accounts' insurance' 8) connections' state government
services' train travel and any service where verification is re*uired.
Question: Will the residents be allowed to a!!ess their own information and
make !orre!tions if ne!essary?
Answer: & procedure will be evolved and established through which residents
will be able to view their complete information in the &adhaar database and a
procedure for correcting information will be laid down.
Question: What is the utility of Aadhaar Number?
Answer: &adhaar number is an enabler. &adhaar number aims to provide a soft
identity infrastructure which can be used to re2engineer public services so that
these lead to e*uitable' efficient and better delivery of services. 9pecifically' the
utility for the residents and the overnments are briefly e1plained below.
1
For "esidents: Inability to prove identity is one of the biggest barriers preventing
many residents from accessing benefits and subsidies. $he purpose of the UID&I
is to issue a uni*ue identification number (UID.&adhaar# to all residents of India
that is (a# robust enough to eliminate duplicate and fa0e identities' and (b# can be
verified and authenticated in an easy cost effective way.
It is envisaged that the &adhaar will become the single source of identity
verification. &adhaar' which identifies individuals uni*uely on the basis of their
demographic and biometric information' will give residents the means to clearly
establish their identity to public and private agencies across the country. :nce
residents enrol' they can use the number multiple times2they would be spared the
need to repeatedly provide supporting identity documents each time they wish to
access services such as obtaining a ban0 account' mobile connection' 8)
connections etc. &adhaar will also give migrants mobility of identity. &adhaar'
once it is lin0ed to a ban0 account' can ma0e it possible for ban0ing institutions to
provide ubi*uitous' low cost micro payments to the residents. &adhaars secure
authentication model can also enable delivery of services to residents directly via
their mobile phones. $his will ensure that residents may securely access
government benefits and subsidies' trac0 their ban0 accounts' send and receive
money or ma0e payments from the anytime2anywhere convenience of their mobile
phones.
&adhaar has been recogni"ed as an officially valid document as )oI and )o& for
opening ban0 accounts and obtaining mobile telephone and 8) connections. $he
-inistry of Road $ransport and ;ighways has issued necessary instructions for
recognition of &adhaar as )oI and )o& for obtaining a driving license and
registration of vehicles. $he Department of ;ealth and /amily <elfare has also
recogni"ed &adhaar as )oI and )o& for e1tending financial assistance to patients
below poverty line who are suffering from ma=or life threatening diseases for
receiving medical treatment at any of the super specialty ;ospitals.Institutions or
other overnment ;ospitals under Rashtriya &rogya Nidhi. -inistry of Railways
has also recogni"ed &adhaar as a valid )oI for rail travel. %lection !ommission of
India has accepted &adhaar as an alternative )oI and )o& at the time of polls in
absence of %lection )hoto Identity !ard (%)I!#. 9ome of the 9tate.U$
overnments vi". 9i00im' $ripura' &ndhra )radesh' >ammu and 3ashmir'
!handigarh' Nagaland' ;aryana' -anipur and Ra=asthan have also recogni"ed
&adhaar as one of the )oI and )o& for their various resident centric schemes.
Recently -inistry of %1ternal &ffairs has notified &adhaar as one of the valid
documents for proof of residence in con=unction with any of the other notified
documents.
For "egistrars # $nrollers? $he UID&I will only enrol residents after de2
duplicating records which will help Registrars to clean out duplicates from their
databases' enabling significant efficiencies and cost saving. /or Registrars
2
focussed on cost' the UID&Is verification processes will ensure lower 3now 4our
Resident (34R# cost' and a reliable identification number will enable them to
broaden their reach into groups that till now have been difficult to authenticate. It
is anticipated that the strong authentication that the UID number offers will
improve services leading to better resident satisfaction.
For %o&ernments?
%liminating duplicates and ghost beneficiaries under various schemes is e1pected
to save the government e1che*uer a substantial amount. It will also provide
governments with accurate data on beneficiaries' enable direct transfer of benefits.
Question: What are the fears on the utility of UID Number 'Aadhaar
Number(?
Answer: $he views of different sta0eholders on the sub=ect are encapsulated in the
Report of the 9tanding !ommittee of /inance. $he UID&I has submitted its point2
wise comments on the report to the )lanning !ommission for submission to the
!abinet.
Question: What benefits and ser&i!es !an be deli&ered to residents?
Answer: $he UID&I cannot define the nature of benefits and services that should
be or can be delivered. It is for the 9tate overnments.-inistries.Departments to
decide whether delivery of the benefits and services should be lin0ed to &adhaar
number and the e1tent to which the number should be used. $he 0ey role of the
UID&I is to give the UID number (called &adhaar number#. $he role of the
&adhaar number is that of an enabler @ a number that helps governments design
better welfare programs enables residents to access benefits and services more
easily wherever they live' and allows agencies to deliver benefits and services
effectively and transparently. $he number will thus be an identity infrastructure'
and the foundation over which multiple services and applications can be built for
the resident.
Question: ow will the UIDAI ensure that there is no fraud and
du)li!ate*ghost )ersons who are issued UID numbers as all databases e+isting
today ha&e these in!onsisten!ies?
Answer: $nrolment of residents with )ro)er &erifi!ation? %1isting identity
databases in India are fraught with problems of fraud and duplicate.ghost
beneficiaries. $o prevent this from seeping into the UID&I database' the &uthority
has partnered with various 9tate overnment departments and public sector (an0s
to enrol residents with proper verification of their demographic and biometric
information. $he primary responsibility for correct enrolment vests in these
Registrars at the front2end. UID&I has prescribed standardi"ed processes for
enrolments based on the standards recommended by the Demographic Data
9tandards and 7erification )rocedures !ommittee' and (iometrics !ommittees to
ensure that the data collected is clean and without duplicates from the start of the
program. :nce the data is received at the !IDR' it is duly validated and randomly
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assigned for manual *uality chec0. $here is also a process of continuous &nalytics
to review data and in case any inconsistency is found' allotment of &adhaar can be
reviewed.
,ro!ess to ensure no du)li!ates? Registrars will send the applicants data to the
!IDR for de2duplication. $he !entral Identification Data Repository (!IDR# will
perform a search on 0ey demographic fields and on the biometrics for each new
enrolment' to ensure that no duplicates e1ist. $he incentives in the UID system are
aligned towards a self2cleaning mechanism. $he e1isting patchwor0 of multiple
databases in India gives individuals the incentive to provide different personal
information to different agencies. 9ince de2duplication in the UID system ensures
that residents have only one chance to be in the database' individuals are e1pected
to provide accurate data. ;owever it needs to be borne in mind that even the best
technology cannot guarantee ABBC accuracy. 9ome duplicates will emerge even
with all the chec0s and balances. UID&I therefore proposes to periodically review
its database for such duplicates and cancel the duplicate aadhaars as and when they
come to notice.
Question: Will the UIDAI be issuing !ards?
Answer: $he UID&I will be issuing UID numbers and not cards. $he &adhaar
number will be communicated to the resident by means of a letter delivered by
India )ost or any other delivery agency engaged by UID&I to the communication
address provided at the time of enrolment. $he letter has a smaller' cut away
portion that has the &adhaar number and demographic information of the resident
that could be retained for reference. $he Registrar may issue a card for their own
purpose in which they may include the UID number. $he UID can only establish
uni*ue identity if authentication is done against the central database. /urther' cards
can be forged' stolen' fa0ed and identity process diluted. <hile the UID authority
only guarantees online authentication' the service providers are free to issue cards
to people if it serves their purpose.
Question: What are the )ri&a!y )rote!tion measures in )la!e to )rote!t the
right to )ri&a!y of the resident?
Answer: $he information that the UID&I is see0ing is already available with
several agencies (public and private# in the countryD the additional information
being sought by the UID&I are the finger prints and iris scans. ;owever' the
UID&I recogni"es that the right of privacy must be protected' and that people are
sensitive to the idea of giving out their personal information' particularly the idea
of information being stored in a central database to be used for authentication.
UID&I will protect the right to privacy of the person see0ing the uni*ue identity
number. $he information on the database will be used only to authenticate identity.
$he draft bill includes clauses to protect identity information' discourage
impersonation and unauthori"ed access to the UID&I database (!hapter 7I'
!lauses EB to EE#.
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Data protection features have been included in the architecture of the
&&D;&&R pro=ect.
Data ,rote!tion Features integral to UID 'Aadhaar ,ro-e!t(
F Do not 0eep data more than the functional re*uirement
@ (asic Demographic information
@ No )rofiling information
@ No $ransaction records
F %nsure Integrity during Data $ransfer
@ %ncryption and 9ecurity
@ Detailed $ransfer )rotocols
@ $rained )ersonnel
F Data 9ecurity and )rotection in !IDR
@ No data flow outside @ only yes or no
@ &ll processes in place to ensure security of data (access protocols' etc# in
!IDR
@ UID holder can access and update information
@ )enal conse*uences for unauthori"ed access and tampering of data
F uidelines to Registrars
@ :n best )ractices in Data handling
G %volving necessary protocols to ensure data security
$he following provisions have been made in the draft (ill? (!hapter 7II' !lauses
EH to H6#
)enalties have been provided' inter alia' for impersonation at time of enrolment'
impersonation of aadhaar number holder by changing demographic information or
biometric information' disclosing identity information' unauthorised access to the
!entral Identities Data Repository (!IDR#' tampering with data in !entral
Identities Data Repository.
Data protection' however' is not limited to the &&D;&&R pro=ect and needs to be
addressed through a comprehensive legislation. $he !ommittee of 9ecretaries'
after detailed deliberations has constituted a roup of :fficers under the
chairpersonship of 9ecretary' D.o )ersonnel and $raining consisting of
representatives of D.o Revenue' -.o 9cience I $echnology' D.o 8egal &ffairs'
-.o ;ome &ffairs' D.o Information $echnology and the !abinet 9ecretariat with a
view to wor0 out the framewor0 of the legal provisions' including principles and
elements on data protection' security and privacy.
Question: Is the "egistrar*$nrolment Agen!y required to follow any data
)rote!tion )rin!i)les? Will the Authority be )res!ribing )rin!i)les to be
followed by the "egistrar? Answer: <hen %nrolment &gencies . Registrars
collect data from residents' they have to e1ercise a fiduciary duty of care towards
this information. $herefore' it is their responsibility to ensure they 0eep the data
collected from residents safe and secure (both biometric and demographic# and
protected from unauthori"ed access. UID&I has issued guidelines and best
practices for data protection for all its ecosystem partners.
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Question: What is the legal basis of the UIDAI?
Answer: $he UID&I is presently established by the )lanning !ommission by an
e1ecutive order. & !abinet !ommittee on Uni*ue Identification &uthority has also
been established. $he Uni*ue Identification &uthority of India (UID&I# was
constituted as an attached office under the )lanning !ommission to develop and
implement the necessary legal' technical and institutional infrastructure to issue
uni*ue identity to residents of India.
$he National Identification &uthority of India (ill' 5BAB was introduced in the
Ra=ya 9abha in December 5BAB and thereafter referred to the 9tanding !ommittee
on /inance. $he report of the !ommittee has been received and is under
consideration of the overnment of India.
Question: If the Authority is legally fun!tioning under the Notifi!ation issued
by the %o&ernment of India. why was a /ill introdu!ed in ,arliament?
Answer: !onstituting a statutory authority would provide a legislative framewor0
for UID&I to perform its functions. $he legislation is considered necessary to
strengthen the mandate of the authority to underta0e its responsibilities effectively.
$he powers and functions of the &uthority' the framewor0 for issuing aadhaar
numbers' ma=or penalties and matters incidental thereto are proposed to be laid
down through the (ill. <ith a legal.legislative framewor0 in place' penalties for
unauthorised access of data and breach of security can also be enforced more
effectively in terms of the law.
Question: Will the database of the UID be shared with other "egistrars?
Answer: $he Registrars collecting the data can and will 0eep the data for their
own use. Data can be also shared by UID&I with Registrars wherever the consent
of the resident is available. It can also be shared in cases where there are orders of
the competent !ourt or any disclosure is necessitated by national security
considerations. $here too' a competent authority is proposed to be prescribed to
ma0e such re*uests. $hese are already provided in the Draft NID&I (ill (!hapter
7I' clause EE#.
Question: ow will !hildren be !a)tured in the database?
Answer: /or children below , years' no biometrics will be captured. $heir UID
will be processed on the basis of demographic information and facial photograph
lin0ed with the UID of their parents.guardians. $hese children will need to provide
their biometrics comprising ten fingers' iris and facial photograph' when they turn
,. &ll children will need to update their biometrics once again when they turn A,.
$he instructions in the original &adhaar letter carry a note to this effect' wherever
relevant.
Question: ow will the biometri! of the differently0abled )eo)le with no
finger )rints or rugged hands e1g1 beedi workers or )eo)le with no fingers be
!a)tured?
6
Answer: In the case of people without hands. fingers' available biometrics (photo'
iris' fingers# will be captured and e1ceptions will be documented. In the case of
differently2abled and people with no fingerprints or rugged hands' the available
biometrics will be captured. %1ceptions will be documented. If all biometrics are
missing' e1ception management module permits enrolment of such residents. 8i0e
children' they too will be de2duplicated based on their demographic information
and photograph. ;owever before any such enrolment is processed' the data is
manually screened at the bac02end by UID&I to reconfirm the facts.
Question: What ste)s ha&e been taken to s)eed u) the generation of Aadhaar
Numbers to residents?
Answer: $o speed up generation of &adhaar numbers' UID&I has scaled up the
capacity of (iometric &utomated Identity 9ystems (&(I9# for the biometric de2
duplication to A million aadhaars per day. $o minimi"e validation failures at the
processing stage' the enrolment client features have been enriched and a number
of validation chec0s have been built into the front end enrolment client. $hese
include (i# local authentication of operators.supervisors (ii# age and relationship
authentication (iii# %nd of Day (%:D# review of demographic data by supervisor
(iv# periodic sync of the enrolment machines with !IDR has been made
mandatory (v# upload of data pac0ets within 5B days from the date of enrolment
(vi# periodic report and analytics of the data uploaded are shared with the
Registrars and %&s.
Question: What is the time )eriod by whi!h UIDAI will generate and issue the
Aadhaar number?
Answer: &s per the process' 6B to JB days from the date of receipt of the
enrolment pac0et in the !entral Identities Data Depository (!IDR# has been
prescribed for delivering &adhaar number to the resident. ;owever this
presupposes that the data pac0et will clear all validation chec0s prescribed by
UID&I to ensure the authenticity of the pac0ets and to ensure audit trail in each
case. In case any validation chec0 fails' the pac0et is 0ept on hold till the resolution
process clears the pac0et or else it is re=ected.
Question: What are the reasons for delay in issuing the Aadhaar numbers?
Answer: Residents data pac0ets received in !IDR undergoes a number of
validation.*uality chec0s to ensure that the data received is correct I authenticD
such as?
(A# 9tructural 7alidation for data integrity?
i. &uthenticity of Registrar(s# I %& code.
ii. 7illage' $own' !ity )in2code mapping.
iii. !ertification of operators I supervisors.
iv. Registrar I %nrolment &gency (%&# mapping.
v. &vailability of approved encryption 0ey
(5# Demographic De2duplication
(E# Demographic data *uality chec0
i. )hoto2gender match
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ii. &ge validation
iii. 9pelling.address validation
iv. $ransliteration chec0
v. )hoto *uality
(H# (iometric de2duplication.
&ny resident data pac0et' which fails any of the validation chec0s' is either
re=ected or goes into a hold status till the authenticity of the data pac0et is
confirmed from the Registrar.enrolment agency. $his can lead to delays in
generation of &adhaar numbers. 9ometimes' the delay in generation of &adhaar is
on account of delay in upload of resident data by the enrolment agency.
Question: ow many enrolments ha&e been !om)leted as on 231212456?
Answer: &s per the status available' EH.KA crore people have been enrolled as on
5L
th
/eb.' 5BAE and the enrolment pac0ets have been received in !IDR for the
same. &fter undergoing a number of validation.*uality chec0s that the data
received is correct and authentic' 5L.KL crore &adhaar numbers have been
generated. 9tate wise details are available at 2
http?..planningcommission.gov.in.sectors.dbt.adhaarM5LB5.pdf
Question: ow many Aadhaar letters ha&e been dis)at!hed as on date?
Answer: &s per the )ostal $raining !entre ()$!# portal of Department of )ost.
5H.BK crore have been dispatched as on 5L.5.5BAE. $he details of state2wise
dispatch of &adhaar nos. are available at 2
http?..planningcommission.gov.in.sectors.dbt.stateMaadhar5LB5.pdf
Question: ow many enrolments ha&e been re-e!ted?
Answer: &s on 5L.5.5BAE about 5.6J crore enrolments have been re=ected due to
various technical and process errors.
Question: Does UIDAI assure 5447 du)li!ate free database? Will there be
no du)li!ate aadhaar numbers?
Answer: (iometric matching systems or de2duplication systems are essentially
based on pattern matching and can be designed to achieve an accuracy of more
than JJC. ;igher the *uality of biometric capture' lesser the probability of a
duplicate being generated. ;owever UID&I aims for inclusiveness so that failure
to enroll is negligible. $herefore generation of duplicate aadhaar number cannot be
ruled out totally.
Question: ow many Aadhaar numbers ha&e been !an!elled till date?
Answer: HAL5,H aadhaar numbers have been cancelled as on 5L.5.5BAE due to
various technical and process errors. $he details are as under?
8r1No1 UID98tatus9Des!ri)tion

UID_Cou
nt
8
A &adhaar cancelled due to Duplicate

34015
5 &adhaar cancelled for $est !ases

2
E
&adhaar cancelled due to (iometric %1ception
!ases

3,84,237
%rand :otal

418254
Question: ow ;any enrolments are )ending for issue of Aadhaar Numbers?
Answer: &bout E.5E crore resident enrolment pac0ets are at various stage of
processing as on 5L.5.5BAE.
Question: ow many "egistrars and enrolment Agen!ies are in&ol&ed in the
enrolment of residents?
Answer: &round HE %nrolment &gencies are wor0ing under RIs H sub2
Registrars in EE 9tates.U$s while about JH %nrolment &gencies are wor0ing with
,B 9tate.Non 9tate Registrars (including sub2Registrars# in AL 9tates.U$s.
Question: What are the )roblems fa!ed in setting u) adequate !entres?
Answer: &vailability of proper infrastructure such as access to public buildings
for enrolment' electricity' availability of 7erifiers appointed by the Registrars are
some of the problems being faced during aadhaar enrolments.
Question: Whether %o&t1 is fa!ing hurdles due to defe!ti&e ma!hines. la!k of
a&ailability enrolment forms?
Answer: $he enrolment 0it can suffer brea0down because of tough wor0ing
environment such as heat.dust.fluctuating current.mishandling during operation
and transportation.
Question: ow is the %o&t1 addressing the abo&e issues?
Answer: :nly 9tandard $esting Nuality !ontrol (9$N!#' an agency of Deptt. of
%lectronics I Information $echnology' certified biometric enrolment devices are
permitted to be used for aadhaar enrolment. Resident enrolment form has been
uploaded on UID&I website for download and use by residents. &s a part of the
resident enrolment process' UID&I has prescribed availability of technical
personnel to fi1 on2site issue. UID&I offers technical support to its partners
through a dedicated team at its $echnology !entre at (angalore. /urther' UID&I
offers field coaching and online training support for operators and supervisors.
Question: Is %o&t1 aware that )eo)le are being for!ed to enroll for UID
8!heme?
Answer: UID&I has been mandated to generate and issue uni*ue identification
numbers (&adhaar# to all residents of India. %nrolment for aadhaar is voluntary
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and not mandatory. It is for the implementing authorities to decide whether
aadhaar is mandatory for receiving service.
Question: ow are the resident<s grie&an!es being handled by UIDAI?
Answer: UID&I has set up contact centre and helpdes0 at )une and >amshedpur
w.e.f A.A5.5BAE. $he service is man by -.s $ata (usiness 9upport 9ervices.
(esides' grievance cell has been set up in each of the Regional :ffices of UID&I
to attend to the complaints of residents.
$o ta0e care of the complaints by residents of non2receipt of aadhaar letters e2
aadhaar portal has been launched and made available online. /urther' to facilitate
residents to update and correct their aadhaar data' self2service portal online and
through )ost have been launched in November 5BA5.
Question: Whether it is fa!t that in!lusion of all Indian residents in the
Unique Identifi!ation number s!heme would )resent a threat to the nation<s
se!urity by gi&ing illegal migrants rights of !iti=ens?
Answer: &adhaar is a uni*ue A5 digit number which is being issued to all
residents of India as a developmental initiative. Determination of citi"enship is
under the !iti"enship &ct' AJ,, and the Rules framed there under. &adhaar does
not confer citi"enship nor does it confer right of citi"enship to illegal migrants
which will be determined by the relevant statutory and implementing authorities.
;ence' compromise of national security due to enrolments under the UID pro=ect
does not arise.
Question: ow were the 8tates*U:s sele!ted where non0"%I "egistrars !an
enroll?
Answer: $he !abinet !ommittee on UID&I in its meeting held on 5K.A.5BA5 has
decided that in 9tates where UID&I has made good progress or where 9tate.U$
overnments .&dministrations have given commitment for &adhaar enrolments
and are planning to integrate with various services delivery applications' &adhaar
enrolments through non2RI Registrars move at full speed. &ccordingly' certain
9tates have been specified where UID&I can collect data. It has also been decided
that the N)R enrolment will continue as envisaged' but' if in the course of
enrolment' a person indicates that he.she is already enrolled for &adhaar' the
biometric data will not be captured by N)R. Instead the &adhaar
number.enrolment number will be recorded in N)R and biometric data will be
given to the N)R.
Question: ow many ,rinters ha&e been de)loyed by UIDAI for )rinting of
aadhaar letters?
Answer: $hree agencies' namely A. -.s -anipal $ech 8td' -anipal' 5. -.s
9eshaasai (usiness ()# 8td.' -umbai and E. -.s 38 ;igh $ech 9ecure )rint'
;yderabad have been contracted.
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Question: What is the /a!kground of Dire!t >ash :ransfers?
Answer: <ith the rapid rollout of &adhaar' covering more than 5B crore people
and rapidly growing to cover 6B crore' with the National )opulation Register
doing the other half' it was felt possible to move to a system of transferring cash
benefits directly to the poor.
In order to rollout the implementation of a seamless electronic &adhaar based cash
transfer system for transfer of cash benefits to beneficiaries' the )rime -inister
approved the setting up of a National >ommittee on Dire!t >ash :ransfers
chaired by himself and an $+e!uti&e >ommittee on Dire!t >ash :ransfers1 $he
goal was to rapidly rollout cash transfers across the country for as many
government schemes and benefits as possible within the ne1t year.
Question: What are >ash :ransfers?
Answer: !ash $ransfers are programs that transfer cash directly' generally to poor
households' with or without conditions. $he purpose of a cash transfer could be?
$o provide a monetary benefit for a s)e!ifi! )ur)ose or use 2 such as for
education through a scholarship' for healthcare through a medical assistance
program' etc.
Dire!t in!ome su))ort @ such as old age income support through a pension'
unemployment assistance through an unemployment benefit' etc. $his is
predicated on the assumption that there is a need to redistribute income as a
public policy ob=ective. :ften' the purpose is to enhance private
consumption levels and achieve a minimum consumption floor.
$o provide a dire!t subsidy for specific products @ such as for food' fuel'
agricultural inputs' electricity' boo0s' etc.
$hey are generally of two types @ unconditional and conditional.
!ash $ransfer programs that do not impose any conditions for ma0ing the
transfers are called Un!onditional >ash :ransfers1 !onditional !ash $ransfers
transfer cash on the condition that those households ma0e pre2specified
investments in the human capital of their children. In general' this has involved
attaching OconditionsP to transfers.
Question: What is the ma-or ob-e!ti&e of Dire!t /enefits :ransfer
,rogramme?
Answer: $his )rogramme envisages a switch from the present electronic transfer
of benefits to ban0 accounts of the beneficiary to transfer of benefits directly to
&adhaar seeded ban0 accounts of the beneficiaries. $he other ob=ectives are?
&ccurate $argeting
De2duplication
Reduction of /raud
)rocess Re2engineering of 9chemes for simpler flow of information
and funds.
reater &ccountability
11
Question: Whi!h are the !ommittees formed for e+e!ution of Dire!t /enefits
:ransfer?
Answer: the following committees have been formed for e1ecution of Direct
(enefit $ransfer.
$he overnment has constituted the National >ommittee on
Direct !ash $ransfers
(http?..planningcommission.nic.in.sectors.dbt.pmoMnoti.pdf#.
chaired by the )rime -inister' to coordinate action on the
implementation of the D($ )rogram. $his !ommittee is to be
assisted by the $+e!uti&e >ommittee on Direct !ash $ransfer
(http?..planningcommission.nic.in.sectors.dbt.pmoMnoti.pdf#'
chaired by the )rincipal 9ecretary and convened by 9ecretary'
)lanning !ommission.
$o ensure orderly and timely implementation' ;ission ;ode
>ommittees
'htt):**)lanning!ommission1ni!1in*se!tors*dbt*)mo95?551)df(.
namely' /inancial Inclusion !ommittee' $echnology !ommittee
and Implementation !ommittee on %lectronic $ransfer of (enefits
were also constituted.
Direct (enefit $ransfer Division was created in the )lanning
!ommission to provide secretarial service to )-: and act as the
Nodal &gency in the implementation of D($.

Question: What are the %uidelines issued for e+e!ution of D/: "oll out?
Answer: $he D($ Division issued consolidated instructions to the concerned
-inistries with approval of the %1ecutive !ommittee. :ffice -emorandumQA
(http?..planningcommission.nic.in.sectors.dbt.KMD($Mguide.pdf# on uidelines on
9tandardi"ed /ormats for !ollection of (asic Data to facilitate Direct (enefits
$ransfer (D($# in )ilot Districts' was issued on 56.A5.A5. :-Q5
(http?..planningcommission.nic.in.sectors.dbt.6MD($Muidai.pdf# on )rocedure for
seeding &adhar Numbers and :-QE
'htt):**)lanning!ommission1ni!1in*se!tors*dbt*@9D/:9/anks1)df( on
)rocedure for sending )ayment &dvice to (an0s were issued on L.BA.AE.
Question: ow did Dire!t /enefits :ransfer roll0out !ommen!e?
Answer: & decision was ta0en in the meeting of the National !ommittee on
Direct !ash $ransfers held by the )rime -inisters that Direct (enefit $ransfers
will be rolled out from Ast >anuary' 5BAE in HE districts
(http?..planningcommission.nic.in.sectors.dbt.listMHE.pdf# ' 56 selected !entral
9ector and !entrally 9ponsored 9chemes
(http?..planningcommission.nic.in.sectors.dbt.EMschemes.pdf# in a phase wise
manner beginning with 5B districts on A.A.5BAE' AA districts from A.5.5BAE and the
remaining A5 districts from A.E.5BAE.
12
Question: What were the !riteria for sele!tion of these s!hemes?
Answer: 9chemes were selected on the basis of higher incidence of beneficiaries
with ban0 accounts and where /low of /unds was found to be relatively simpler.
&ccordingly' most schemes are related to scholarships' benefits to women and
child labour.
Question: What were the !riteria for sele!tion of distri!ts?
Answer: HE districts were identified on the basis of higher &adhaar enrolment
figures and presence of ban0s.
Question: Whi!h ma-or s!hemes ha&e not yet been )lanned for Dire!t
/enefits :ransfer roll0out?
Answer: 9chemes li0e -NR%&' I&4 and )ension related schemes have not
yet being planned for Direct (enefits $ransfer roll2out.
Question: What is the reason for not doing so?
Answer: -a=or reasons for not including these schemes for Direct (enefits
$ransfer roll2out are large no. of rural beneficiaries' )oor coverage of ban0s in
rural area' most beneficiaries having accounts in post offices and decision of )ost2
:ffices to =oin !ore2(an0ing 9ystem by -id2>une 5BAE only.
;owever' these schemes may be considered for Direct (enefits $ransfer roll2out
after post2offices =oin the core2ban0ing system.
Question: ow many /anks are on /oard for Dire!t /enefits :ransfer roll0
out?
Answer: $here are 56 )9U (an0s' A5 RR(s and /ew )rivate (an0s and
!ooperative (an0s are on board for roll out of Direct (enefits $ransfer. $hese
ban0s are e*uipped with !ore (an0ing 9ystem.
Question: What are the arrangements made for filling the ga) between
banking infrastru!ture and !ustomers?
Answer: $he (usiness !orrespondents ((!s# are proposed to be introduced to
reach the unban0ed population' as the credit and operational ris0s in the branchless
ban0ing model does not enable ban0s to reach the unban0ed population1 $his
eliminates the need for a physical ban0 branch or &$-s in remote areas.
Question: Were there any )ilot )ro-e!ts taken into a!!ount for
im)lementation of D/:?
Answer: UID&I had been conducting pilot pro=ects and other field studies to
e1plore the efficacy and efficiency of &adhaar authentication in the conte1t of
/inancial Inclusion' )ublic Distribution 9ystem' 8) delivery and )ensions. &part
13
from that pilot pro=ects in respect of 3erosene has been under ta0en in 3ot0asim
$ehsil of &lwar District' Ra=asthan.
Question: What were the out!omes of these )ilot )ro-e!ts?
Answer: $hese pilot pro=ects have shown tremendous benefits by providing
effective service delivery to the targeted beneficiaries.
o :he Finan!ial In!lusion )ilot )ro-e!t in Aharkhand enabled direct cash
transfer by the >har0hand overnment to the beneficiaries &adhaar2lin0ed
ban0 accounts under various programs li0e -NR%9' :ld &ge )ensions
and 9tudent 9cholarships' to avoid lea0ages.
o :he )ilot )ro-e!t initiated by >onsumer Affairs. Food and >i&il
8u))lies De)artment of Andhra ,radesh utili"ed &adhaar
&uthentication platform to deliver services to more than L,'BBB
households with around E la0h target beneficiaries through more than AH,
fair price shops (/)9# in the Distri!ts of $ast %oda&ari and yderabad1
o :he B,% )ilot was initiated in the distri!t of ;ysore by the three Cil
;arketing >om)anies 2 I:!8' ()!8 and ;)!8 in >anuary 5BA5' under
the aegis of ;inistry of ,etroleum and Natural %as. $he ob=ective of
the pilot was to use &adhaar biometric authentication to minimi"e
diversion of subsidi"ed 8) cylinders. $he target consumer base for the
pilot was around L,'BBB beneficiaries' across E 8) distributors (gas
agencies# in -ysore 2 one each for I:!8' ()!8 and ;)!8. 9ubsidi"ed
8) cylinders were delivered by delivery boys after successful biometric
authentication of any family member present in the household. &round
,B'BBB successful deliveries have been made so far using biometric
authentication. :he ne+t )hase of )ilot would s!ale u) o)erations in the
entire distri!t1 It would also underta0e transfer of subsidy amount directly
into the ban0 accounts of beneficiaries while the 8) cylinder is delivered
at mar0et price. $his would eliminate the incentive to divert subsidi"ed
8) cylinders.
14
Question: What were the ste)s taken for e+e!ution of the B,% )ilot )ro-e!t?
Answer: /or this pilot' the consumer data base was seeded with the &adhaar
number and each consumer was as0ed to provide UID number of his family
members as well as one neighbour' who were authori"ed to receive the 8)
cylinder on his behalf. /urther' the three participating companies got a common
application developed that provided the UID authentication and delivery
management overlay and data e1change with their native cylinder boo0ing and
delivery module. & )o9 device was used for authentication of the receiver as well
as recording of delivery of 8) cylinder.
Question: When Dire!t /enefits :ransfer roll out for B,% is to be laun!hed?
Answer: <ith regard to direct transfer of subsidies for 8)' -inistry of
)etroleum and Natural as has stated that the overnment intends to lin0 cash
subsidy to &adhaar card of 8) customer in three phases. In the first phase' it is
proposed that ,A districts will be covered and only in districts where the
penetration of &adhaar e1ceeds LB C.
It will begin in the district of -ysore' where the pilot programme had been run
successfully. $he &adhaar enrolment of the consumer has reached more than LBC
and more than ,BC digiti"ed database of consumer has been seeded with &adhaar
number.
Question: What ste)s ha&e been taken by the go&ernment for )ro&iding
Dire!t >ash to the 8ubsidy for food? Does go&ernment mean to dismantle the
:argeted ,ubli! Distribution 8ystem ':,D8(?
Answer: &s far as direct transfer of subsidies for food is concerned' -inistry of
!onsumer &ffairs' /ood and )ublic Distribution has stated that there is no
proposal under consideration at present in the Department for disbursement of
food subsidy in cash instead of foodgrains to beneficiaries under $argeted )ublic
Distribution 9ystem ($)D9#.
;owever' the De)artment )ro)oses to introdu!e a )ilot s!heme in sele!ted
Union :erritories 'U:s( for direct transfer of food subsidy under $)D9' wherein
foodgrains will be issued by /ood !orporation of India at economic cost. $he
proposal does not involve dismantling the $)D9. -inistry has pointed out that the
proposed pilot scheme will test the feasibility of the launch of the scheme in other
9tates.U$s.
Question: ow the !ash subsidy of food will be disbursed to the
benefi!iaries?
Answer: &s per the information furnished by the -inistry of !onsumer &ffairs'
the cash subsidy e*ual to the difference in the economic cost and the prevailing
issue price will be credited to the ban0 account of the beneficiary in advance to
enable the beneficiary to purchase the foodgrains at this cost. $he scheme is
e1pected to chec0 lea0ages.diversion of foodgrains under $)D9. $he details of the
schemes will be wor0ed out in consultation with U$s etc.
15
Question: as the go&ernment run any )ilot for ,ension 8!hemes?
Answer: )ensions pilot in &urangabad District in -aharashtra was initiated with
the ob=ective of directly transferring monetary benefit into the ban0 account of
pensioners using the &adhaar )ayments (ridge. &adhaar number was lin0ed to the
list of beneficiaries to eliminate fa0e beneficiaries. &adhaar %nabled )ayment
9ystem was used by (an0ing !orrespondents to disburse funds through micro2
&$-.
Question: What is Aadhaar ,ayment /ridge 8ystem?
Answer: &adhaar )ayment (ridge is the new payment service offered by the
National )ayments !orporation of India (N)!I# using the &adhaar number issued
by the Uni*ue Identification &uthority of India (UID&I#' 0nown as &adhaar
)ayment (ridge 9ystem and is referred as O&)(9P. &)(9 will be used for credit
transactions for overnment. overnment agency disbursements
&)(9 has the following ob=ectives.
$o sub2serve the goal of overnment of India (:I# and Reserve (an0 of India
(R(I# in furthering /inancial Inclusion by way of processing government
disbursement using &adhaar number.
$o promote electronification of retail payments.
Question: What is the Im)lementation 8tatus of Dire!t /enefits :ransfer roll0
out?
Answer: & D($ -I9 system has been created for compiling information on D($
roll out status in the districts. $he L concerned -inistries.Departments are
re*uired to collect' verify and upload this data onto the D($ -I9 9ystem.
-aintenance of this information on the D($ -I9 will facilitate availability of data
on real time basis. $his will prove essential in ensuring successful implementation
of D($. 9ummary record of status of implementation has been compiled and is
available at @
http?..planningcommission.gov.in.sectors.dbt.summaryM55BE.pdf
$he information regarding amount of funds transferred to the beneficiaries is
available at (http?..planningcommission.nic.in.sectors.dbt.schemeMHE.pdf#
RRRRR
16