Aadhaar linking deadline has been extended!

The Supreme Court on Friday extended the deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar with various services and welfare schemes, including mobile phone (SIM). Previously February 6 was the last date but now the date has been extended till March 31.The top court set a March 31 deadline for Aadhaar linking.


For opening new bank accounts, an applicant will not be required to provide Aadhaar number - the 12-digit personal identification number also known as Unique Identity Number (UID) - to the bank. However, the applicant will have to show the proof to the bank that he/she has applied for Aadhaar.

The top court said the Constitution Bench would commence final hearing from January 17 on the petition challenging the Aadhaar scheme itself. Recently, a nine-judge constitution bench of the apex court had held that Right to Privacy was a Fundamental Right under the Constitution. Several petitioners challenging the validity of Aadhaar had claimed it violated privacy rights.

 The extension of deadline for linking Aadhaar with mobile connections to March 31, 2018 provides an immediate relief to both telecom operators and consumers, telecom operators' body COAI said today. "We are pleased that the timeline has been extended. We were facing challenges in complying with the earlier deadline given the volume (of telecom subscribers)," COAI Director General Rajan Mathews said.


 The government had earlier this week extended to March 31, 2018 the deadline for mandatory quoting of Aadhaar and Permanent Account Number (PAN) for bank accounts and certain financial transactions. The deadline for existing bank account holders to furnish the 12-digit biometric personal identifier was December 31, 2017 previously. The extension, a government notification said, has been granted "after considering various representations received and inputs received from banks."

The government had last week also extended the deadline for mandatory linking of PAN with Aadhaar by taxpayers by three months to March 31, 2018.

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