Aadhaar data leak – loksabha Q & A

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO-89
ANSWERED ON-15.12.2017
Aadhaar data leak
89 . Shri Vivek Gupta

Will the Minister of ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

(a) the details of number of Aadhaar Personal information leaks from the CIDR since 2014;
(b) whether Government is planning to set up a nodal agency to compensate victims of Aadhaar data leaks or theft or misuse of data, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor;
(c) whether it is a fact that 210 websites of Central Government and State Government Departments were displaying the list of beneficiaries along with their personal information to the public, if so, the reasons therefor; and
(d) the number of Government schemes where Aadhaar is mandatory for availing them?

ANSWER
(a): There has been no leakage of Aadhaar data from the Central Identities Data Repository (CIDR) of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

(b): Does not arise.

(c): Yes, Sir. It was found that approximately 210 websites of Central Government & State Government departments including educational institutes, were displaying the list of beneficiaries along with their name, address, other details and Aadhaar numbers for information of general public. The concerned departments were instructed to remove the Aadhaar and other personal data from the said websites.

In addition, the Central and State Governments have been advised to sensitize all Ministries/ Departments to take all precautions while publishing or sharing data on their websites and ensure compliance of Aadhaar Act, 2016 and Information Technology Act, 2000.

(d): Section 7 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016 enables use of Aadhaar as condition precedent for services and benefits flowing from Consolidated Fund of India, provided no service/ benefit is denied for want of Aadhaar. 395 schemes from 56 Ministries/ Departments have been on-boarded on Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) platform. Of these schemes, Aadhaar notifications under Section 7 of the Aadhaar Act have been issued in respect of 227 schemes till date. These notifications also provide mechanism to handle such cases where Aadhaar number is not assigned to an individual and instruct implementing agencies to deliver benefits on the basis of alternate identity documents.

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