Aadhaar Card is basically the document that contains your Aadhaar number. The Aadhaar number is a 12 digit number issued on a random basis by UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India). The number is issued by this authority body to residents of India.

The Aadhaar Card should not be confused with the voter card in the sense that it is not really a proof of the fact that you are an Indian citizen. It is official documentation of the fact that you are a resident of India. There is a definite process of verification in order to get this card.

Who can get the card?

Any individual can get the Aadhaar Card. It does not matter what your age or gender is. If you are an official resident of India then you can definitely get this card. In order to get this card you need to enroll on your own. If you wish to get this card there are a few demographic and biometric information that you have to be able to furnish. This has to be done when the enrolment process, which is free of cost, takes place. You can only enroll for Aadhaar once. Following the process of de-duplication a single Aadhaar number will be generated. The aim of this process is simple – to achieve a level of uniqueness through de-duplication of biometric and demographic data.

Information needed to get the card

As has been said already, you need to provide both demographic and biometric data in order to get an Aadhaar card. The following demographic data is needed in this case:

  • Name
  • Date of Birth (verified) or Age (declared)
  • Gender
  • Address
  • Mobile Number (optional)
  • Email ID (optional)

With regards to biometric information the following need to be furnished:

  • 10 fingerprints
  • Two iris scans
  • A photograph of your face

How to verify the number?

The Aadhaar number can be verified online and that means this is a cost-efficient way we are talking about. The number is a robust and unique one. It is more than sufficient when it comes to eliminating fake identities and duplicates. It can also be employed in the role of a primary or basic identifier. It is also expected to play a major role in a number of welfare programmes and schemes that have been started by the government already or will be rolled out in the future.

How will these programmes benefit one and all?

It is expected that these programmes and schemes will be introduced by the government in order to provide efficient service to the common people of India. They would be done with the aim of making the system a lot more transparent than what it has been so far as well as promoting good governance in general. The Aadhaar program me is the only one of its kind in the world in the sense that people are receiving an online, as well as state of the art, identification number and that too without paying a single farthing for the same.

Will Aadhaar be beneficial for us?

It goes without saying that this is being done on a large scale and has cost the government a significant amount of money as well. The national government believes, and rightly so, that it has the potency to change the very way services are delivered in India. Aadhaar is also truly representative of India in the sense that it does not mention normally socially divisive categories of information such as caste, income, and religion to name a few.

Aadhaar can truly be called a magnificent tool that is going to be used in the days to come for financial and social inclusion.

By Eddy

Eddy is the editorial columnist in Business Fundas, and oversees partner relationships. He posts articles of partners on various topics related to strategy, marketing, supply chain, technology management, social media, e-business, finance, economics and operations management. The articles posted are copyrighted under a Creative Commons unported license 4.0. To contact him, please direct your emails to [email protected].