UIDAI launches online ID authentication service
08 Feb 2012
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on Tuesday launched an online service for authentication of Aadhaar or unique identity numbers. This will help banks, telecom companies and government departments authenticate the identity of an Indian resident through any device connected to the internet.
The authentication service will be free of charge till December 2013, and will turn into a paid service in 2014.
It is likely to become a paid service in 2014 for agencies such as telcos, insurance and oil marketing companies who may want to use the 12-digit Aadhaar number for authentication of customers.
''The rollout of these services will help people see the tangible benefits of Aadhaar,'' said UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani on Tuesday. ''This will be a turning point.''
He hoped that over the next 12 months, as he woos a variety of service delivery agencies to start using the UIDAI's authentication system, the 20 crore people who have already been issued Aadhaar numbers would start to see some practical use of the process.
"It will ease and speed up the process to get scholarships, bank accounts, LPG connections, etc," Nilekani said.
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