The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to accept Aadhaar as a valid identity document for Bihar voters seeking re-inclusion in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The order has triggered sharp debate over the constitutional propriety of using Aadhaar, a residency-based ID that is also available to foreign nationals, as proof in a process governed strictly by Article 326 of the Constitution, which restricts voting rights to Indian citizens.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, while hearing a batch of petitions against the June 26 SIR notification, ordered the ECI to accept claim forms submitted online without insisting on physical documents. The court further said applicants could furnish any of the 11 documents already prescribed by the ECI, or alternatively, an Aadhaar card.

Court’s sharp remarks on parties

The bench came down heavily on political parties in Bihar, questioning why they had failed to assist the lakhs of voters whose names were deleted. The court noted that while individual MPs and MLAs had filed objections, parties themselves had done little on the ground despite appointing booth-level agents (BLAs). The judges asked all 12 recognised political parties in the state to be impleaded in the matter and directed them to submit status reports next week explaining their efforts to help affected voters.

“Voters appear more conscious than political parties,” the bench observed, directing parties and their BLAs to actively assist voters in filing forms for inclusion.

Aadhaar: Not Citizenship, Not Voting Right

The ruling has ignited constitutional concerns because Aadhaar, unlike a voter ID, does not establish citizenship. According to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), Aadhaar is issued to any resident foreign national including visa or long-term visa holders, OCI card holders, and citizens of Nepal and Bhutan, who has lived in India for 182 days in the preceding 12 months.

UIDAI website says, “All resident foreign nationals (Indian VISA/LTV holder, OCI card holder and citizen of Nepal/Bhutan) who resided in India for 182 days or more in 12 months immediately preceding enrolment application date are eligible for Aadhaar enrolment as resident foreigner.”

The UIDAI’s own website clarifies: “Aadhaar is not a document of citizenship and UIDAI has been mandated under the Aadhaar Act to ascertain residency of a person in India for 182 days prior to applying for Aadhaar. Also, the Supreme Court of India in its landmark decision has directed UIDAI not to issue Aadhaar to illegal immigrants.” The Supreme Court itself has previously directed UIDAI not to issue Aadhaar to illegal immigrants.

Article 326 of the Constitution is categorical that only citizens of India can exercise the right to vote. Critics argue that by allowing Aadhaar to serve as a sufficient document for voter roll revision, the apex court risks blurring the line between residency and citizenship, raising the spectre of a constitutional contradiction.

Next steps

Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the ECI, urged the court to give the poll body 15 days to prove that no wrongful exclusions had taken place during the revision exercise. The bench fixed September 8 as the next date of hearing and said it would consider extending the timeline or staying the SIR process if the objections suggested mass disenfranchisement.

The final electoral roll is scheduled to be published on 1 September 2025.

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On 21 July 2025, the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court issued a temporary injunction preventing the DMK party from using OTP (one-time password) verification messages as part of their membership campaign titled ‘Oraniyil Tamil Nadu‘. This interim order comes amid concerns over data privacy and protection, which the court has deemed necessary to examine in detail.

The case was heard by a division bench comprising Justice S.M. Subramaniam and Justice A.D. Maria Clete, who noted that ‘Oraniyil Tamil Nadu’ is a door-to-door membership initiative by the DMK, a recognized political party in Tamil Nadu. Given that the campaign involves the collection of personal data from citizens, the judges acknowledged the significance of the public interest litigation (PIL), stating that it raises critical issues about citizens’ right to privacy and the current data protection framework in place.

The bench also highlighted that digital membership campaigns by political parties are a relatively new phenomenon, and the mechanisms for data storage and processing need scrutiny to uphold both privacy rights and the freedom of political association. The court emphasized the need to determine whether individuals are providing informed consent and whether such data collection practices unfairly disadvantage smaller political parties.

In response, the court restricted the DMK’s use of OTP-based verification for the enrollment drive and issued notices seeking responses from the Central government, the Tamil Nadu state government, and the DMK. The case has been adjourned for two weeks.

The PIL was filed by S. Rajkumar, a resident of T. Athikarai village in Sivaganga district. He alleged that DMK functionaries, under the guise of promoting the ‘Oraniyil Tamil Nadu’ campaign, were collecting Aadhaar numbers and other personal details, including voter ID information, from residents in his locality. Rajkumar claimed that when his family refused to provide these documents, the party workers threatened to cut off government welfare benefits, including the monthly financial assistance received by women in the household.

Furthermore, he asserted that the DMK was collecting mobile phone numbers and sending unsolicited campaign messages linked to OTP verification. Many recipients, he said, were unaware of the implications of these messages. He also alleged that individuals were being pressured to join the party under the threat of losing access to government schemes.

According to Rajkumar, the unauthorized gathering and handling of Aadhaar data by a political party violates constitutional privacy protections. He contended that private organizations, including political parties, are not legally permitted to collect Aadhaar information for purposes outside those explicitly authorized by law. Such data collection, he argued, could lead to profiling of individuals and enable targeted political campaigning, which could undermine free and fair elections.

The petitioner therefore requested that the court prohibit the DMK and its representatives from collecting Aadhaar data for any reason. He also called for the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to launch a comprehensive investigation into the matter.

(With inputs from Times Of India)

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Nobel laureate Professor Paul Michael Romer said on Monday that while the United States, which saw the rise of Silicon Valley, failed to use technology to improve the lives of its citizens, India has shown the world how to use digital technology to make the lives of 140 crore people better. Citing the example of digital public infrastructure (DPI) solutions like Aadhaar and Unified Payment Interface (UPI), Romer said the technological opportunities that were presented to the US were “wasted and squandered”.

“The question is, if we are given opportunities, what do we do with those? The digital opportunities that were given to the US were wasted and squandered phenomenally,” Prof. Paul Romer said during the ‘NDTV World Summit 2024’. UPI-based transaction volume surged 52 per cent to 78.97 billion in the first half of this year (H1 2024), from 51.9 billion in the same period last year. Similarly, the value of transactions grew by 40 per cent, increasing from Rs 83.16 lakh crore to Rs 116.63 lakh crore in the first six months of this year. Hailing the Aadhaar initiative, the Nobel laureate said that digital technology was used to give citizens existence and further access to various government schemes seamlessly.

“The government has an important role to function as a regulator to effectively utilise technology for public good,” the top economist said. “The government in India was happy to make apps (like UPI). It did not happen in the US. People in India can see how because of the government’s technological and digital intervention, their lives have become better,” said Romer, a former Chief Economist of the World Bank.

He further stated that problems like climate change can be tackled with technological innovation without compromising economic growth. According to the economist, the digital revolution in India is very different from most countries of the world, where the target is only a lucky few beneficiaries. “India’s story is unique because it is providing benefits to all,” he said.

–IANS

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In a bid to empower the farmers’ community, the government is targeting to create digital identities for 11 crore farmers over the three fiscal years, similar to the Aadhaar card.

The scheme is part of the ‘AgriStack’ initiative, designed as a farmer-centric Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) to streamline services and scheme delivery to farmers.

A crucial feature of AgriStack is the introduction of a ‘Farmer ID’, similar to an Aadhaar card, which will serve as a trusted digital identity for farmers. The government said it will aim to create six crore such digital IDs for farmers in FY 2024-25, 3 crore in FY 2025-26, and 2 crore in FY 2026-27.

“These IDs, created and maintained by the state governments/union territories, will be linked to various farmer-related data, including land records, livestock ownership, crops sown, and benefits availed,” said the government. The government also plans to launch the ‘Digital Crop Survey’ nationwide within two years, covering 400 districts in FY 2024-25 and all districts in FY 2025-26.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the digital revolution has significantly transformed governance and service delivery by creating digital identities and secured payments and transactions in recent years. This paved the way for a thriving digital ecosystem across various sectors, including finance, healthcare, education, and retail, positioning India as a leader in citizen-centric digital solutions. For a similar transformation of the agriculture sector, the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the ‘Digital Agriculture Mission’ with a substantial financial outlay of ₹2,817 crore, including a central government share of ₹1,940 crore.

The mission is built on two foundational pillars: Agri Stack and Krishi Decision Support System. The mission includes ‘Soil Profile Mapping’ and aims to enable farmer-centric digital services to provide timely and reliable information for the agriculture sector. The implementation of AgriStack is progressing through partnerships between the central and state governments, with 19 states having signed MoUs with the Ministry of Agriculture.

This story is based on an IANS wire feed. 

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In an unprecedented move, the Centre has allowed the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to use Aadhaar-based authentication to verify candidates’ identities voluntarily, both at the time of registration and during several stages of examinations and recruitment.

The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievanves and Pensions said, “In pursuance of sub-clause (ii) of clause (b) of sub-section (4) of section 4 of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, (as amended) read with rule 5 of the Aadhaar Authentication for Good Governance (Social Welfare, Innovation, Knowledge) Rules, 2020, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Personnel and Training, having been authorised by the Central government, hereby notifies that the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is allowed to perform Aadhaar authentication, on voluntary basis, for verification of identity of candidates at the time of registration on ‘One Time Registration’ portal and various stages of examination/recruitment test, using Yes/No or/and e-KYC authentication facility.”

“Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) shall adhere to all provisions of the Act, the rules and regulations made there under, and directions issued by the ‘Unique Identification Authority of India’,” the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievanves and Pensions said.

This significant move follows after the UPSC, in July, cancelled Puja Khedkar’s provisional candidature as a provisionally recommended candidate for the Civil Services Examination 2022 and permanently barred her from all future exams and selections.

Khedkar, a probationary IAS officer who secured an All India Rank of 821 in the UPSC exams, has been accused of misusing her authority. She faces several allegations, including claims that she demanded a separate cabin and staff during her Pune posting, faced an unexpected transfer to Washim district, and used a private Audi car with a red-blue beacon light and VIP number plate.

Moreover, she allegedly occupied the ante-chamber of Additional Collector Ajay More without permission, removed office furniture without consent, and requested unauthorised facilities. The UPSC conducts Civil Services Examinations( Preliminary, Main, and Interview/Personality Test) for recruitment to the Services and Posts such as Indian Administrative Service, Indian Foreign Service, Indian Police Service, Indian Audit and Accounts Service, Group ‘A’, Indian Civil Accounts Service, Group ‘A’, Indian Corporate Law Service, Group ‘A’, Indian Defence Accounts Service, Group ‘A’, Indian Defence Estates Service, Group ‘A’, Indian Information Service, Group ‘A’, Indian Postal Service, Group ‘A’, Indian P&T Accounts and Finance Service, Group ‘A’ and others.

The Delhi High Court in August issued notices to the Delhi Police and the UPSC concerning the anticipatory bail plea of suspended IAS officer Puja Khedkar. Khedkar approached the Delhi High Court to challenge a district court’s decision that denied her bail. The FIR alleges that she falsified her identity to secure additional attempts in the civil services exam.

This story is based on an IANS-syndicated feed.

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The DMK which opposed linking Aadhar to various schemes when the BJP government at the Centre pushed for it, is now pushing Aadhar aggressively for state government schemes. This article is intended to call out the double standards of the MK Stalin-led DMK.

M.K. Stalin, who was then the opposition leader, opposed the plan to link the subsidy for cooking gas cylinders to Aadhaar in 2016 and claimed it would be difficult for the poor, particularly women.

Not only did he oppose the move to link Aadhar with central government schemes when he was in opposition, but also Chief Minister MK Stalin had recently opposed the Election Commission’s move to link Aadhar with voter ID to weed out multiple votes for a person.

However, after assuming power the DMK government under MK Stalin’s leadership has vigorously used Aadhar than the BJP for various state government schemes. Here is a list of state schemes that the DMK government under MK Stalin has made Aadhar mandatory.

Labor welfare and skill development department

This department is administering the welfare schemes to the unorganized workers of Tamil Nadu which are being implemented through the Tamil Nadu Manual Workers Social Security Welfare Board and 15 other Welfare Boards. The department has made Aadhaar mandatory for an individual eligible to receive benefits under the schemes. The notification is dated September 1, 2021.

Health and family welfare department

According to the DMK government notification dated 25th October 2021, any person registering end-stage organ failure patients waiting for cadaver organs in the Transplant Authority of Tamil Nadu registry will be required to produce Aadhar. Also, an Aadhar card is compulsory for the transfer of wait-listed patients from one hospital to another and the registration of deceased organ donors.

According to the notification of the DMK government dated 16th November 2021, the beneficiaries of schemes like Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS), Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme (IGNDPS), Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme (IGNWPS), Differently Abled Pension Scheme (DAPS), Destitute Widow Pension Scheme (DWPS), Destitute / Deserted Wives Pension Scheme (DDWPS), Chief Minister’s Uzhavar Padhukappu Thittam (CMUPT), and Pension to Poor Unmarried Women of age 50 years and above (UWP), who receive a sum of Rs.1,000/- per month is required to furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar number or undergo Aadhaar authentication.

Adi Dravidar and tribal welfare department

The SC/ST students getting State Post Matric Scholarship, those getting free education up to Post Graduate level (Women) belonging to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Caste students converted to Christianity students are required to furnish Aadhar details according to the notification of DMK government dated 1st December 2021.

Tamil Nadu health systems project

On February 11, 2022, the DMK government made Aadhar mandatory for Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme Integrated with Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).

Backward classes, most backward classes, and minorities welfare department

The department has made Aadhar mandatory for various schemes like Free Education Scholarships to Degree Level, Free Education Scholarships to Polytechnic Level, and Free Education Scholarships to Professional Level for BC, MBC, and Denotified Community students based on a notification dated March 23, 2022.

Labor welfare and skill development department

As per the notification dated 30th May 2022, the department mandates Aadhar for Tamil Nadu Manual Workers Welfare Scheme.

Youth welfare and sports development department

Notification dated 31st May 2022 made Aadhar mandatory for the following schemes:

Special Scholarship for Elite Sportspersons (ESP),
Special Scholarship for Mission International Medal Scheme (MIMS),
Special Scholarship for Champion Development Scheme (CDS),
High Cash Incentive to the medal winners in the National and International level competitions,
Prize Money to the first three winners in the State Games for Chief Minster’s Trophy,
Prize money to Sports Development Authority of Tamil Nadu competitions,
Cash Award to Chief Minister’s State Sports Award
Cash Award to Chief Minister’s State Youth Award

Agriculture and farmers welfare department

Aadhar has become a requirement for 19 programs run by the Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department, including the National Agriculture Development Programme (NADP), the National Food Security Mission (NFSM), and the National Mission on Edible Oils-Oil (NMEO). The notification was dated 8/6/2022.

Social welfare and women empowerment department

Notification dated 19th October 2022, made Aadhar mandatory for the following schemes under the department:

E.V.R Maniyammaiyar Memorial Widow’s Daughter Marriage Assistance Scheme
Annai Theresa Memorial Orphan Girls Marriage Assistance Scheme.
Dr. Dharmambal Ammaiyar Memorial Widow Remarriage Assistance Scheme.
Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy Memorial Inter-caste Marriage Assistance Scheme.

On 29th July 2022, the DMK government made Aadhar mandatory for the registration of birth and death. In addition, various schemes under the different ministry have made Aadhar mandatory to become the beneficiary of the scheme. The most recent example is where Aadhar is linked with electricity connection in Tamil Nadu.

It is worth noting that except for the GST amendment, in which Aadhaar was required for GST registration, all notifications issued to date have been by bureaucrats and have not involved any sort of interaction with the assembly.

This demonstrates how hard the DMK government has pushed for the integration of state government programs with Aadhar.

(With inputs from Srikanth.CashlessConsumer )

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Reports have emerged that as many as 22 people were declared as “foreigners” by six Foreigners Tribunals (FT) functioning in the Bengali-dominated Cachar district of Assam in the month of December 2021. Of the 22, 19 are Bengali-speaking Hindus and the rest Bengali-speaking Muslims.

This development comes despite the Assam government having directed the FTs last September to not pass “consequential directions or orders” and stick to giving “opinion” on a person’s nationality.

Foreigners Tribunals, which are quasi-judicial in nature and are unique to Assam, decide the fate of people suspected to be illegal immigrants. Foreigners’ Order, 1964, empowers FTs to only opine whether a person is a foreigner or an Indian citizen.

The six FTs of Cachar (there are 100 FTs in Assam) declared the 22 men and women as “foreigners” in separate judgments and on different dates in December 2021.

The additional Superintendent of Police (Border) of the district sent a letter to the District Magistrate (Cachar) with a list of the new “foreigners”. He said all the public welfare schemes of the Centre such as ration cards, Aadhaar cards and so on would be taken away from the persons included in the list. Their names would also be deleted from the voter list.

North East Linguistic and Ethnic Co-ordination Committee general secretary Kankan Narayan Sikdar said that due to the non-enactment of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA), 2019, for two years, Bengali Hindus in particular were facing extreme harassment in the name of identification of “foreigners”.

“Declaring a total of 22 people, including 19 Bengali Hindus in the district ‘foreigners’ in one month is really painful. The coordination committee will co-operate with the persons in the case challenging the verdicts of the FTs in the high court and prove that they are Indians,” he added.

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Representational image

The Assam judicial department has said that it is not necessary for members of the Foreigners Tribunals (FT) to pass “consequential directions/orders” while rendering opinion, reports Times of India.

The views of the judicial department were sent to FT members by the state home department for compliance.

The communication was sent after it was found that members of the FTs passed opinions in “randomly selected samples” while carrying out performance assessment exercise.

FTs, which are quasi-judicial in nature and are unique to Assam, decide the fate of people suspected to be illegal immigrants. Foreigners’ Order, 1964, empowers FTs to only opine whether a person is a foreigner or an Indian citizen.

Those who are suspected to be illegal immigrants according to the National Register of Citizens (NRC) exercise need to appear in front of FTs to appeal their exclusion from the list.

“In the performance assessment exercise carried out by the state judicial department on the basis of randomly selected samples of opinions rendered by members of foreigners tribunals, the judicial department has viewed with seriousness the passing of consequential directions/orders by members while rendering opinion,” Assam deputy secretary of political department Parijat Bhuyan said.

Bhuyan in a communication dated September 4 — with the subject “Consequential orders” — requested FT members to adhere to the views of the judicial department while passing opinions.

Bhuyan also mentioned that “noted that consequential order for deletion of names from voter list, arrest and detention of the declared foreigners, passed. This may not be necessary”. The judicial department also expressed that “noted that consequential order for deportation etc. of the declared foreigners, passed. This may not be the correct approach.”

There have been several instances in which an FT’s ruling has overturned by the Gauhati High Court.

Earlier, it had also been reported that the Aadhaar enrolment of 27.43 lakh people has been on hold, as their biometric details collected before the publication of the draft continue to be frozen due to the current uncertainty surrounding the NRC exercise.

Fingerprints, retina scan and other details were also collected during the hearing of claims for the excluded people to be included in the NRC.

Around eight lakh people who provided their biometrics, and also made it to the National Register of Citizens (NRC) published on August 31, 2019, are struggling to get Aadhaar, and worry about benefits linked to it. In all, 27 lakh people had registered their biometrics, but 19 lakh of these did not find their names in the NRC.

The families of two freedom fighters – Sachindra Nath Bhattacharjee and Kameshwar Bordoloi – were also excluded from the NRC.

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Bill Gates, who is one of the worlds foremost philanthropists has hailed India’s policies for innovation in financial inclusion. 

Gates who was speaking at the Singapore Fintech Festival on Tuesday (December 8) said his foundation is working with other nations to roll out technologies based on the ones implemented by India, Bloomberg has reported.

He went on shower praise on India’s platforms like the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and the Aadhaar, which he said have drastically reduced the cost of money distributed among the poor.

Gates talked about Aadhaar, the world’s largest biometric database with almost 123 crore Aadhaar cards having been issued so far and the pivotal role the system has played in preventing leakages via its integration with the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme.

“India is a great example…Things are really exploding there and innovation around that system is phenomenal”, Gates said.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is now helping other nations have the same open-source technologies platform.

Gates said at the Singapore Fintech Festival, “If people are going to study one country right now, other than China, I’d say they should look at India. Things are really exploding there and innovation around that system is phenomenal.”

In India, UPI has gone from strength to strength since its introduction in 2016and in November it recorded a whopping 2.2 billion transactions.

Gates also spoke about the COVID-19 pandemic and said ““We can’t forget that another pandemic will come, so we need to invest and be ready,” he said. “Digital things overall — remote learning, telemedicine, digital finance — were greatly advanced. So even though the pandemic has been terrible, it has pushed some of these innovations including how quickly we make vaccines.”

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