UPSC Articles
Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)
Part of: Prelims and GS-II Policies and interventions
Context: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has informed the Supreme Court that it was willing to issue Aadhaar card to sex workers without insisting on proof of residence/identity.
- But, they should get a certificate from a gazetted officer of the health departments of the States or from an official with the National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO).
- The court has been hearing arguments about how authorities and community-based organisations could reach out to sex workers and provide them with ration card, voter card and Aadhaar card without disclosing their identities.
- Sex workers battle social stigma even at the cost of food security.
About UIDAI
- UIDAI was created with the objective to issue Unique Identification numbers (UID), named as “Aadhaar”, to all residents of India that is (a) robust enough to eliminate duplicate and fake identities, and (b) can be verified and authenticated in an easy, cost-effective way.
- UIDAI is a statutory authority established under the provisions of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016.
- Prior to its establishment as a statutory authority, UIDAI was functioning as an attached office of the then Planning Commission (now NITI Aayog)
- Under the Aadhaar Act 2016, UIDAI is responsible for
- Aadhaar enrolment and authentication, including operation and management of all stages of Aadhaar life cycle,
- Developing the policy, procedure and system for issuing Aadhaar numbers to individuals and
- Perform authentication and
- To ensure the security of identity information and authentication records of individuals.
- It comes under the Electronics & IT ministry
News Source: TH
