The UIDAI has asked state governments and entities to verify Aadhaar before accepting it

An official statement said on Thursday that the Unique Identification Authority of India had asked state governments and entities to verify Aadhaar before accepting it in physical or electronic form.

According to UIDAI, Aadhaar number verification with consent from the Aadhaar holder is the right step to verify the authenticity of any Aadhaar form – Aadhaar letter, e-Aadhaar, PVC card, and m-Aadhaar.

In a statement, UIDAI emphasised the importance of verifying Aadhaar before use and urged state governments to provide necessary direction so that whenever an Aadhaar is submitted as proof of identity, the concerned entity will authenticate/verify the residents using Aadhaar as an identity document.

In addition, UIDAI issued a circular highlighting the importance of verification and specifying the protocol.

Misuse of this system is prohibited by it, as well as evil and anti-social elements. In addition, it promotes usage hygiene and reaffirms UIDAI’s stance that any 12-digit number cannot be used as an Aadhaar.

Offline verification can detect tampering with Aadhaar documents, and Section 35 of the Aadhaar Act imposes penalties for tampering.

Aadhaar can be verified with mAadhaarApp or Aadhaar QR code scanner using the QR code available on all forms of Aadhaar.

In addition to Android and iOS mobile phones, Windows-based applications can also use the QR code scanner.

UIDAI is actively discussing using the Aadhaar platform for other government schemes with states. Aadhaar is accepted for around 1,000 government schemes.

Residents can either present their Aadhaar on paper or electronically to prove their identity using their Aadhaar number.

To date, UIDAI has issued over 135 crore Aadhaar cards.