Making Aadhar Card Mandatory for Digital India Programme Schemes Aadhaar Card is not mandatory for availing benefits in the schemes under Digital India Programme, concern has been raised regarding storage of Aadhaar card data. But a well-designed and robust data security system is in place. The architecture of Aadhaar ecosystem has been designed to ensure data security, privacy, non-duplication, data integrity and related aspects. Additionally, security audits are also conducted. A multilayer approach is adopted in providing security measures with multiple formats being used at different steps from the point of collection to the ending stage. Further, UIDAI has been declared STQC ISO 27001:2013 certified and also been identified to be declared as Critical Infrastructure" by National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) adding another layer of IT security assurance. The Services of UIDAI for using Aadhaar Information are being offered to the Ministry (DeitY) free of cost. This information was given in a written reply in Rajya Sabha by Minister for Communication and Information Technology, Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad today. NNK/MD
