I recently received my Aadhar card by post and was impressed by the 12-digit unique number given to me. However, when I examined the card carefully, I was somewhat disappointed. The card says it is a proof of identity and not of citizenship. Though this is understandable, there are some deficiencies in the card. First, it does not have my date of birth but only the year of birth. Thus, it will not serve as proof of my date of birth, which could have easily been added since I had mentioned it in the enrolment form. So for this purpose, I would have to continue to rely on my passport.
Second, the card states that it will be helpful in availing of government and non-government services in the future. This means that all organisations will have to separately notify that the Aadhar card will be acceptable. Moreover, it is not clear if banks will accept the card as an identity-proof for opening accounts. Third, it cannot be used as an alternative to the PAN card. The Aadhar card does not serve any extra purpose and those who have a PAN card can easily do without it. In fact, a PAN card is better since it has the date of birth. Since the UID project is being discussed by the Cabinet, these points should be taken into consideration.
Sukumar Mukhopadhyay, New Delhi
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