The Union Cabinet yesterday approved the Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019, and will now be introduced in the first session of Parliament, set to begin on June 17th, for ratification by the Lok Sabha. The proposed amendments are the same as those contained in the ordinance circulated by the President in March this year. According to an official release by the government, the new proposals “would allow the use of Aadhaar number for authentication on voluntary basis as acceptable KYC (Know Your Customer) document under the Telegraph Act, 1885 and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002”. Remember, that the Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2018 was passed in the Lok Sabha in January this year. However, for it to become an Act, it needed further ratification in the Rajya Sabha - where it lapsed. Following that, the government issued an ordinance which contained the the same changes as proposed by the Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment Bill), 2018. The ordinance echoed the passing of Aadhaar as a money bill to bypass the Upper House of the Parliament. Main amendments from the Bill Here are some of the important proposed changes in the current amendment: Allows private bodies such as banks and telcos to use Aadhaar as one of the ‘know your customer’ (KYC) methods for authenticating users. Interchangeable use of authentication and verification: While the original Aadhaar Act uses the term verification only twice, the amendment bill uses the term 31 times. Under the amendments, an entity can carry out authentication, provided…
