The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016.

(1) This Act may be called the Aadhaar (TargetedDelivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016. (2) It shall extend to the whole of India 1*** and save as otherwise provided in this Act, it shall alsoapply to any offence or contravention thereunder committed outside India by any person. (3) It shall come into force on such date2 as the Central Government may, by notification in theOfficial Gazette, appoint; and different dates may, be appointed for different provisions of this Act andany reference in any such provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed as a reference tothe commencement of that provision.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-- 1[(a) "Aadhaar number" means an identification number issued to an individual under sub-section(3) of section 3, and includes any alternative virtual identity generated under sub-section (4) of thatsection; ] 2[(aa) "Aadhaar ecosystem" includes enrolling agencies, Registrars, requesting entities, offlineverification-seeking entities and any other entity or group of entities as may be specified byregulations;] (b) "Aadhaar number holder" means an individual who has been issued an Aadhaar number underthis Act; 2[(ba) "Adjudicating Officer" means an Adjudicating Officer appointed under sub-section (1) ofsection 33B; (bb) "Appellate Tribunal" means the Appellate Tribunal referred to in sub-section (1) of section33C;] (c) "authentication" means the process by which the Aadhaar number alongwith demographicinformation or biometric information of an individual is submitted to the Central Identities DataRepository for its verification and such Repository verifies the correctness, or the lack thereof, on thebasis of information available with it; (d) "authentication record" means the record of the time of authentication and identity of therequesting entity and the response provided by the Authority thereto; (e) "Authority" means the Unique Identification Authority of India established undersub-section (1) of section 11; (f) "benefit" means any advantage, gift, reward, relief, or payment, in cash or kind, provided to anindividual or a group of individuals and includes such other benefits as may be notified by the CentralGovernment; (g) "biometric information" means photograph, finger print, Iris scan, or such other biologicalattributes of an individual as may be specified by regulations; (h) "Central Identities Data Repository" means a centralised database in one or more locationscontaining all Aadhaar numbers issued to Aadhaar number holders along with the correspondingdemographic information and biometric information of such individuals and other information relatedthereto; (i) Chairperson” means the Chairperson of the Authority appointed under section 12;3[(ia) “child” means a person who has not completed eighteen years of age;] (j) “core biometric information” means finger print, Iris scan, or such other biological attribute ofan individual as may be specified by regulations; (k) “demographic information” includes information relating to the name, date of birth, addressand other relevant information of an individual, as may be specified by regulations for the purpose ofissuing an Aadhaar number, but shall not include race, religion, caste, tribe, ethnicity, language,records of entitlement, income or medical history; (l) "enrolling agency" means an agency appointed by the Authority or a Registrar, as the casemay be, for collecting demographic and biometric information of individuals under this Act; (m) "enrolment" means the process, as may be specified by regulations, to collect demographicand biometric information from individuals by the enrolling agencies for the purpose of issuingAadhaar numbers to such individuals under this Act; (n) :identity information" in respect of an individual, includes his Aadhaar number, his biometricinformation and his demographic information; (o) "Member" includes the Chairperson and Member of the Authority appointed under section 12; (p) "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette and the expression"notified" with its cognate meanings and grammatical variations shall be construed accordingly; 3[(pa) "offline verification" means the process of verifying the identity of the Aadhaar numberholder without authentication, through such offline modes as may be specified by regulations; (pb) "offline verification-seeking entity" means any entity desirous of undertaking offlineverification of an Aadhaar number holder;] (q) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made by the Central Government under this Act; (r) "records of entitlement" means records of benefits, subsidies or services provided to, oravailed by, any individual under any programme; (s) "Registrar" means any entity authorised or recognised by the Authority for the purpose ofenrolling individuals under this Act; (t) "regulations" means the regulations made by the Authority under this Act; (u) "requesting entity" means an agency or person that submits the Aadhaar number, anddemographic information or biometric information, of an individual to the Central Identities DataRepository for authentication; (v) "resident" means an individual who has resided in India for a period or periods amounting inall to one hundred and eighty-two days or more in the twelve months immediately preceding the dateof application for enrolment; (w) "service" means any provision, facility, utility or any other assistance provided in any form toan individual or a group of individuals and includes such other services as may be notified by theCentral Government; (x) "subsidy" means any form of aid, support, grant, subvention, or appropriation, in cash or kind,to an individual or a group of individuals and includes such other subsidies as may be notified by theCentral Government.

(1) Every resident shall be entitled to obtain an Aadhaar number bysubmitting his demographic information and biometric information by undergoing the process ofenrolment: Provided that the Central Government may, from time to time, notify such other category ofindividuals who may be entitled to obtain an Aadhaar number. (2) The enrolling agency shall, at the time of enrolment, inform the individual undergoing enrolmentof the following details in such manner as may be specified by regulations, namely: -- (a) the manner in which the information shall be used; (b) the nature of recipients with whom the information is intended to be shared duringauthentication; and (c) the existence of a right to access information, the procedure for making requests for suchaccess, and details of the person or department in-charge to whom such requests can be made. (3) On receipt of the demographic information and biometric information under sub-section (1), theAuthority shall, after verifying the information, in such manner as may be specified by regulations, issuean Aadhaar number to such individual. 1[(4) The Aadhaar number issued to an individual under sub-section (3) shall be a twelve-digitidentification number and any alternative virtual identity as an alternative to the actual Aadhaar numberof an individual that shall be generated by the Authority in such manner as may be specified byregulations.]

1[3A. Aadhaar number of children.-- (1) The enrolling agency shall, at the time of enrolment of achild, seek the consent of the parent or guardian of the child, and inform the parent or guardian, thedetails specified under sub-section (2) of section 3. (2) A child who is an Aadhaar number holder may, within a period of six months of attaining theeighteen years of age, make an application to the Authority for cancellation of his Aadhaar number, insuch manner as may be specified by regulations and the Authority shall cancel his Aadhaar number. (3) Notwithstanding anything in section 7, a child shall not be denied any subsidy, benefit or serviceunder that section in case of failure to establish his identity by undergoing authentication, or furnishing proof of possession of Aadhaar number, or in the case of a child to whom no Aadhaar number has beenassigned, producing an application for enrolment.]

(1) An Aadhaar number, issued to an individual shall not be reassigned to any other individual. (2) An Aadhaar number shall be a random number and bear no relation to the attributes or identity ofthe Aadhaar number holder. 1[(3) Every Aadhaar number holder to establish his identity, may voluntarily use his Aadhaar numberin physical or electronic form by way of authentication or offline verification, or in such other form asmay be notified, in such manner as may be specified by regulations. Explanation.-- For the purposes of this section, voluntary use of the Aadhaar number by way ofauthentication means the use of such Aadhaar number only with the informed consent of the Aadhaarnumber holder. (4) An entity may be allowed to perform authentication, if the Authority is satisfied that the requestingentity is-- (a) compliant with such standards of privacy and security as may be specified by regulations; and (b) (i) permitted to offer authentication services under the provisions of any other law made byParliament; or (ii) seeking authentication for such purpose, as the Central Government in consultation with theAuthority, and in the interest of State, may prescribe. (5) The Authority may, by regulations, decide whether a requesting entity shall be permitted the use ofthe actual Aadhaar number during authentication or only an alternative virtual identity. (6) Every requesting entity to whom an authentication request is made by an Aadhaar number holderunder sub-section (3) shall inform to the Aadhaar number holder of alternate and viable means ofidentification and shall not deny any service to him for refusing to, or being unable to, undergoauthentication. (7) Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing provisions, mandatory authentication of anAadhaar number holder for the provision of any service shall take place if such authentication is requiredby a law made by Parliament.]