Center to extend deadline to link Aadhaar to schemes, services till March 31st

The center has told the Supreme Court that it is willing to extend the deadline to link Aadhaar with various schemes and services like bank accounts, mutual fund and insurance policies, small savings schemes and phone numbers till March 31^st 2018.  Investors confused about whether they should rush to seed their Aadhaar with their mobile and various financial services can, thus, breathe a sigh of relief. With the center oscillating regularly on their stand on Aadhaar deadlines, the situation is getting more confusing with every passing day.

Right now the deadline for seeding Aadhaar card with bank accounts, PAN, insurance policies, small savings schemes, like PPF and NSC, mutual fund investments and social security schemes is December 31, 2017. The deadline for linking Aadhaar with mobile numbers is 6^th February 2018.

Putting all the confusion aside, the latest development means that investors may not need to link their PAN, bank accounts, mutual funds and stocks, insurance policies and small savings schemes to Aadhaar by the end of the year as they will have three more months do so.

Two other things need to be mentioned here; the Supreme Court will set up a constitutional bench next week regarding Aadhaar linkages. Some petitioners have been seeking a stay on the order that Aadhaar be made mandatory for welfare schemes till issues with Aadhaar linkages were resolved saying that it will affect the vulnerable segment of the population the most. Currently, the SC has not put a stay on the order, meaning the government can continue asking for Aadhaar numbers for welfare schemes and services. The constitutional bench can, however, pass an interim order but we have to wait for that. 

anagh@outlookindia.com