Aadhaar, a biometrics-based identity number, is now necessary to avail a subsidy on liquefied petroleum gas or LPG cylinders in all states except in Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Meghalaya. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has issued a notification making either proof of Aadhaar or Aadhaar authentication mandatory for getting the subsidy, under Section 7 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016.
The ministry has made it mandatory for beneficiaries to enrol in Aadhaar by November 30, as per the notification. In the time it takes for a beneficiary to enrol in Aadhaar and receive their Aadhaar number, which make take a few weeks to a couple of months, the ministry will allow continuation of subsidy on producing 1) a bank photo passbook, 2) proof of enrollment ID of Aadhaar or either ration card, or voter ID card, kisan photo passbook, or driver license, and, 3) and an undertaking that the beneficiary is not availing the subsidy under another consumer number with an additional marketing company.
The notification directs oil marketing companies to facilitate enrollment in Aadhaar by becoming a registrar of Unique Identity Authority of India, the agency that operates the centralised database of Aadhaar.
The UIDAI had, on September 15, asked all government agencies and ministries to identify schemes in which Aadhaar will be made mandatory. The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas is the first ministry to do so since then.
On September 14, in an interim order the Supreme Court had reiterated its earlier order that Aadhaar cannot be made mandatory while the matter is still pending before a constitutional bench of the Supreme Court.
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