Rejecting reports of a tussle between his ministry and the Unique Identification Authority of India, Home Minister P Chidambaram on Monday said the government was mulling incorporating Aadhar numbers in the future resident ID cards of the National Population Register.
"There were some media reports about conflict between the Home Ministry and the UIDAI, but they are not true," he said launching the distribution of smart cards under NPR for coastal villages in Tamil Nadu at nearby Pattipulm village, about 80 km from Chennai.
Chidambaram said Aadhar was a unique number while the smart card being issued under the NPR would have comprehensive details.
"Aadhar is the unique identification number. NPR issues an identity card with all relevant information. The NPR card would get a special status if Aadhar number is incorporated," he said.
His comments come in the backdrop of a battle between the Home Ministry and the Planning Commission, under whose ambit the UIDAI comes, over carrying out the bio-metric collections for the ambitious Unique Identification Number project.
Home Ministry had recently written to the Prime Minister objecting to UIDAI collecting bio-metric data beyond its mandated 20 crore limit. But, the Planning Commission has thrown its weight behind the Nandan Nilakeni-headed UIDAI.
Chidambaram said inclusion of Aadhar number in the NPR smart cards would allow its effective use in ensuring government services were delivered to the right beneficiary.
Citing an example, he said in the case of a scholarship for student, only the designated beneficiary can avail it by using the NPR smart card having the Aadhar ID number.
