THE Government has amended the Aadhaar Act to allow private entities to use Aadhaar authentication for delivering their services, according to a notification issued on Friday. The Supreme Court had in September 2018 termed Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act “susceptible to misuse”. The Section 57 empowered private entities to seek and use Aadhaar authentication for business purposes. Now, the Government has notified Aadhaar Authentication for Good Governance (Social Welfare, Innovation, Knowledge) Amendment Rules, 2025 with provision to provide Aadhaar Authentication to private entities based on the approval of their proposal for the facility.

 

“Any entity other than the Ministry or Department which is desirous of utilising Aadhaar authentication, shall prepare a proposal with justification in regard to the authentication sought being for a purpose specified in rule 3 and in the interest of state, and submit the same to the Ministry or Department concerned,” the notification said.