After PAN, Aadhaar to Be Linked With Driving License

The government said it was necessary to link driving license with Aadhaar to curb multiple licensing.

After the government made it mandatory for PAN cards to be linked with the Aadhaar, it now wants driving licenses to be linked to it too.

The Centre will soon start linking driving licence with the Aadhaar, said Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on 15 September. The central government has linked PAN card to Aadhaar to stop money laundering, an official statement quoting him said.

Prasad said that this move was necessary as it would be done soon to check the menace of multiple licenses.

“I have already had a word with Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari in this regard, and the process to link Aadhaar with driving licence would be set in motion soon,” he said.

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Referring to the debate on security of Aadhaar data, Prasad said the biometric information, which includes iris and fingerprint scans, is stored in an encrypted form and is very secure.

If you look at the physical card, it has my photo, says I am male and has my permanent Patna address at the back. It does not have details like names of my parents, caste, religion, educational qualification, financial income, or health records. None of the things by which you can be profiled are mentioned on the Aadhaar card.

Ravi Shankar Prasad

He added that “Aadhaar is a digital identity” which confirms the physical identity with the help of biometrics, and there were laws in place to check against unauthorised usage of Aadhaar.

(With PTI inputs)

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