BackAndhra Pradesh has issued the most Aadhaar numbers
Chairman Nandan Nilekani says UIDAI has issued around 403 million Aadhaar numbers till date
Premium(Priyanka Parashar/Mint)
Mumbai: Around 403.6 million people have been issued Aadhaar numbers till date, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) chairman Nandan Nilekani said on Monday.
Andhra Pradesh tops with 66 million cards, followed by Maharashtra with 63 million. But there is a large gap in enrolment between the top two states and others on the list. Madhya Pradesh, which ranks number three, issued 27.7 million Aadhaar numbers, followed by Kerala (27.4 million).
Jammu and Kashmir, with just 1,38,000 people enrolled, comes at the bottom of the list. The total does not include states from the North-East.
UIDAI expects to enrol at least 600 million people by 2014, said Nilekani, who was hired especially for this ambitious project. “I cannot predict the future but this is a popular programme. About 25 million people are being enrolled every month and many are receiving cash transfers. I hope it will continue in a good way," Nilekani, whose contract with the government ends in 2014, told reporters.
Nilekani was in Mumbai to conduct a UIDAI workshop to familiarize banks and other intermediaries with a new electronic-Know Your Customer (e-KYC) platform. The service will allow banks, insurance companies and oil companies to monitor KYC compliance in a paperless and low-cost manner.
The finance ministry and department of revenue have both approved the use of e-KYC as a valid document for all financial services under the prevention of money laundering rules. However e-KYC is yet to get the approval of financial sector regulators such as the Reserve Bank of India, Securities and Exchange Board of India and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority.
“The regulators will now have a look at this (e-KYC) and take a call. I am hoping for a positive decision from the regulators which will happen soon," Nilekani said.
RBI has allowed banks to accept Aadhaar cards as a valid KYC document for opening a bank account. The e-KYC project, launched in Delhi in May 2013, is UIDAI’s latest project.
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