Around 92 per cent of the total Indian population and 99 per cent of Indians aged 18 and above now have Aadhaar cards. Post-demontetisation, the importance of an Aadhar card has increased dramatically. Since demonetisation, Aadhaar enrolment and update requests have been in the range of 7-8 lakh per day in comparison to 5-6 lakh per day in October 2016.
Any citizen wanting to receive provident funds needs to have an Aadhar card. The government has all the rights to terminate the benefits if the person does not hold an Aadhar card.
Even government entrance exams need you to have an Aadhar card. Recently, students appearing for NEET were compulsorily asked to provide their Aadhar card before sitting for the test. The state wants to put an end to the hassle of multiple documentations at the examination centres.
Aadhar card is mandatory for all central university scholarships in colleges and schools. Even students who are already receiving the scholarships have to apply for the Aadhar cards to continue gaining from it.
Aadhar IDs and their respective numerical IDs are necessary for people looking for subsidised foodgrains. The Public Distribution System shops have asked people who need subsidized foodgrains to enroll for an Aadhar card by June this year.
The government has also started pondering on replacing the Pan Card with the Aadhar card for citizens who do not have a Pan card but hold an Aadhar card. In the longer run, melting both identities in to one will help the government manage accounts easily.
In a first, a stadium in Bengaluru, accompanied by the local police, made it necessary for spectators to provide Aadhar IDs to buy tickets for an IPL match. The police claimed that this will help them track down culprits much easily.
Soon, patients who provide Aadhaar card at AIIMS will have their registration charges waived, but without it they will have to pay Rs 100, which is ten times the current fee of Rs 10.