Aadhaar Overcharging Penalty: UIDAI Suspends Operator, Imposes Rs 50,000 Fine

New Delhi, Dec 13 (PTI) Any operator found overcharging for Aadhaar services is suspended and the registrar who appointed him faces a penalty of Rs 50,000, Parliament was informed on Wednesday.

"Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has placed an obligation on all Aadhaar operators not to overcharge for Aadhaar services including update of biometric and demographic details," Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar in a written reply to the Lok Sabha said.

"However, if any report on overcharging is received, the same is enquired and if established, a financial penalty of Rs 50,000 is imposed on the enrolment registrar concerned and the operator is suspended," Chandrasekhar said.

He said persons can lodge their grievances with UIDAI through email or call to the toll free number 1947.

The minister said the enrolment and update of information of an Aadhaar number is done through a network of registrars and enrolment agencies, which are departments of the central government and state governments, public sector companies, scheduled banks and regulated entities, including CSC e-Governance Services India Ltd and other special purpose vehicles created by the central government or state governments.

"Enrolment agencies are selected on the basis of rigorous selection criteria. An individual is enrolled by a UIDAI-certified operator using UIDAI's software by a controlled, non-repudiable and secure process, after selection on the basis of a rigorous examination and testing process," he said.