INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
The UIDAI or Unique Identification Authority of India has extended the deadline for banks and service providers to deploy systems for
processing the Virtual ID (VID)
The Aadhaar card-issuing authority had in January this year announced introduction of a 16-digit identification number, called Virtual ID or
VID, as an alternative to Aadhaar number to verify an individual's identity
The UIDAI had asked all agencies that undertake Aadhaar authentication to start accepting VIDs from their users from June 1 this year, but
then decided to extend the deadline by one month (till July 1) on request of agencies, which sought more time to switch to the new
system.Here are 10 things to know about Aadhaar authentication via Virtual ID (VID):1
Through Virtual ID, an Aadhaar holder can choose to take up Aadhaar authentication without having to share the 12-digit Aadhaar number, also
known as Unique Identity Number (UID)
A Virtual ID can be generated from the UIDAI's website and produced for various authentication purposes, instead of sharing the actual
In its statement last Saturday, the UIDAI said authentication user agencies (AUAs) have migrated to VID and UID token using the software
that supports new VID capability.3
The UIDAI also classified all authentication agencies registered with it into two heads - global and local
Banks have been categorised as global AUAs (authentication user agency), and telecom companies among local AUAs for the purpose of
authentication and KYC (Know Your Customer) entitlement.4
As per the norms laid down by the UIDAI, global AUAs will be allowed access to complete KYC with Aadhaar number, and the entities classified
as local AUAs will have limited access to KYC details of customers.5
Telecom companies and e-sign companies which have not implemented the new system till July 1 will have to pay 20 paise per transaction,
E-sign is an online electronic signature service which can be integrated with service delivery applications to facilitate a user to
In case they are able to fully migrate to the new platform by July 31, the entire "authentication transaction charges imposed for the above
said period of July 1-31, 2018, shall be waived", the UIDAI noted
The move is aimed at pushing such companies to expedite the migration process to VID.6
"Also, for all other the AUAs including banks but other than those mentioned above (telecom operators and E-sign service providers), it has
been decided that they shall migrate to VID and UID Tokenby 31st August 2018," the UIDAI statement said.7
UIDAI cautioned that in case they fail to migrate fully to the new system by August 31, it will be "free to take actions under the Aadhaar
Act including imposition of financial disincentives and termination of license key".8
"It has been observed that a number of AUAs have already migrated to production environment using APIs 2.5 for VID implementation and most
of the remaining AUAs have tested VID and UID Token in pre-production environment APIs 2.5
cited UIDAI CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey as saying.9
UIDAI also plans to introduce other forms of Aadhaar data verification, he said, adding that the same may be provided to agencies for
identity verification in lieu of the current global or local tags.10
The move, besides strengthening the privacy and security of Aadhaar data, will reduce the collection of Aadhaar numbers by various agencies
As many as 121 crore people have been issued Aadhaar numbers so far.A user can create a Virtual ID through the UIDAI's website
Here's how to do it:Once on the homepage, find and click on the 'Virtual ID (VID) Generator' link.On the next page, fill in the Aadhaar
number and the security code in the given fields
Proceed by clicking on the 'Send OTP' (One-Time Passcode) button.After this, an OTP is sent to the mobile number registered with the entered
Aadhaar number.Select 'Generate VID', enter this OTP in the given field and click on 'Submit'.On completion of the process, the VID is sent
to the registered mobile number.(With agency inputs)
