New Delhi: Government has retracted on Aadhaar advisory just a day after it was issued, fearing a widespread misunderstanding. On May 27 govt had issued an Aadhaar advisory which cautioned people in general use of Aadhaar and suggested the use of masked Aadhaar which displays only the last 4 digits of the Aadhaar number. In a new statement issued on Sunday, govt has now withdrawn the Aadhaar advisory.
"It is learnt that they issued it in the context of an attempt to misuse a photoshopped Aadhaar card. The release advised the people to not to share photocopies of their Aadhaar with any organization because that can be misused. Alternatively, a masked Aadhaar which displays only the last 4 digits of Aadhaar number, can be used", govt said in an official statement.
"However, in view of the possibility of the misinterpretation of the Press Release, the same stands withdrawn with immediate effect", it added.
It also said that now it is advised to UIDAI issued Aadhaar cardholders to exercise normal prudence in using and sharing their UIDAI Aadhaar numbers.
Reiterating aadhaar's ample security features govt said that the "Aadhaar Identity Authentication ecosystem has provided adequate features for protecting and safeguarding the identity and privacy of the Aadhaar holder".
Earlier the aadhaar advisory issued on May 27 govt had said "Only those organisations that have obtained a User License from the Unique Identification Authority of India can use Aadhaar for establishing the identity of a person". Also, the govt had asked citizens to verify that an organisation has a valid User License from UIDAI before sharing their Aadhaar cards with them.
Additionally, the govt has warned people not to use public computers at internet cafes to download their Aadhaar cards. "If you do so, please ensure that you delete all the downloaded copies of e-Aadhaar permanently from that computer," the govt advisory had said.
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