Following Supreme Court ruling, Aadhar made mandatory for seeking PMJAY benefits for the second time
In a decision that could affect the long term implementation of the scheme, the National Health Agency has decided that any person who seeks benefits under the Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Abhiyan (PMJAY) for the second time will need to have an Aadhar.
“We are studying the Supreme Court order. Aadhaar number or at least documents to prove that one has enrolled for the 12-digit unique identity number will be mandatory to seek treatment under the scheme for the second time. To avail benefits for the first time, one can either show an Aadhaar or any other identity document like election card etc,” Indu Bhusan, CEO Ayushman Bharat told PTI.
This comes weeks after the Supreme Court pronounced that Aadhar is constitutional. While the judgement did leave out bank accounts and mobile phones from the Aadhar network, it said that the card would be required for government benefits and subsidies. The decision to make Aadhar mandatory for the second time in PMJAY is likely to garner criticism.
Officials say verification using old and alternative identity cards such as ration cards pose problems as they had hand written numbers and poorly stored data
NHA officials have now confirmed that Aadhar is mandatory for the second time – interestingly PMJAY rules did have provision for mandatory Aadhar but it had then been rejected as a typo. This decision also comes in the wake of “informal” instructions having gone out on using Aadhar only for verification at least in some states.
Officials had so far denied these instructions but the new directive on second time use could potentially pose problems not only for those not having Aadhar but also those having it. This is particularly true for children and old people.
Officials say verification using old and alternative identity cards such as ration cards pose problems as they had hand written numbers and poorly stored data. The same number sometimes fetches details of different families in different districts.
