Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)
Context:
GoI has notified rules that empower the UIDAI to appoint adjudicating officers.
These officers will act against violators of the Aadhaar
They are also empowered to impose penalties.
Key Points
The appellate authority against decisions of the Adjudicating Officer shall be the Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal.
These Adjudicating Officers shall decide such matters and they have the authority to impose penalties up to Rs 1 crore on such entities.
At present, the Aadhaar Act does not empower the UIDAI to take enforcement action.
The adjudicating officer will not be below the rank of Joint Secretary to the Government of India. He shall possess 10 years or more working experience, and also should have administrative or technical knowledge in any of the disciplines of law, management, information technology or commerce with at least 3 years of relevant experience.
Before adjudging penalty, he/she shall issue a notice to the alleged person or entity, requiring them or it to show cause why the penalty should not be imposed on him/her/it and clearly indicate the nature of contravention, non-compliance or default under the Act.
The Adjudicating Officer shall have the power to summon and enforce the attendance of any person acquainted with the facts and circumstances of the case to give evidence.
The amount of any penalty imposed by Adjudicating Officer shall be deposited into the UIDAI Fund and if not paid, may be recovered as if it were an arrear of land revenue.
UIDAI
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is a statutory body formed under the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 (“Aadhaar Act 2016”).
It is under the purview of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
UIDAI was established to issue Unique Identification numbers (UID), to all residents of the country.
UIDAI is responsible for:
Aadhaar enrolment and authentication, including operation and management of all stages of Aadhaar life cycle,
Developing the policy, procedure, and system for issuing Aadhaar numbers to individuals and perform authentication
Security of identity information and authentication records of individuals.