IT ministry notifies rules allowing private entities to carry out Aadhaar authentication

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on Friday notified the Aadhaar Authentication for Good Governance Amendment Rules, 2025, allowing private companies to use Aadhaar authentication for delivering services under the Aadhaar Act, 2016.

The move is aimed at enhancing citizens’ “ease of living” and enabling “better access to services”, the ministry said in a statement.

“The amendment [to the 2020 Aadhaar rules] enables both government and non-government entities to avail Aadhaar authentication service…It will help both the service providers as well as the service seekers to have trusted transactions,” the statement read.

Private entities seeking to use Aadhaar authentication must first apply to the appropriate government ministry or department. The applications will be reviewed by the Unique Identification Authority of India.

The IT ministry will then grant approval based on the authority’s recommendation and empanel the entity to carry out Aadhaar authentication of its customers.

Aadhaar refers to a unique 12-digit number assigned to all card-holders after collecting their fingerprints and eye scans. The database contains information such as residents’ names, addresses and birth dates. The data is used to authenticate citizens’ identities before they can receive public welfare. The project was created by the United Progressive Alliance government in 2009 to reduce leakages in the country’s welfare programmes.

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