One of the main features of an Aadhaar card is biometrics. When you visit an enrolment centre, the operator takes pictures of the irises of your eyes and scans all your fingerprints. Since fingerprints and irises are unique to each individual, it is a foolproof way of establishing your identity. This offers a high degree of security to your Aadhaar number.
Here are some things that you need to know about Aadhaar biometrics.
What it is used for
Biometrics is a quick and easy way of establishing your identity. Mobile phone operators, for instance, have been giving connections and SIM cards quickly using fingerprint readers to establish users’ identity via Aadhaar. Biometrics is also being used to establish the identity of beneficiaries of government schemes like Ayushman Bharat Yojana, Jeevan Pramaan and so on.
Guidelines for capturing biometrics in Aadhaar
- The operator to check for deformities in the eyes or fingers. If there are any, and fingerprints or iris scans cannot be done, they have to be indicated as biometric exceptions in the software.
- In the case of such exceptions, the photograph of the applicant showing his or her face and both hands are taken, regardless of the type of exception.
- If there is temporary damage to eyes or fingers (for example, if the hand has been burnt), the operator will record it as an exception. The applicant should get his or her biometric data updated after the fingers have healed and in their normal state.
- All residents above the age of five need to get biometrics taken.
- For children below the age of five, only the picture is taken. They will have to be taken again after the age of five to get the biometrics done. This is done free of cost.
- Applicants should have a neutral expression when the picture is taken, with teeth not visible and both eyes open and looking into the camera.
- If an applicant normally wears spectacles, the photographs should be taken with the spectacles on. However, the lenses should be clear, and not dark or tinted.
- Applicants are allowed to wear turbans and other headgear.
- While scanning fingerprints, fingers should not excessively dry or wet. If dry, fingers should be moistened with a damp cloth.
- You get the best results if fingerprints are scanned in a standing position.
Aadhaar offers the option of locking and unlocking your biometric information to prevent any kind of misuse. When you lock the biometrics, no one will be able to access your fingerprint or iris scans to authenticate your identity. If you have registered your phone number with Aadhaar you can do it online at the self-service portal. You can also do it easily through the mAadhaar app.
In order to do biometric lock/ unlock online, you have to enter your Aadhaar number and the captcha code. A one-time password (OTP) will be sent to your registered mobile phone number, which you can use to lock/ unlock the biometric information. The biometric facility will remain locked until you decide to unlock it. The online facility will only work if your mobile number was registered at enrolment. If you don’t have a registered phone number, you will have to visit an Aadhaar enrolment centre to get it done.
Biometric devices
There are several devices that can be used for biometric identification. They include discrete devices, which have to be connected to PCs, laptops, micro ATMs and the like. Integrated devices have the sensors built into them.
Under UIDAI rules, only registered devices can be used for authentication. Biometric records in these devices are processed and encrypted, thus eliminating the transmission of non-encrypted information from the sensor to UIDAI servers.
Devices could be in the form of:
- A USB device connected to a personal computer
- A hand-held or POS (point of sales) device like a Micro ATM
- ATMs or MNREGA job request kiosks
- A mobile phone that has a biometric sensor
Sometimes, biometric information is not recorded properly at the time of enrolment. This could happen, for example, in the case of older people and during the winters when dry fingers render the fingerprints indistinct. In that case, you can get fingerprints scanned again at an enrolment centre by paying charges of Rs 50.
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