After Pan Card, Driving Licence Too Will Be Linked To Aadhaar Card Soon

After making Aadhaar card mandatory to be linked to your permanent account Number (PAN), the government has decided to soon link one's driver's licence with it, said Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Friday.

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The minister didn't give a time frame to link the unique identification number with driver's licences.

His comment though comes even as the Supreme Court has yet to rule on whether Aadhaar violates privacy, something it plans to do in November.

Before ruling on Aadhaar and privacy, the apex court took up the issue of whether privacy is a fundamental right, and last month ruled that it indeed is.

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So, linking Aadhaar with driver's licences may be on the government's agenda, but it remains to be seen whether it is something that can be carried through.

"We are planning to link driving licence to Aadhaar. I have had a word with (Union minister Nitin) Gadkari Ji regarding this," said Prasad on Friday at the at Digital Haryana Summit 2017.

"So digital identity confirms physical identity with the help of digital technology," the minister elaborated.

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The minister further said "PAN was linked to Aadhaar to stop money laundering".

Late last month, the Centre told the Supreme Court it will extend the deadline for mandatory Aadhaar to avail social benefits to December 31 from the earlier September 30.

Attorney General KK Venugopal, on the Centre's behalf, made this statement to a Supreme Court bench when petitioners sought an early the top court's last judgment declaring privacy a fundamental right.