Aadhar cards to double up as debit cards

December 1, 2016

New Delhi, Dec 1: The Government will target growing the ambit of Aadhar for cashless transactions through the Aadhar Enabled Payment System.

Under the service, Aadhar cardholders will be given the option of debiting or crediting money to their Aadhar linked bank accounts. Recipients will have to key in their Aadhar id number and undergo a fingerprint or iris scanner verification for each transaction.

Speaking at a press conference at Niti Aayog about the alternatives of physical currency, Ajay Bhushan Pandey, CEO of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), said, “There are currently 1.31 crore transactions per day through Aadhar and we can handle up to 10 crore transactions per day. We will soon be able to manage 40 crore transactions each day.”

Commenting on the issue of privacy associated with Aadhar-enabled transactions, Pandey said, “The Aadhar laws are such that we cannot ascertain whether a certain transaction is a credit, debit or anything else. There will be utmost privacy for all such Aadhar-linked operations.”

Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant noted that there will soon be an Android mobile app to enable Aadhar-linked banking services.

He said, “In another 15 days there will be an Android app to allow cell phones with external or in-built retina and fingerprint scanners to allow these services.”

Kant noted that the government will also grow the ambit of four more cashless transaction services.

He said that these will be Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) for GSM phones, e-Wallets and Unified Payments Interface for smart phones, and debit, credit and prepaid cards for PoS machines.

Comments

Add new comment

Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.

QR-code tips power Mangaluru's major drug bust: 25 arrested in 2 weeks

News Network

December 16,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 16: The Mangaluru City police have significantly escalated their campaign against drug trafficking, arresting 25 individuals and booking 12 cases under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act between November 30 and December 13. The crackdown resulted in the seizure of a substantial quantity of illicit substances, including 685.6 grams of MDMA and 1.5 kg of ganja.

The success of this recent drive has been significantly boosted by the city’s innovative, QR code-based anonymous reporting system.

"The anonymous reporting system has received an encouraging response. Several recent arrests were made based on inputs received through this system, helping police tighten the noose around drug peddlers," said the City Police Commissioner.

The latest arrests contribute to a robust year-to-date record, underscoring the police's relentless commitment to combating the drug menace.

Up to December 14 this year, the police have registered a total of 107 cases of drug peddling, leading to the arrest of 219 peddlers. Furthermore, they have booked 562 cases of drug consumption, resulting in the arrest of 671 individuals.

The scale of the seizure for the year reflects the magnitude of the problem being tackled: police have seized 320.6 kg of ganja worth ₹88.7 lakh and 1.4 kg of MDMA valued at ₹1.2 crore. Other significant seizures include hydro-weed ganja worth ₹94.7 lakh and cocaine worth ₹1.9 lakh, among others.

The Commissioner emphasized a policy of rigorous enforcement: "We ensure that peddlers are caught red-handed so that they cannot later dispute the case or claim innocence."

To counter the rising trend of substance abuse among youth, the Mangaluru City police have rolled out uniform guidelines for random drug testing across educational institutions.

As part of the drive, tests were conducted in approximately 100 institutions, screening an estimated 5,500 to 6,000 students in the first phase. 20 students tested positive for drug consumption during the initial screening.

Students who tested positive have been provided counselling and are scheduled for re-testing in the second quarter. The testing will also be expanded to students not covered in the first phase. In a move to ensure strict implementation, police personnel were deployed in mufti in some institutions. Reiterating a zero-tolerance stance, the Commissioner confirmed that random testing will continue, and colleges have also been instructed to conduct drug tests at the time of admission to deter substance abuse from an early stage.

Comments