Govt. states no plans to make Aadhaar mandatory for booking air tickets

The government on Friday stated that it has no plans to make Aadhaar number mandatory for booking air tickets.

At a meeting of the parliamentary standing committee on home affairs, headed by P Chidambaram, top officials said no decision has been taken by the government in this regard, an MP who attended the meeting said.

The parliamentarians were assured by the officials, led by Union home secretary-designate Rajiv Gauba, that Aadhaar data is safe and there is no chance of it falling in wrong hands as the main server is placed in a foolproof system.

The queries by members of the panel were answered by the representatives of the home ministry and the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the nodal authority for Aadhaar in the country.

Apart from Aadhaar, the panel also discussed various national security issues, officials said. When the MPs asked why the government was linking Aadhaar number with banks, mobile connections, welfare schemes, they said that the decision had been taken by the political executive and they were not in a position to answer it.