Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Aadhaar letter is now valid document for opening bank accounts

Reserve Bank of India has decided on Sep 28, 2011, to accept the Aadhaar letter issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) containing details of name, address and Aadhaar number, as an officially valid document for opening bank accounts.

Earlier it was stipulated that when bank relies exclusively on the Aadhaar letter as complete KYC document for opening of an account, such an account would be subject to all conditions and limitations applicable to ‘Small’ accounts



However, RBI has reiterated that while opening accounts based on Aadhaar also, banks must satisfy themselves about the current address of the customer by obtaining required proof of the same as per extant instructions.

Department of Telecom and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas also consider Aadhaar as valid KYC for issue of SIM cards and cooking gas connections. Besides, there are some States like Tripura and Sikkim which already accept Aadhaar as valid identity and residence proof.



Till now, UIDAI has issued Aadhaar cards to 3.7 crore people all over the country and enrolled about 10 crore people for issuing the national identity card. The authority has been mandated to issue Aadhaar cards to 20 crore people next year.

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