-PTI NEW DELHI: The UIDAI has provided some "relaxation" to banks in procurement of enrolment machines and hiring private data entry operators for their Aadhaar centres, and hopes that banks will offer such services at stipulated 10% of the branches "at the earliest", its CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey has said. The Aadhaar-issuing body, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), has allowed banks to hire private data entry operators and enrolment machines and...

-The New Indian Express NEW DELHI: Amid controversial reports of hunger deaths in Jharkhand due to PDS beneficiaries being turned away, economist Jean Dreze says that even official records show that a significant proportion of people are being deprived of food rations every month. In an interview with New Sunday Express, the prime mover behind the NREGA welfare scheme said “this does not mean that Aadhaar is solely responsible for the failures...

-The Indian Express In the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, public sector banks and regional rural banks have opened 29.13 crore accounts as against 96 lakh accounts by the private banks. Chennai: The All India Bank Officers Confederation (AIBOC), the largest body representing over 3,25,000 officers, opposed the Centre’s move making Aadhaar mandatory and forcing bank officers to do Aadhar seeding. When the matter is subjudice in the...

-Livemint.com Only RBI has the power to issue directives to banks, says Indian Banks’ Association Mumbai: The Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) has questioned the jurisdiction of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) in issuing directions to banks under the Aadhaar Act, according to two people aware of the matter. IBA has written to the ministry of electronics and information technology, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the finance ministry’s department of...

-The Times of India NEW DELHI: Telecom operators are bombarding their consumers with messages to link their SIM cards with Aadhaar, going so far as to threaten a disconnection in services. Those who use Airtel, Vodafone and Idea Cellular, among others, have been fielding frequent SMS alerts and tele-calls from mobile operators and their field associates, asking them to link their numbers with Aadhaar. Telecom companies cite a directive from the Department...