Aadhaar card printed on ordinary paper valid: UIDAI

SHIMLA: People should not fall to prey to unscrupulous entities who are charging somewhere between Rs 50 and Rs 200 for printing Aadhaar on a plastic card in the name of smart card, as the Aadhaar letter or its cutaway portion or downloaded version of Aadhaar on ordinary paper is perfectly valid, a spokesman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) said here today.

Tribune News Service

Shimla, April 12

People should not fall to prey to unscrupulous entities who are charging somewhere between Rs 50 and Rs 200 for printing Aadhaar on a plastic card in the name of smart card, as the Aadhaar letter or its cutaway portion or downloaded version of Aadhaar on ordinary paper is perfectly valid, a spokesman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) said here today.

“Aadhaar card or the downloaded Aadhaar card printed on an ordinary paper is perfectly valid for all uses. If a person has a paper Aadhaar card, there is absolutely no need to get his or her Aadhaar card laminated or obtain a plastic Aadhaar card or so called Smart Aadhaar card by paying money. There is no concept such as smart Aadhaar card,” informed Director General & Mission Director of UIDAI, Dr. Ajay Bhushan Pandey.

In case a person loses his Aadhaar card, he can download his Aadhaar card free of cost from https://eaadhaar.uidai.gov.in/. The printout of the downloaded Aadhaar card, even in black and white form, is as valid as the original Aadhaar letter sent by the UIDAI. There was no need to print it on plastic card or get it laminated, he added.

He said that if a person wanted to get his Aadhaar card laminated or printed on plastic card, he may do so only at authorized Common Service Centres or Aadhaar Permanent Enrolment Centres by paying not more than the prescribed rate, which is not more than Rs30. He advised the public that for protection of their privacy they should not share their Aadhaar number or personal details to unauthorized agencies for getting it laminated, or printed on plastic card.

E-commerce companies such E-bay, Flipkart, Amazon etc. are hereby informed not to allow their merchants to collect Aadhaar information from general public for printing Aadhaar card as collecting such information or unauthorized printing of Aadhaar card or aiding such persons in any manner may amount to a criminal offence punishable with imprisonment under Indian Penal Code and also Chapter VI of The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016.