The Centre has released a draft of a proposal to allow non-government and state entities to authenticate Aadhaar for better delivery of services to citizens.

In its draft proposal, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has sought public comments on the draft rules by May 5.

As per the proposed amendments, the rules will allow entities other than the ministries and central or state government departments to seek permission for Aadhaar authentication for certain purposes.

“Further, it is proposed to include the promoting of ease of living of residents and enabling of better access to services for them as one of the prescribed purposes," according to the ministry.

The draft has proposed that non-government entities which want to use the Aadhaar authentication should prepare a proposal which details the justification of the purpose for which it will be used.

The proposal will then be submitted to the concerned ministry or department, which will then vet the proposal.

If the concerned ministry or government department is convinced that the proposal for which Aadhaar authentication is being sought is in the public interest, it will forward the proposal to the central government, which will in turn forward it to the Unique Identification Authority of India.

At present, the ministries and departments are allowed to undertake Aadhaar authentication under the Aadhaar Authentication for Good Governance (Social Welfare, Innovation, Knowledge) Rules, 2020 in the interest of good governance and to prevent leakage of public funds and enabling innovation and the spread of knowledge.