Aadhaar may be used to verify SECC beneficiaries

NEW DELHI: The government proposes to use Aadhaar to identify beneficiaries under the Socio Economic and Caste Census to weed out frauds and duplication.

The rural development ministry will soon launch the exercise to use the 12-digit unique identity number to assess the socio economic status of all the beneficiaries under the second Socio Economic Caste Census (SECC), which is due in 2021.

A senior government official told ET on condition of anonymity that the move to use Aadhaar as a sole identifier will also help the government better monitor the living standards of the beneficiaries.

The updated SECC will be based on the list of households in the country in 2020 being compiled by the National Population Register, and will form the basis of the social registry, which has been in the works for a long time, the official said.

According to the official, the advantage of the SECC is that it provides for programme-specific customised priority list to suit programme objective and budget space. “This, in turn, helps us address specific deprivation and hence the government is keen on expanding its scope,” the official added.

Going forward, beneficiaries under PM Awas Yojana, Atal Pension Yojana, Ujala Yojana, Integrated Child Development Services, Janani Suraksha Yojana or the old age pension schemes amongst 60-odd schemes would be assessed using their Aadhaar.

The rural development ministry has outlined 20 parameters including availability of a house, a toilet, an electricity connection, a gas connection, and education level as well as asset position and land holding to assess their status. “A pilot project will be launched soon to assess the socio economic status of every household,” the official quoted above said.

The Supreme Court had, in its ruling on Aadhaar last year, said that the unique number can be linked to public welfare programmes.