In yet another move by the government to push for mandating Aadhaar for a host of services, the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry has notified that students seeking government scholarships and fellowships will need to declare Aadhaar numbers by the end of June.
According to a Hindustan Times report, the Ministry’s order covers fellowship schemes implemented by the University Grants Commission and the All India Council for Technical Education.
“The use of Aadhaar as identity document for delivery of services or benefits or subsidies simplifies the government delivery processes, brings in transparency and efficiency, and enables beneficiaries to get their entitlements directly in a convenient and seamless manner and Aadhaar obviates the need for producing multiple documents to prove one’s identity” the government’s notification was quoted by Hindustan Times as saying.
June 30 is the deadline for students to declare their Aadhaar numbers, or apply for one and declare the enrolment number to their colleges.
The notification, which came into effect from Wednesday, covers all states excluding Assam, Meghalaya and Jammu and Kashmir.
The government’s move to make Aadhaar mandatory for drawing state benefits has been severely criticised by activists. The criticism has centred around a Supreme Court order in September last year which stated that people without Aadhaar numbers must not be denied assistance.
The report cited sources saying that there will be a delay in processing fellowship amount in case students are unable to provide their Aadhaar number.
In addition to Junior Resident Fellowship (JRF), 17 fellowship schemes -- including the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE), the Emeritus fellowship, the Post-Doctoral Fellowship for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe Candidates — will be covered under the rule.
Post graduate scholarship for university rank holder, post graduate scholarship for single girl child and other UGC scholarships will also be awarded only after Aadhaar is declared.
