NEW DELHI: The Centre on Thursday clarified that Aadhaar card will not be compulsory to avail benefits under the Ayushman Bharat National Health Protection Mission. The clarification comes after reports claimed that the use of Aadhaar in Ayushman Bharat is a ‘must’.
The Centre said that in order to authenticate the identity of beneficiaries accurately, the use of Aadhaar card is preferable, but it not compulsory. “There shall be no denial of benefit for want of Aadhaar number,” the government said.
Confirming the information, Union Health Minister JP Nadda said: “we will provide services to all eligible beneficiaries with or without Aadhaar cards.”
In case the beneficiary does not have an Aadhaar card, Ration Card, Voters ID Card, MGNREGA Card etc can be produced as identification proofs. The government will also be setting up enrollment centers for the beneficiaries who are not yet enrolled for Aadhaar at various locations.
For those who have Aadhaar, their QR code will be scanned at the contact point or an e-KYC will be performed to capture all the details. A demographic authentication is performed with UIDAI to ensure the information captured is authentic. A live photograph of the member is taken to be printed on the e-card.
One or more family identity cards can be linked with each Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Mission (PMRSSM) family. While Ration cards will be the primary family document, states can define additional family documents that can be used. The PMRSSM scheme allows addition of new family members if they became part of the family either due to marriage or by birth. In order to add a family member, at least one of the existing family members needs to be verified and the identity document used for the verification must be Aadhaar.
Source: Zee News