Centre to start linking Aadhaar with driving licenses: IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad

The Centre will soon start linking driving licence with Aadhaar, Electronics and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said today. "It would be done soon to check the menace of multiple licensing," he said after inaugurating the Haryana Digital Summit-2017 in Gurugram. "I have already had a word with Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, in this regard and the process to link Aadhaar with driving licence would be set in motion soon," he said.[caption id="attachment_3792639" align="alignleft" width="380"] Representational image. Reuters[/caption]Referring to the debate on security of Aadhaar data, Prasad said the biometric information -- which includes iris scan and fingerprints -- is stored in an encrypted form and is very secure. "If you look at the physical card, it has my photo, says I am a male and has my permanent Patna address at the back. It does not have details like names of my parents, caste, religion, educational qualification, financial income or health records. None of the things by which you can be profiled are mentioned on the Aadhaar card," he said.He added that "Aadhaar is a digital identity" which confirms the physical identity with the help of biometrics and there are laws in place to check against unauthorised usage of Aadhaar. The central government has linked PAN card to Aadhaar to stop money laundering, an official statement quoting him said.Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and states Urban Local Bodies Minister Kavita Jain, were also present at the Summit, organised by the state government. Prasad said the Central government had selected 48,000 seats in BPO industries in small cities of the country. Asking the chief minister to promote BPO industry in cities like Rohtak and Jhajjar, he gave the assurance that his ministry would support the state government in this regard.