Aadhaar not mandatory to book air tickets

The Government has no plans to make Aadhaar number mandatory for booking air tickets, officials have told a Parliamentary panel.

Officials of the Ministry of Home Affairs led by Home Secretary-designate Rajiv Gauba told the panel no such decision has been taken.

The MPs raised queries after reports said that for government is planning to make Aadhaar mandatory for booking air tickets.

Officials also told the MPs that Aadhaar data was safe and there was no chance of it falling in wrong hands as the main server was placed in a foolproof system.

The officials were asked why the government was linking Aadhaar number with banks, mobile connections, welfare schemes.

On this, they said the political executive has taken the decision. To a question of protecting citizen's privacy, the officials said though Aadhaar data was collected by private entities, the entire software was handled by the UIDAI.