The Maharashtra government has decided to give Aadhaar number to every newborn child and link the child’s number with that of its parents.
As per a new government resolution, Aadhaar enrolment will be undertaken simultaneously with the birth registration at the hospital. For this purpose, the parent may need to have Aadhaar number herself. Even if the child is not named, the child may have the number and the card under the term ‘second baby of (mother’s name)’. The name of the child could be updated later online on the Aadhaar website by the parents.
The State Health Department will soon be certifying its staff as Aadhaar operators. Staff of private hospitals could also be considered for the job. Discharge cards issued by hospitals bearing the mother’s name will be considered as a proof of relationship between the mother and the child for enrolment.
As of now, the biometric details of children below five years of age are not recorded. Aadhaar card of small children has their name, age and gender along with their photograph. Such Aadhaar-linked children will have to re-enrol themselves once they turn five and submit their biometrics of 10 fingers, iris and facial photograph. The biometrics will have to be re-submitted once the children turn 15.
The move has been hailed by activists. “This could help us monitor the progress of a child including their immunisation programmes, morbidity, and even track their malnutrition status. This could also help check infant mortality rates,” said Sushma Shende, programme director of the NGO, Society for Nutrition, Education and Health Action, which works in the area of maternal and newborn care.
Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officials, however, said they are yet to get the order. “We have not received any such information, and that we are not equipped to provide them. We simply register birth and death. The registration of birth has been shifted to an online portal since January 1 of this year and it’s a free and easy process, whereby even parents can register and print their own birth certificates. As of now, the online birth registration is available at government hospitals, but we hope to bring the private hospitals into the network soon,” said Dr. Jayant Kandhare, Deputy Executive Health Officer (headquarters) of the BMC. Currently, birth registrations are done by the corporation on the basis of information provided by private hospitals.
Advocate Rahul Narayan, who appeared for petitioners against the Centre in the Supreme Court, said the Health Department directive was a violation of the SC order, which stated that Aadhaar could be used only for specific schemes. “The SC on October 15, 2015, had clearly said that till such time as it decides on Aadhaar, the government could use Aadhaar only for the public distribution scheme, LPG gas service, MNREGA, Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana, Employment Provident Fund, and the national social assistance programmes like pensions for the aged, widows and the disabled. Now, which of these schemes are meant for the newborns?”
The writer is a freelance journalist
