The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has asked public not to share their personal information with unauthorised agencies for printing or laminating their Aadhaar cards.
The UIDAI asked e-commerce firms such as e-bay, Flipkart and Amazon to not allow their merchants to collect Aadhaar information from general public for printing Aadhaar card as this may amount to a criminal offence punishable with imprisonment.
The UIDAI said it had noticed some “unscrupulous entities” who were charging Rs. 50 to Rs. 200 for printing Aadhaar on a plastic card in the name of smart card. Some entities had also been charging far more for simply laminating the downloaded version of Aadhaar, it added.
The Aadhaar card or the downloaded Aadhaar card printed on ordinary paper is perfectly valid for all uses, UIDAI Director General and Mission Director Ajay Bhushan Pandey said in a statement. The authority said if a person loses his Aadhaar card, it could be downloaded free of cost.