Aadhaar now must to avail benefits under this scheme
What's the story
The Indian government has made it compulsory for beneficiaries of the National Action Plan for Skill Development of Persons with Disabilities, to submit their Aadhaar number during application. The requirement is part of a scheme offering financial aid and other benefits to eligible individuals. However, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has assured that no eligible child will be denied these benefits due to lack of Aadhaar or authentication failure.
Scheme
Scheme aims to provide quality vocational training
The Aadhaar authentication is necessary to avail cash benefits under the scheme, such as transport allowance, boarding plus lodging, conveyance, and post-placement support. The NAP-SDP was started in March 2015 by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD). It aims at providing quality vocational training to improve the skills of persons with disabilities (PwDs), enabling them to secure dignified employment and achieve self-sufficiency.
Inclusivity measures
What if you don't have an Aadhaar number?
The Ministry has clarified that if an eligible person does not have an Aadhaar number, they must follow certain steps for application. For children, such application should be done with the consent of a parent or legal guardian. Until Aadhaar is allocated, beneficiaries can prove their identity using certain alternative documents like birth certificates or school records.
Steps
How will authentication be done?
The Ministry has directed its implementing agencies to establish Aadhaar enrollment centers at accessible locations or become registrars themselves. This is to facilitate enrollment and updates for persons with disabilities. In cases where the biometric Aadhaar authentication fails due to reasons such as poor fingerprint or iris quality, alternative methods like OTP-based authentication, Aadhaar QR code scanning, and offline e-KYC verification may be used.