The Delhi government on Tuesday, 31 July, declared that it is no longer necessary for citizens to link Aadhaar cards to their bank accounts to receive widow and old age pensions, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Twitter.
The Delhi government acknowledged the suffering of many people who didn’t receive their pensions as banks failed to link their Aadhaar cards.
The Delhi government had taken a similar step in February when it decided against making Aadhaar mandatory for the distribution of ration in the national capital.
The Supreme Court had questioned the mandatory use of Aadhaar card for drawing pension earlier in March. It had questioned the inclusion of Aadhaar under section 7 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016, given that pension is an entitlement, not a social scheme.
In May this year, the Delhi government allowed old, ill and injured persons to use other means of identification than Aadhaar for bank accounts.
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