As Tamil Nadu is in the process of buidling a single source data of the residents - State Family Data Base (SFDB), the government has now made Aadhaar mandatory to avail its schemes and the move comes when there have been concerns across the state over the directive of linking Aadhaar with the electricity connection.  

Amid the alarm from the activists that the data of the people will be comprised after such linkages, the state government has been ruling out of such breaches and said that the database will be maintained in a digitized, centralized, and secure manner for the purpose of seamless benefiary identification to provide benefits with transparency. In its process of building a database, the government has now announced that all beneficiaries of the government schemes must provide their Aadhaar details. 

While such directive will not applicable for minors, the government said that the beneficiaries must submit proof that they have an Aadhaar number or undergo Aadhaar vertification. The official order regarding this has been issued by Tamil Nadu Finance Secretary N Muruganandham and he asserted that using Aadhaar verification will simplify the government delivery process and ensure efficiency and transparency.

The order highlighted that the Aadhaar verification will enable beneficiaries to get their entitlements directly in a convenient and seamless manner by removing the need to provide multiple documents as proof. The government has made Aadhaar mandatory for government employees, government pensioners, and other beneficiaries of schemes that are rolled out by the state government. 

It has been reported that if any individual, who is getting benefits from a government scheme, does not have an Aadhaar card, they have complete the Aadhaar enrollment before registering for the scheme. After enrolling, they should produce an Aadhaar enrollment slip along with any one government documents like PAN card, Passport, bank passbook, ration card, or driver licence. 

According to The Hindu, the Treasuries and Accounts Department would offer Aadhaar enrollment facilities, through its implementating agency, for the beneficiaries who are not yet enrolled. In case there is no Aadhaar enrollment centre, the Department through its implementing agency shall provide enrollment facilities at convenient locations in coordination with the existing registrars of UIDAI or by becoming UIDAI registrars. 

The order further said, "In all other cases, where biometric or Aadhaar OTP or Time-based OTP authentication is not possible, benefits under the scheme may be given on the basis of physical Aadhaar letter whose authenticity can be verified through Quick Response code printed on the Aadhaar letter."