Last date for linking Aadhaar to small savings schemes extended to March 31

Last date for linking Aadhaar to small savings schemes extended to March 31

The government on Monday extended the last date for linking Aadhaar to small savings schemes to March 31 from December 31. The move comes after the deadline for linking of the unique identification number (UID) to social benefit schemes, bank accounts and mobile numbers were also extended to March 31.

“It has now been decided to extend the last date for submission of Aadhaar number from December 31, 2017 to March 31, 2018,” a Finance Ministry notification said on Monday. Thus, it means that the last date for linking of Aadhaar to all government schemes is now March 31.

In October, the government had made quoting the 12-digit Aadhaar number mandatory for all small savings schemes like post office deposits, PPF, the National Savings Certificate scheme and Kisan Vikas Patra. Existing depositors were given time till December 31, 2017 to provide the number. The depositor is required to submit Aadhaar number at the time of opening of account/purchasing certificates, it said.

The government has insisted on quoting Aadhaar for bank deposits, obtaining SIM cards and several other utilities to weed out benami deals and black money. An amendment was also made in the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Rules, 2017, mandating the linking of Aadhaar to mutual fund accounts.

As many as 135 schemes (of 35 ministries), including the free cooking gas (LPG) to poor women, kerosene and fertilizer subsidy, targeted public distribution system (PDS) and MGNREGA will be covered by the extension.