The Centre on Tuesday said it has proposed to make the Aadhaar card mandatory to file income tax returns and to apply for a Permanent Account Number, PTI reported. Provisions to make the unique ID compulsory are included in the Finance Bill, which is awaiting the president’s assent, Hindustan Times reported.

On March 8, the Centre had announced that the Aadhaar card was now mandatory for women in the Below Poverty Line category applying for a free LPG connection. The previous day, the government had clarified its order that made Aadhaar compulsory for midday meals at government-run schools.

World Bank Chief Paul Romer had praised the system on March 16, saying it should be used as a model worldwide. Aadhaar has 1.1 billion users in the country, and the number is increasing in leaps and bounds with the government’s constant push towards making it mandatory for several key schemes, services and benefits. However, the Supreme Court had said that Aadhaar cannot be made mandatory for any government services.

Several websites and mobile applications have already been found offering unauthorised services related to Aadhaar. However, the Unique Identification Authority of India has held that all Aadhaar data is fully protected and completely safe, dismissing allegations that there have been information breaches and misue of biometric data.