The Unique Identification Authority of India told the Supreme Court on Tuesday that it has fined telecom major Airtel and Axis Bank for breach of terms and conditions pertaining to Aadhaar authentication, reported The Times of India.

Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi informed the bench that “UIDAI has imposed disincentives on Airtel and Axis Bank for failing in their duties as requesting agencies” under the Aadhaar Act seeking authentication of identity.

It is unclear if the disincentives imposed on Airtel is linked to UIDAI’s earlier decision to temporarily bar the telecom major and Airtel Payments Bank from conducting Aadhaar-based SIM verification of mobile customers using e-KYC process and e-KYC of Payments bank clients, reported ET Now.

A five-judge Constitution bench is hearing a batch of petitions against the Aadhaar programme. Tuesday was the 29th day of the hearing.

Referring to Section 57 of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, the bench asked if the law permitted use of Aadhaar authentication by private bodies and corporate entities and wanted to know what safeguards UIDAI had in place.

“UIDAI has made a decision that no chaiwala, panwala, restaurant or open-ended retail outlets will be allowed to become requesting entities for Aadhaar authentication,” advocate Dwivedi said. He said that Aadhaar under the Act was mandatory only for receiving financial subsidies or other benefits linked to consolidated funds, reported Moneycontrol. “Other linkages, like bank accounts, mobile phones etc are under separate laws which has no bearing on the operation of Aadhaar Act.”.

Updated QR code for offline Aadhaar verification

UIDAI has introduced an updated QR code that has details like name, address, photo and date of birth, and can be used for offline user verification without the 12-digit ID number, PTI reported on Wednesday. The update is aimed at providing an extra layer of privacy.

Aadhaar holders can now download and print the biometric ID with the QR code from the UIDAI website or mobile app.

Users can manually blacken the Aadhaar number and use the printout with the new QR code for an offline authentication. Biometrics and sensitive data like bank account details will not be available when the QR code is scanned, ensuring that privacy is maintained.

“The offline QR code is a landmark development that will allow everyone to establish their identity through offline verification without giving out Aadhaar number,” said UIDAI Chief Executive Officer Ajay Bhushan Pandey.