Union Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad has said driving licences will be linked to Aadhaar to curb forgery cases, The Indian Express reported on Monday. The minister made the remarks at an event celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Bihar Industry Association in Patna on Saturday.

“Duplicate driving licence cannot not be made if Aadhar becomes mandatory for it,” All India Radio quoted Prasad as saying. “Aadhar is playing a vital role in checking corruption. Rs 1,47,677 crore has been saved due to digital identity through Aadhar.”

The government discontinued the process of Aadhaar verification for driving licences last year. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha in July, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said: “The Ministry in compliance to the order of the Supreme Court dated September 26, 2018…stopped the process of verification using Aadhaar for the Driving Licences.” Collection of biometric data at regional transport offices was also stopped.

Last year, the top court had struck down certain provisions of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 by 4-1 majority. The court said a citizen’s right cannot be refused because of lack of the unique identification card.

Prasad also unveiled Bihar’s first “Aadhaar Sewa Kendra” in Patna on Saturday. It will have 16 counters and operate for six days. “We are going to set up 154 similar ‘Aadhaar Sewa Kendra’ in 53 cities across the country,” The Times of India quoted the law minister as saying. “One more such centre will set up in another locality of Patna.”

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