FOR PMLA cases, 29 insurance,9 securities entities permitted to use Aadhaar Authentication Services

Government has allowed 29 insurance and 9 securities entities to use Aadhaar Authentication Services under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Department of Revenue has given permission to them to undertake Aadhaar Authentication services of UIDAI subject to their complying with standard security and privacy measures as per Aadhaar Act and to the satisfaction of their respective regulatory authorities, says All India Radio (AIR). Revenue Department said that it is a voluntary measure and use of Aadhaar authentication service is voluntary. It said, if some investor gives PAN, then they need not go for Aadhaar authentication. Finance Secretary Dr. Ajay Bhushan Pandey said the decision will help these entities to perform in real time, do e-KYC and will also reduce their cost of transaction. He said this will also be beneficial to the customers or the investors, especially the small and retail investors, as they need not submit physical papers or documents for KYC. Among the entities that have been allowed to use Aadhaar Authentication services are Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance, Bharti AXA Life Insurance, HDFC Life Insurance, SBI Life Insurance, Reliance Nippon Life Insurance, Religare Health Insurance, Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance, Bombay Stock Exchange Limited, National Securities Depository Limited, NSDL Database Management Limited and NSE Data and Analytics Limited