Minister says voter ID, not Aadhaar, may be used for benefit payments
Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh said biometrics and the voter ID number would be the basis for paying beneficiaries. No official policy has been announced yet.
- Remarks by Union Minister Lalan Singh
- No schemes or dates named
- PM-Kisan etc. use Aadhaar-linked accounts today
What was said
At a Panchayati Raj ministry workshop, Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singh said that for paying beneficiaries, "biometrics and their voter ID (EPIC) number will be used as the basis", indicating Aadhaar may no longer be the key. The Indian Express first reported the remarks.
He did not say which schemes would change, or when.
Why it matters
Today, money under big schemes like PM-Kisan, PMAY-Gramin, old-age and widow pensions and the rural jobs programme goes into Aadhaar-linked bank accounts. Any switch would affect crores of people.
For now it's a minister's statement, not a notified rule, so nothing changes yet for beneficiaries.
