Aadhaar scheme helps the centre in saving Rs 90,000 crore every year with targeted delivery of welfare programmes, says Union finance minister Arun Jaitley.
He termed the Supreme Court of India’s judgment on Aadhaar as “historic” and welcomed the decision.
“It is a historic judgment and the whole concept of unique identification number that has been accepted after judicial review is an extremely welcome decision,” Jaitley said.
“There are now 122 crore people in India who have Aadhaar cards and our estimation is that by identifying beneficiaries of government schemes and ensuring that there are no fake or duplicate or non-existent beneficiaries, we are already saving Rs 90,000 crore every year,” he added.
A five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra addressed several pleas pertaining to Aadhaar on Wednesday. The bench in its verdict termed Aadhaar as a constitutionally valid identity but nullified some of its provisions, including its seeding it with bank accounts, mobile phone connections, and school admissions.
