The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has denied the claims of a Right To Information (RTI) application suggesting Aadhaar linkage with bank accounts an optional requirement.
Lately, several media reports were quoting the RTI and publishing that the central bank has not issued any order directing to Aadhaar linkage as mandatory.
“The Reserve Bank clarifies that, in applicable cases, linkage of Aadhaar number to the bank account is mandatory under the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Second Amendment Rules, 2017 published in the Official Gazette on June 1, 2017,” the central bank said in a statement.
The regulator has directed all the banks to implement the rule at the earliest without waiting for any further clarification.
The Central Government had made Aadhaar mandatory for opening bank accounts and for all financial transaction of Rs 50,000 and above in June.
All existing bank account holders have been instructed to link their Aadhaar number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) by December 31, 2017. Failing to provide the details in the bank account will cease to be operational, the government notified.
To curb the menace of multiple tax evasions, Centre in Budget 2017, had made Aadhaar seeding mandatory for Permanent Account Numbers (PANs).
