'Aadhaar card will no longer be the basis': Centre may replace Aadhaar with voter ID, biometrics for beneficiary payments

The government may stop using Aadhaar as the basis for beneficiary payments and instead use biometrics and voter ID (EPIC) numbers, Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh said, The Indian Express reported on Wednesday.

Singh, who is the Union Minister of Panchayati Raj, Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, made the remarks last Friday at the National Workshop on People’s Plan Campaign 2026-27, organised by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.

Addressing the workshop, Singh said Aadhaar would no longer be the basis for making payments to beneficiaries.

“Ek baat aur kah dena chahte hain ki ab Aadhaar labharthiyon ko bhugtan karne ka jo aadhaar hai, woh Aadhaar card nahin rahega” (I would like to add that Aadhaar will no longer be the basis for making payments to beneficiaries), Singh said, as quoted by The Indian Express.

“Aadhaar card, ab Aadhaar card banane wali jo sansthayen hain, woh har gali mein uplabdh hain. Aap jiska kahiye, abhi 5 minute mein Aadhaar card banakar taiyyar kar denge” (Aadhaar enrolment centres are now available everywhere. You can get an Aadhaar card made for anyone within five minutes), he said.

“Woh Aadhaar card ab aadhaar nahin rahega. Jo bhi beneficiary hain, unke bhugtan ke liye biometric aur unka jo voter ID ka EPIC number hai, woh uska aadhaar hoga, aur usi par unka bhugtan hoga” (The Aadhaar card will no longer be the basis. For beneficiary payments, biometrics and their voter ID (EPIC) number will be used as the basis, and payments will be made on that basis), Singh said.

Singh, however, did not specify which schemes would use the EPIC number for payments or when the new system would come into effect.

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Where Aadhaar is currently used

There is no scheme under the Ministry of Panchayati Raj where money is directly transferred to an individual beneficiary’s bank account.

However, some schemes under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, which is also headed by Singh, require Aadhaar for payments.

Under the National Livestock Mission Entrepreneurship Development Programme, every eligible beneficiary seeking benefits is required to “furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar number or undergo Aadhaar authentication”.

Aadhaar-seeded bank accounts are also used for payments under several Central government schemes, including the rural job guarantee programme VB-G RAM G, PM-Kisan, Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana (Gramin) and the National Social Assistance Programme, which covers old-age, widow and disability pensions.

At the workshop, Singh also called for the participation of all stakeholders in efforts to build Atmanirbhar Panchayats (self-reliant panchayats) and Viksit Panchayats (developed panchayats).

He said Gram Panchayats need to increase their own-source revenue generation to become eligible for performance grants.