3 5. In section 4 of the principal Act, for sub-section (3), the following sub-sections shall be substituted, namely:— 5 Amendment of section 4. “(3) Every Aadhaar number holder to establish his identity, may voluntarily use his Aadhaar number in physical or electronic form by way of authentication or offline verification, or in such other form as may be notified, in such manner as may be specified by regulations. Explanation.—For the purposes of this Section, voluntary use of the Aadhaar number by way of authentication means the use of such Aadhaar number only with the informed consent of the Aadhaar number holder. 10 (4) An entity may be allowed to perform authentication, if the Authority is satisfied that the requesting entity is— (a) compliant with such standards of privacy and security as may be specified by regulations; and 15 (b) (i) permitted to offer authentication services under the provisions of any other law made by Parliament; or (ii) seeking authentication for such purpose, as the Central Government in consultation with the Authority, and in the interest of State, may prescribe. 20 (5) The Authority may, by regulations, decide whether a requesting entity shall be permitted the use of the actual Aadhaar number during authentication or only an alternative virtual identity. (6) Every requesting entity to whom an authentication request is made by an Aadhaar number holder under sub-section (3) shall inform to the Aadhaar number holder of alternate and viable means of identification and shall not deny any service to him for refusing to, or being unable to, undergo authentication. 25 (7) Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing provisions, mandatory authentication of an Aadhaar number holder for the provision of any service shall take place if such authentication is required by a law made by Parliament.”. 6. In section 8 of the principal Act,— (a) in sub-section (2),— 30 Amendment of section 8. (i) in clause (a), after the words “consent of an individual”, the words “, or in the case of a child obtain the consent of his parent or guardian” shall be inserted; (ii) after clause (b), the following proviso shall be inserted, namely:— 35 “Provided that the requesting entity shall, in case of failure to authenticate due to illness, injury or infirmity owing to old age or otherwise or any technical or other reasons, provide such alternate and viable means of identification of the individual, as may be specified by regulations.”; (b) in sub-section (3), after the words “for authentication,”, the words “or in the case of a child, his parent or guardian” shall be inserted. 40 7. After section 8 of the principal Act, the following section shall be inserted, namely:— Insertion of new section 8A. “8A.(1) Every offline verification of an Aadhaar number holder shall be performed in accordance with the provisions of this section. Offline verification of Aadhaar number. (2) Every offline verification-seeking entity shall,— 45 (a) before performing offline verification, obtain the consent of an individual, or in the case of a child, his parent or guardian, in such manner as may be specified by regulations; and