Justice K.S.Puttaswamy(Retd) vs Union Of India on 26 September, 2018
(ii) Additionally, there is a critical need to create an institutional mechanism that would own the
database and be responsible for its maintenance and updating.
(iii) The next meeting is to consider topics relating to collating the National Population Register
(NPR) and UID schemes, including methodology, effective implementation techniques,
identification of the institutional mechanism stated above, and the time schedule for putting the
scheme into operation.
A series of meetings took place thereafter to work out the modalities of the programme. Certain
issues were raised therein and to address those issues, a Committee of Secretaries was formed. The
said Committee gave its recommendations which were discussed by EGoM. After approving the
Aadhaar Scheme in principle, it instructed the Cabinet Secretary to convene a meeting to finalise the
detailed organisational structure of the UID.
10) After considering the recommendation of the Cabinet Secretary, Notification No.
A-43011/02/2009-Admn.I was issued on January 28, 2009 by the Government of India which
constituted and notified the UIDAI as an attached office under the aegis of the Planning
Commission. Consequent to the constitution of UIDAI, allocation of Rs.147.31 crores for Phase I of
Aadhaar enrolments was approved by the Finance Minister on the recommendation of the Standing
Committee on Finance. Demo-Official letter dated February 25, 2009, was sent by the Secretary,
Planning Commission to all Chief Secretaries of 35 States/Union Territories apprising them of their
roles and responsibilities of the States/Union Territories in implementation of UIDAI, such as
appointment of the State/UT UID Commissioners, logistics support and coordination with various
departments and State units.
As they say, rest is history, which we recapitulate in brief hereinafter.
11) A core group was set up to advice and further the work related to UIDAI. Budgets were allocated
to UIDAI to enable it to undertake its task. Staff was also allocated to it. Meetings of the core group
took place from time to time. The core group, inter alia, decided that it was better to start with the
electoral roll database of 2009 for undertaking the UIDAI project. The status of digitisation of PDS
records, state-wise, was sought to be sent from the Department of Food and Public Distribution to
the Standing Commission/UID. This and other steps taken in this direction culminated in issuance
of Notification dated July 02, 2009 whereby Mr. Nandan Nilekani was appointed as the Chairman
of UIDAI for an initial tenure of five years in the rank and status of a Cabinet Minister. He assumed
charge on July 24, 2009. Thereafter, the Prime Ministers Council of UIDAI was constituted on July
30, 2009 which held its first meeting on August 12, 2009 where the Chairman of UIDAI made
detailed representation on the broad strategy and approach of the proposed UID project. One of the
proposals was to provide a legislative framework for UID at the earliest so that it could have the
legal sanction to perform its function. Some other Committees like the Biometrics Standard
Committee, Demographic Data Standards and Verification Procedure Committee were set up as a
support system to the project, which submitted their respective reports in December 2009. Even a
Cabinet Committee on UID was constituted vide orders dated October 22, 2009 which was headed
by the Prime Minister with the aim to cover all issues relating to UIDAI, including its organisation,
Indian Kanoon - http://indiankanoon.org/doc/127517806/
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