Aadhaar mandatory to file income tax returns

The insurance regulator, in a circular last month, asked insurers to not make Form 60, Aadhaar and PAN card mandatory for the policy holder as part of the know your customer (KYC) process. However, an insurer can accept Aadhaar as an identity document: if you voluntarily offer your Aadhaar card, if insurers ensure that the first eight digits of the Aadhaar number are appropriately masked and at no point can more than four digits of the Aadhaar number be stored by insurers in physical or digital form. Insurers are also not allowed to authenticate using the E-KYC facility or the yes/no authentication facility of ULDAL. “The regulator has taken cognisance of the Supreme Court judgement which will benefit the insured. It has been ensured that the safety of data is not compromised and storage of data does not harm the customers,” said Anup Rau, chief executive officer of Edelweiss General Insurance.