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Prelims 2020 · Q1 · Laws & acts

Consider the following statements :

  1. 1.Aadhaar metadata cannot be stored for more than three months.
  2. 2.State cannot enter into any contract with private corporations for sharing of Aadhaar data.
  3. 3.Aadhaar is mandatory for obtaining insurance products.
  4. 4.Aadhaar is mandatory for getting benefits funded out of the Consolidated Fund of India.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?

Show answer

Answer: B. Statement 1 is wrong: in the Aadhaar (Puttaswamy) judgment of 2018, the Supreme Court allowed authentication records to be kept for up to six months, not three. Statement 2 is correct: the Court struck down the part of Section 57 that let private companies use Aadhaar data through contracts. Statement 3 is wrong: Aadhaar is not mandatory for insurance. Statement 4 is correct: Section 7 lets the government require Aadhaar for benefits paid from the Consolidated Fund of India. So 2 and 4.

Watch for: The 'three months' figure looks close to the real six-month limit, so students tick statement 1 without checking.

Why the other options are wrong
  • A. Wrong because the Court's limit on storing authentication records was six months, not three.
  • C. Wrong because Aadhaar cannot be made mandatory for insurance products.
  • D. Wrong because statements 1 and 3 are incorrect.

Source to check: Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India (Aadhaar judgment), Supreme Court, 26 September 2018; Aadhaar Act, 2016, Sections 7 and 57

Answer from the official UPSC key. Written and fact-checked by AI against the official key. Spotted a mistake? Report it.