IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw showcases new Aadhaar app for instant authentication

IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday showcased a new Aadhaar app that features QR code-based instant verification.

IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday showcased a new Aadhaar app that features QR code-based instant verification and real-time face ID for authentication, eliminating the need for people to carry physical photocopies or cards with them.

Aadhaar verification becomes as simple as making UPI payment, Vaishnaw said in a post on X.

Once out of beta testing phase and widely implemented across the country, this would mean that individuals, when asked for ID - say, at a hotel, airport, or by a train ticket checker - no longer have to hand over a paper Aadhaar, as is mostly the case today.

Instead of showing physical photocopies of their Aadhaar, the new app would enable individuals to verify their identity after the QR code scan.

Just as UPI payment QR codes are widely available, at almost every point of payment in India, Aadhaar verification QR codes too would soon be available at 'points of authentication'.

People can just scan the QR code using the new Aadhaar app, and their face gets verified instantly. The ID is securely shared, directly from an individual's phone, not from a photocopy.

Vaishnaw showcased the power of the app in a video posted on X.