Privacy concerns and reluctance among states over the sharing of Aadhaar details of National Food Security Act (NFSA) beneficiaries with the National Health Authority (NHA) notwithstanding, the Department of Food and Public Distribution has urged states and Union Territories to share NFSA ration card data and Aadhaar numbers with the NHA. States are learnt to have subsequently flagged concerns about the “security aspects of such a data transfer”.
The NHA’s initiative to map the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) database with Aadhaar and the public distribution system database aims to identify beneficiaries of health insurance programme Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY).
In a letter dated January 5, NHA CEO R S Sharma wrote to Department of Food and Public Distribution Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey: “…due to deficiencies in the SECC database, beneficiary identification (under AB PM-JAY) has become extremely difficult. In this regard, NHA has been trying different ways and means to enrich the SECC database, which can then be used to target beneficiaries. Possible mapping of SECC beneficiaries with Aadhaar and NFSA will help in the easy identification of beneficiaries.”
He said without mapping Aadhaar with the SECC database, it will be “extremely unlikely” to achieve Ayushman card saturation.
Following Sharma’s letter, the Department of Food and Public Distribution’s Director (Public Distribution) Vivek Shukla is learnt to have written to states on January 6, requesting them for “necessary assistance and co-operation” in sharing beneficiary details.
An official at the NHA told The Sunday Express that states have flagged concerns about the “security aspects of such a data transfer” and the possibility of Centre “using it for political gains”.
