NHA working to integrate SECC beneficiary database with NFSA

These OMs have enabled sharing of Aadhaar collected under any scheme among different government departments.According to the OM, central government departments, administering Section 7 or Section 44bii schemes, can be treated as a single entity under the Aadhaar Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services Act, 2016.Accordingly, the Department of Food and Public Distribution DoFPD has issued OM dated January 6 wherein states and UTs were requested to provide necessary assistance and cooperation for sharing of the NFSA ration card data along with the corresponding Aadhaar with the NHA, the statement said.

The National Health Authority (NHA), which is mandated with the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat (AB-PMJAY), is working on integrating the SECC 2011 beneficiary database with the National Food Security Portal (NFSA) which will enable beneficiaries to seek information regarding their entitlement under the scheme using their ration card number.

The NHA is also working on a proposal to use fair price shops or ration shops for providing information related to the scheme and entitlement under it to eligible beneficiaries, a Health Ministry statement said.

''This will provide an additional avenue to beneficiaries along with the existing Common Service Centre, UTI-ITSL etc, for card creation. This will make the beneficiary identification process very convenient,'' the ministry said.

However, the existing beneficiary data available with government welfare schemes can be meaningfully utilised only if a common identifier is available, it said.

The statement said that Aadhaar, being a common identity across the majority of government databases, will enable this integration. Further, Aadhaar also ensures certainty regarding beneficiary identification through e-KYC, which enables paperless delivery of services in a targeted manner, it said.

In this direction, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has issued OMs dated October 27, 2021, December 6, 2021 and December 14, 2021. These OMs have enabled sharing of Aadhaar (collected under any scheme) among different government departments.

According to the OM, central government departments, administering Section 7 or Section 4(4)(b)(ii) schemes, can be treated as a single entity under the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016.

Accordingly, the Department of Food and Public Distribution (DoFPD) has issued OM dated January 6 wherein states and UTs were requested to provide necessary assistance and cooperation for sharing of the NFSA ration card data along with the corresponding Aadhaar with the NHA, the statement said. The onus of ensuring the compliance of provisions and regulations regarding data protection, data storage and data privacy, etc, and in particular, seeking consent will lie with the user departments i.e. in this case the NHA, it stated.

Following the OM of DoFPD, the NHA is following up with states and UTs regarding database integration. They are providing necessary assistance in this regard, it said.

None of the states or UTs has expressed any reservation to the NHA in sharing the data. The process of database sharing has already commenced, it stated.

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