From transferring funds to making investments to receiving subsidies, Aadhaar is much more than just a mode of identification. This year’s Union Budget came with the proposal to further its use by installing Aadhaar-based POS across the country and using it to register the health details of senior citizens.
In an attempt to include more and more people from the semi-urban and rural areas in the digital age, the government has proposed providing Aadhaar-based smart cards to all senior citizens to identify and understand their health requirements better.
The government is going to start with its pilot project in 15 districts in the financial year 2017-18.
Additional Reading: Income Tax Filing Made Easy With Your Aadhar Card
How Can Aadhaar-Based Smart Cards Help
This is an initiative targetted at storing health and treatment information of senior citizens through the registration of biometric details. The health and financial requirements of individuals in their golden years are different from that of others.
So with a core platform set up for all financial and health requirements, individuals can provide their biometric IDs during a medical emergency to let doctors access their medical history and even carry out transactions.
The Aadhaar number can also be used to set up a payment system. This will help in getting treatment done on time without any hassles.
The smart cards will not only contain details of check-ups, treatments and prescriptions but also Health Insurance-related information of the cardholder.
The details stored in the biometric database would be considered authentic across all platforms, and hence, could be used while seeking subsidised treatment or support from NGOs in case of an expensive treatment.
This system reduces the need to carry a medical file, as all necessary information can be updated and shared through a database where the information can be accessed through fingerprint identification or Aadhaar number.
While this idea is still in its nascent stages, there are expectations that the government could introduce subsidised check-ups similar to other Aadhaar-based schemes such as CNG cashback subsidies.