First things first, mAadhaar is a digital version of your Aadhaar card which you can carry with you anytime and anywhere, without actually having to keep the Aadhaar Card itself with you in its physical form.
That on its own is no doubt a compelling reason for why it’s a good idea to have mAadhaar downloaded and installed on your mobile device.
At the same time, there is clearly more to it.
Accordingly, the aim of this article is to inform you about ALL the advantages that come with mAadhaar.
Increasing Mandatory Aadhaar Linking in India
The instances of having to link or provide Aadhaar details in order to avail of many different services are only increasing rapidly with each passing day. Whether it is opening and maintaining your regular bank account or obtaining a mobile SIM card, Aadhaar is being made mandatory in a wide variety of instances.
Although theoretically, Aadhaar is still a voluntary program that Indians can choose to be a part of, they are increasingly being compelled to do so. Otherwise, they are likely to miss out on a number of services they are privy to.
Now, with your mAadhaar with you, it is definitely much easier to link your Aadhaar details whenever you need to, without necessarily having to have your Aadhaar Card on you.
QR Code Sharing of Aadhaar Details on mAadhaar
An outstanding advantage of mAadhaar not often realized by many is the fact that Aadhaar details can be shared really very easily, simply by QR code scanning.
Otherwise, with your regular Aadhaar Card, you would actually have to share the card itself with the individual or organisation that needs to have your Aadhaar information. In such a scenario, there is every possibility that your personal Aadhaar details might be noted and possibly misused.
But simply by QR Code scanning of Aadhaar details on mAadhaar, there is a negligible chance of any misuse happening, not to mention the immense convenience that comes with doing so.
TOTP Validation as Opposed to Mobile OTP
Yet another good mAadhaar feature that proves to be one more compelling reason for you to download and install the app is that you can easily validate with TOTP as opposed to mobile network dependent OTP.
What is TOTP, you might ask?
Essentially, it is Time Based OTP or One Time Password. So besides being the usual OTP that so many of us Indians have got used to, for validating most of our online transactions, it has an additional time-sensitive factor which is far more stringent than regular OTPs.
Sure, regular OTPs also have limited time-bound validity which is usually about 5 to a maximum of 10 minutes in most cases. But with TOTP, the validity period is much less – just 30 seconds.
This has been done to maximise security and ensure user data protection.
Such a limited time period actually proves adequate because TOTP is not mobile network dependent, which is often an issue in many parts of India, with patchy mobile network connectivity. Instead, TOTP simply requires Internet connectivity, including WiFi.
As long as that is in place, validating Aadhaar details on mAadhaar using a TOTP proves to be a cakewalk.
Speedy Approvals
An aspect related to QR Code scanning and TOTP validation as mentioned in the points above is that approvals through mAadhaar tend to be speedy. Whether it is opening a bank account, getting a new gas connection, or obtaining a new mobile SIM, things become fast and easy.
Otherwise, with the physical Aadhaar card, there is a chance that things will end up taking time, especially when then is human, clerical effort required to be put in. For instance, if the Aadhaar number has to be manually entered, things will happen only when that is actually done.
But with QR Code scanning especially, things take place in a computerised and connected environment, with everything taking place much faster.
Safety of your Aadhaar Card
Finally, we have to mention the safety of your Aadhaar Card as one of the biggest reasons to go ahead and install mAadhaar on your mobile device.
After all, with mAadhaar, you can safely tuck your card away and still be able to carry your Aadhaar details around with you, as you typically would.
