The government has started allowing private mobile apps to integrate Aadhaar-enabled face authentication. This move aims to make it easier for users to access private services and improve convenience by streamlining the process of verifying identity on private apps. The integration will be done through the Aadhaar Good Governance portal, which provides a standardised procedure for Aadhaar authentication.
What is the Aadhaar Good Governance portal
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) introduced the Aadhaar Good Governance portal last week to simplify the approval process for Aadhaar authentication requests. This follows an amendment from January that reinstated private entities’ access to the unique ID verification system.
MeitY Secretary S. Krishnan launched the Aadhaar Good Governance portal in the presence of UIDAI CEO Bhuvnesh Kumar, NIC Director General Inder Pal Singh Sethi, UIDAI DDG Manish Bhardwaj, and other senior officials from MeitY, UIDAI, and NIC.
What it means for users
In an official statement to the news agency PTI, MeitY said: “The portal shall work as a resource-rich guide, and offer detailed SOP for authentication seeking entities on how to apply and how to onboard for Aadhaar authentication. Face authentication may also be integrated in the customer facing apps of private entities, which will enable anytime anywhere authentication.
The online platform (swik.meity.gov.in) comes into effect, after Aadhaar Authentication for Good Governance (Social Welfare, Innovation, Knowledge) Amendment Rules, 2025 under the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 was notified in late January 2025. This amendment has been done to help improve transparency and inclusivity in the decision-making process.
The amendment enables both government and non-government entities to avail Aadhaar authentication service for providing various services in the public interest for related specific purposes like enablement of innovation, spread of knowledge, promoting ease of living of residents and enabling better access to services for them.
Service providers too will find it helpful for a range of things including staff attendance, customer onboarding, e-KYC verification, exam registrations etc.”
According to the statement, the latest amendment enables Aadhaar number holders to seamlessly access services across various sectors, including hospitality, healthcare, credit rating agencies, e-commerce, educational institutions, and aggregator platforms.
Krishnan stated that with the introduction of this platform and ongoing enhancements to related processes and systems, the goal is to accelerate the inclusion of more use cases in the areas of good governance and ease of living.
This comes after the government amended the Aadhaar Act to permit private entities to use Aadhaar authentication for service delivery.
In September 2018, the Supreme Court deemed Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act “susceptible to misuse.” This section previously allowed private entities to seek and utilise Aadhaar authentication for business purposes.
MeitY stated that it has proposed new rules to facilitate Aadhaar authentication by entities beyond government ministries and departments, reinforcing its commitment to making Aadhaar more user-friendly while enhancing ease of living and access to services.
