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The taxpayers and tax professionals made their compliances in time, leading to a surge in the filing of Income-tax Returns (<keyword id="20458564" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ITRs" source="keywords">ITRs</keyword>), which resulted in a new record of ITRs filed till <keyword id="22468495" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="July-31" source="keywords">July 31</keyword>, 2024. July 31 was the last due date for filing the <keyword id="19948101" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="income-tax-returns" source="keywords">income tax returns</keyword>, without having to pay any penalties. The total number of ITRs for assessment year 2024-25 filed till July 31, 2024 is more than 7.28 crore, which is 7.5% more than the total ITRs for assessment 2023-24 (6.77 crore) filed, a <keyword id="19908390" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ministry-of-Finance" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Ministry of Finance" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Ministry of Finance">Ministry of Finance</keyword> release stated on Friday. An increasing number of taxpayers have opted for the <keyword id="19935168" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="New-Tax-Regime" source="keywords">new tax regime</keyword> this year, the <keyword id="19900485" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="finance-ministry" source="keywords">finance ministry</keyword> said. Out of the total ITRs of 7.28 crore that have been filed, 5.27 crore have been filed in the new tax regime, as compared to 2.01 crore filed in the old tax regime. Thus, about 72% of taxpayers have opted for the new tax regime, while the rest 28% continue to be in the old tax regime. The filing of ITRs peaked on July 31, 2024 (due date for salaried taxpayers and other non-tax audit cases) with over 69.92 lakh ITRs being filed on a single day. The <keyword id="20404575" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="e-filing-portal" source="keywords">e-filing portal</keyword> also observed its highest per hour rate of 5.07 lakh of ITR filing between 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm on July 31. A total of 58.57 lakh ITRs from first time filers were reported, a fair indication of widening of tax base. "A lot of emphasis was provided to educate taxpayers about old and new tax regimes. FAQs and educational videos on the same were designed and uploaded on the e-filing portal," the ministry said. Focused outreach campaigns were carried out on social media to encourage the taxpayers to file their ITRs early. Along with this, unique creative campaigns were also carried out on different platforms. Informational videos in 12 vernacular languages, apart from English and Hindi, were displayed on digital platforms. The ministry said it is encouraging to note that over 6.21 crore ITRs have been e-verified, out of which more than 5.81 crore are through Aadhaar-based OTP (93.56% ). Of the e-verified ITRs, more than 2.69 crore ITRs for the 2024-2025 have been processed (43.34%) till July 31, 2024. Note that e-verification is the final step in filing your ITR. If you do not e-verify your ITR within 30 days of filing it, your ITR will stand invalid. The e-filing Helpdesk team has handled approximately 10.64 lakh queries from taxpayers during the year up to July 31, supporting the taxpayers proactively during the peak filing period. Taxpayers are also requested to verify their unverified ITRs if any, within 30 days of filing the ITR. Taxpayers are urged, who for any reason, missed filing their ITR within the due date, to complete their filing expeditiously.

51 lakh, or 7.5% more Indians filed income tax returns this year; 72% of taxpayers opted new regime, notes FinMin data

Mumbai, The <keyword id="19899808" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rbi" source="keywords">RBI</keyword> on Thursday said that it has decided to come out with a new <keyword id="20027459" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="framework" source="keywords">framework</keyword> for authentication of digital payment transactions and introduce additional norms to enhance the security of the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (<keyword id="19946538" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="aeps" source="keywords">AePS</keyword>). Over the years, the <keyword id="19922074" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="reserve-bank" source="keywords">Reserve Bank</keyword> has prioritised security of digital payments, in particular the requirement of Additional Factor of Authentication (AFA). Although the RBI has not prescribed any particular AFA, the payments ecosystem has largely adopted SMS-based One Time Password (<keyword id="19957209" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="otp" source="keywords">OTP</keyword>). With innovations in technology, alternative authentication mechanisms have emerged in recent years. "To facilitate the use of such mechanisms for digital security, it is proposed to adopt a principle-based 'Framework for authentication of digital payment transactions'. Instructions in this regard will be issued separately," the RBI said. To enhance the security of AePS transactions, it is proposed to streamline the onboarding process, including mandatory due diligence, for AePS touchpoint operators, to be followed by banks. Additional fraud risk management requirements will also be considered. Instructions in this regard shall be issued shortly, the RBI said. Aadhaar Enabled Payment System, operated by NPCI, enables customers to perform digital payment transactions in assisted mode. In 2023, more than 37 crore users undertook AePS transactions, which points to the important role played by AePS in financial inclusion.

RBI plans new framework for authentication of digital transactions

Leading fintech platform PhonePe on Wednesday announced it has enabled <keyword id="6358921" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="upi" source="Orion">UPI</keyword> activation using Aadhaar-based OTP authentication. PhonePe is the first UPI Third Party Application Provider (TPAP) App to roll out the Aadhaar-based UPI onboarding flow that will now enable several crore Indians to become a part of the UPI ecosystem, seamlessly and securely for the first time, the company said in a statement. Under the previous UPI onboarding flow, a valid debit card was mandatory to set up a user's <keyword id="4760578" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="upi-pin" source="Orion">UPI PIN</keyword> during the UPI registration process, restricting access for a large number of Indian bank account holders who didn't have a debit card handy. The addition of <keyword id="144117" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="aadhaar" source="Orion">Aadhaar</keyword> onboarding for UPI will do away with this restriction, and allow previously under-served populations to experience the convenience and benefits of digital payments. "We are excited to be the first fintech platform to offer Aadhaar-based authentication for our users, making the UPI onboarding flows even more simple and inclusive. We believe this is a very progressive move by <keyword id="30067" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="rbi" source="Orion">RBI</keyword>, NPCI and UIDAI and is a great example of the digital financial inclusion that UIDAI's Aadhaar program has been able to drive," said <keyword id="12805030" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="deep-agrawal" source="Orion">Deep Agrawal</keyword>, Head of Payments at PhonePe. In the new flow, the Aadhaar e-KYC flow will be made part of the UPI onboarding journey on the PhonePe App. Users choosing this option will only need to enter the last 6 digits of their Aadhaar number to initiate the onboarding process. They will then receive an OTP from UIDAI, and their respective bank to complete the authentication process. Post this, customers will be able to access all UPI features such as payments and balance checks on the PhonePe App. "This will help expand the overall UPI ecosystem, and also onboard new customers to the digital payments fold. UPI has become a global exemplar, and countries across the world are looking to implement it. Going forward, we are closely working with NPCI to take UPI international," said Agrawal. With 41.5 crore registered users, one in four Indians is now on PhonePe. The company has also successfully digitised 3.3 crores, of offline merchants, covering 99 per cent of pin codes in the country. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/pet-care-startup-supertails-com-raises-10-million-in-series-a-funding/articleshow/95406580.cms">Pet-care startup Supertails.com raises $10 million in Series A funding</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/mt-autocraft-forays-into-evs-with-rs-100-cr-funding-to-hire-200-people/articleshow/95406616.cms">MT Autocraft forays into EVs with Rs 100 cr funding, to hire 200 people</a>

PhonePe first player to enable UPI activation with Aadhaar

<ul><li>The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has suspended its blockchain technology aimed at filtering out <keyword id="731341" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Spam-messages">spam messages</keyword> for the next seven days.</li><li>This comes after users across the country saw long delays in receiving their one-time-passwords (OTPs) for online transactions.</li><li>Since the upgrade was implemented yesterday, users report not receiving OTPs from legitimate sources like their banks, digital payments apps and even government entities like Aadhaar authentication.</li></ul>One-time-passwords (OTPs) aren’t just for financial transactions. They are central for logging into email accounts, authenticating new memberships, or just signing into Amazon on a new device. Understandably, when smartphone users in India saw that OTPs weren’t coming in anymore, they were upset. However, in a splash of good news — albeit temporary — the Telecom Regulatory Authority (TRAI) is calling off its blockchain experiment under the unsolicited commercial communication (UCC) framework. “We are concerned about any customer inconvenience cases and have ordered a seven-day temporary suspension of the SMS scrubbing that was activated on Monday,” a senior TRAI official told the <a href="https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/trai-suspends-ucc-norms-for-7-days/81410348">Economic Times</a>. <div type="twitter" handle="vinaykesari" handlename="Vinay Kesari" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1198945057870495745/us1PoTlZ_normal.jpg" favoritecount="30" retweetcount="9" status="No OTPs coming through for either Axis or Kotak netbanking - guess the DLT SMS issue is real.Weirdly, Axis on-cal… https://t.co/CWOfcYOHeL" createdat="1615213947000" id="1368932630217945089"></div> The technical glitch was just a pain for private players — like <a href="https://twitter.com/Karma_Paljor/status/1368918851174297604">Axis Bank</a>, <keyword id="6357120" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="paytm">Paytm</keyword>, <keyword id="984795" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="goibibo">Goibibo</keyword> and others — but also for government entities like the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), the State Bank of India (<a href="https://twitter.com/TheOfficialSBI/status/1368982286239141889">SBI</a>) and Aadhar Authentication, who saw their messages getting blocked out. <div type="twitter" handle="anikethjain" handlename="Aniketh Jain" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1236891487410876417/kfDBQJIy_normal.jpg" favoritecount="12" retweetcount="4" status="DLT Phase2 went live this morning. Huge failure rates in the submission of OTP &amp; Transactional SMS across India. We… https://t.co/adzUIjJcZf" createdat="1615209973000" id="1368915962464858114"></div> “We are unable to reach the authentication service to serve you <keyword id="510437" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="OTP">OTP</keyword>. Please try again,” it said on the Aadhar service’s official website. Why aren’t OTPs coming through? This whole drama is unfolding because the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) started to implement the second phase of the SMS regulations on March 8. The transition has been less than smooth to say the least, with companies may not have registered in time getting locked out. The government’s new process is designed to curb spam and fraud messages. Using a blockchain-based solution, telecom operators can now verify commercial messages and their source using a template for such communication. Unregistered messages, which do not follow the template, will be blocked as potential fraud. And, that’s what’s happening to your OTPs. <div type="twitter" handle="NakulShenoy" handlename="Nakul Shenoy" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1334384232345395200/zQrBzBVj_normal.jpg" favoritecount="0" retweetcount="0" status="Why the heck would you stop sending OTPs via email, @ICICIBank_Care? Look at the mess this has landed into, with no… https://t.co/13D1dd2pM5" createdat="1615255479000" id="1369106828399833091"></div> Telecom operators are <a href="https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/telemarketers-telcos-spar-over-chaos-as-2nd-phase-of-sms-regulation-kicks-in/81388371">defending</a> the digital ledger system and pointing the finger at companies who failed to register in time. According to them, the onus lies on telemarketers and individual businesses to comply with the standards. Safer or temporarily more at risk than usual Content scrubbing is a good move to keep spam at bay. But, what’s not good is when a pesky filter keeps useful messages from coming through as well. In fact, such a move could put users more at risk. “Close to 50% traffic is getting dropped because of content scrubbing. Officials from India’s top banks including HDFC and SBI are extremely furious and dialling TRAI to address the mess at the earliest,” a top executive at a leading telemarketing firm told <a href="https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/telemarketers-telcos-spar-over-chaos-as-2nd-phase-of-sms-regulation-kicks-in/81388371">The Economic Times</a>. <div type="twitter" handle="RedCarpetUp" handlename="RedCarpet" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1267104195833806850/H6FF_OZW_normal.jpg" favoritecount="9" retweetcount="0" status="We hereby like to inform that due to the new implementation of TRAI effective from 08th March 2021 for the SMS temp… https://t.co/IObmBYv4gM" createdat="1615210557000" id="1368918412261433344"></div> Without messages coming through from your bank, not only do your own transactions hit a wall but there’s no alert if someone else is trying to make a transaction from your account. This increases the chances of cyber fraud.

OTP delays should end as TRAI suspends its blockchain experiment for seven days

<ul><li>The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has announced the <keyword id="12338940" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Aadhaar-Hackathon-2021" source="Orion">Aadhaar Hackathon 2021</keyword>.</li><li>The hackathon will begin on October 28 and will end on October 31.</li><li>The winners stand to win up to ₹3 lakh.</li></ul>The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has announced the <keyword id="144117" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="aadhaar" source="Orion">Aadhaar</keyword> Hackathon 2021 as part of the “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav” celebrations announced to celebrate the 75th year of India’s independence. The hackathon is aimed at identifying young innovators who are currently part of engineering institutions. The UIDAI has <a href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1764717">come up</a> with two themes for the event and is looking for technological solutions to these problems. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Aadhaar Hackathon 2021 schedule" comment="subhead" text="Aadhaar Hackathon 2021 schedule">Aadhaar Hackathon 2021 schedule</cmsannotation> The Aadhaar Hackathon 2021 will begin on October 28 and end on October 31 at 11 pm. The registrations are live now and interested students can register till October 25. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Themes of Aadhaar Hackathon 2021" comment="subhead" text="Themes of Aadhaar Hackathon 2021">Themes of Aadhaar Hackathon 2021</cmsannotation> The Aadhaar Hackathon 2021 is based around two themes. First is based on enrollment and updating of information later on. The second theme is based on the identification and authentication of users without sharing an Aadhaar number. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="How to register for the Aadhaar Hackathon 2021" comment="subhead" text="How to register for the Aadhaar Hackathon 2021">How to register for the Aadhaar Hackathon 2021</cmsannotation> The hackathon is limited only to students of engineering colleges in India. <ul><li>To register, go to UIDAI’s <a href="https://hackathon.uidai.gov.in">hackathon website</a>. </li><li>Now, click on “Register Your Team”. </li><li>Enter your Aadhaar number, college or university name and your team name. </li><li>Enter the captcha and click on ‘Generate OTP’. </li><li>Enter the OTP and click on “Create Team”. </li></ul>Once the registration is complete, you will receive a team reference number. You will be allowed to add team members once the team is created. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Rules for Aadhaar Hackathon 2021" comment="subhead" text="Rules for Aadhaar Hackathon 2021">Rules for Aadhaar Hackathon 2021</cmsannotation> <ul><li>The hackathon is open only for students of engineering colleges in India. </li><li>A team can consist of a maximum of five members. </li><li>All the team members must be a part of the same institution. </li><li>Participants must have a valid Aadhaar number. </li><li>A student cannot be part of more than one team. </li><li>Teams must solve at least one problem to confirm their inclusion. </li></ul><cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="What are the prizes for the Aadhaar Hackathon 2021?" comment="subhead" text="What are the prizes for the Aadhaar Hackathon 2021?">What are the prizes for the Aadhaar Hackathon 2021?</cmsannotation> The winners of the Aadhaar Hackathon 2021 will receive a cash prize of ₹3,00,000 and the runner ups will receive a cash prize of ₹2,00,000. The next two teams will receive a cash prize of ₹1,00,000. In addition to this, all four teams also stand to work with the Aadhaar team to create a next-gen identity and authentication platform as part of the Aadhaar 2.0 initiative. The teams will also receive an invitation to participate in the global Aadhaar 2.0 conference. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/supreme-court-notice-on-plea-for-making-aadhaar-card-not-mandatory-for-getting-covid-19-vaccine/articleshow/86675631.cms">Supreme Court notice on plea for making Aadhaar card not mandatory for getting COVID-19 vaccine</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/deadline-for-pan-aadhaar-linkage-extended-till-march-2022/articleshow/86314609.cms">Deadline for PAN-Aadhaar linkage extended till March 2022</a>

Aadhaar Hackathon 2021 – how to participate, prize money, rules and more

New Delhi, Dec 26 () The government has made Aadhaar mandatory for subscribers of the Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY), a pension scheme for senior citizens.
 The scheme, which envisages an assured rate of return of 8 per cent annually, is being implemented through Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). The scheme was announced in Union Budgets of 2017-18 and 2018-19.
 "An individual eligible for receiving the benefit under the scheme shall hereby be required to furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar number (the unique 12-digit biometric identity number) or undergo Aadhaar authentication," according to a finance ministry notification.
 The notification, dated December 23, has been issued under the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016.
 It further said any individual desirous of availing benefit under the scheme who does not possess the Aadhaar number or has not yet been enrolled for Aadhaar, "shall be required to apply for Aadhaar enrolment before registering for the scheme".
 In cases where Aadhaar authentication fails due to poor biometrics, the the ministry's Department of Financial Services through its implementing agency will make provisions to help the beneficiaries get the Aadhaar number.
 Further, where biometric or Aadhaar one-time password or time-based OTP authentication is not possible, benefit under the scheme may be given on the basis of physical Aadhaar letter whose authenticity may be verified through the quick response (QR) code printed on the Aadhaar letter, the notification said.
 In the Budget 2018-19, the maximum limit under PMVVY was doubled to Rs 15 lakh per senior citizen. The scheme is available for subscription till March 2020. DP NKD HRS

Aadhaar made mandatory for PMVVY pension scheme

In order to completely eliminate the need of sending the paper acknowledgement, called ITR-V through post to the <keyword id="2947836" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="I-T-Central-Processing-Centre">I-T Central Processing Centre</keyword> in Bengaluru, the <keyword id="65338" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Income-Tax-Department">Income Tax Department</keyword> today launched its ambitious One Time Password (<keyword id="510437" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="OTP">OTP</keyword>) based e-filing verification system. 

	The facility can be accessed using internet banking, Aadhaar number, ATM and email.
 According to the rules notified in this regard by the Central Board of <keyword id="57161" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Direct-Taxes">Direct Taxes</keyword> (CBDT) today, any taxpayer, whose income is Rs 5 lakh or below per annum and has no refund claims, he or she can straightaway generate the 'Electronic Verification Code' (EVC) for e-filing and validating their <keyword id="6354751" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Income-Tax">Income Tax</keyword> Return (ITR) through their registered mobile number and e-mail id with the department. 

	However, this most simplified option, will be subject to certain "restrictions" which will be prepared by the taxman based on the concerned taxpayer's "risk criteria and profile" in a case-to-case basis. 
 

	"This simply means that if the department has some adverse observation against the said PAN number with income less than Rs 5 lakh, he or she will not be allowed to do the verification directly through their email and mobile number alone and such cases will have to go through the other established procedures in this regard like linkup through Aadhaar database, internet baking or via the ATM," a senior official explained. 
 

	Once logged in on the banking portal, the taxpayer will be sent the EVC to his mobile number provided in the official e-filing web portal of the department which they will put in their ITR for final submission. 

	 
	 
	(Image credits: btvin)

OTP based e-filing verification system launched for taxpayers

New Delhi, Jan 17 () Aadhaar will be required for getting benefits under a central government scheme for providing financial assistance to family members of victims of violence perpetrated by terrorists or naxals, and communal riots.
 In a notification, the Union Home Ministry said an eligible beneficiary desirous of receiving the benefit under the 'Central Scheme for Assistance to Civilian Victims/Family of Victims of Terrorist/Communal/LWE Violence and Cross Border Firing and Mine/IED Blasts on Indian Territory' is required to furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar number or undergo Aadhaar authentication.
 Any eligible beneficiary desirous of receiving benefit under the scheme, who does not possess the Aadhaar number or, has not yet enrolled for Aadhaar, shall have to apply for Aadhaar enrolment.
 The home ministry said the notification comes into effect in all states and union territories except Assam and Meghalaya, where Aadhaar has not covered all residents.
 "The assistance is given by the state governments and the home ministry reimburses the state governments when it gets their demand. The annual budget for the scheme is broadly in the range of Rs 6 to 7 crore," a senior home ministry official said.
 The notification said the ministry through the implementing agency is required to offer Aadhaar enrolment facilities for the eligible beneficiary, who is not yet enrolled for Aadhaar and in case there is no Aadhaar enrolment centre located in the respective Block or Taluka or Tehsil.
 Till the time Aadhaar is assigned to the beneficiary, benefit under the scheme shall be given to such beneficiary subject to the production of the Aadhaar enrolment identification slip if he or she has enrolled and any one of the following: bank or post office passbook with photo; or voter identification card; or PAN card; or ration card; or passport; or kisan photo passbook; or driving licence or certificate of identity having photo of such person issued by a gazetted officer or a tehsildar on an official letter head; or Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme Job Card; or any other document as specified by the ministry.
 In order to provide convenient and hassle free benefit to the beneficiary under the scheme, the ministry through the implementing agency or other means shall make all the required arrangements to ensure that wide publicity through media is given to the beneficiary to make them aware of the requirement of Aadhaar under the scheme.
 In all cases, where Aadhaar authentication fails due to poor biometrics of the beneficiary or due to any other reason, the following remedial mechanisms shall be adopted.
 In case of poor fingerprint quality, IRIS scan or face authentication facility shall be adopted for authentication, thereby the ministry through the implementing agency shall make provisions for IRIS scanners or face authentication along with fingerprint authentication for delivery of benefits in seamless manner.
 In case of biometric authentication through fingerprints or IRIS or face authentication is not successful, wherever feasible and admissible authentication by Aadhaar One Time Password (OTP) or Time-based One-Time Password (TOTP) with limited time validity, as the case may be, shall be offered.
 In all other cases where biometric or OTP or TOTP authentication is not possible, benefit may be given on the basis of physical Aadhaar letter whose authenticity can be verified through the QR code printed on the Aadhaar letter and the necessary arrangement of QR code reader shall be provided at the convenient locations by the ministry through the implementing agency. ACB SMN

Aadhaar required to get benefits under scheme for civilian victims of terror, communal violence

<keyword id="10399714" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Co-WIN" source="Orion">Co-WIN</keyword> has developed a new <keyword id="89002" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="API" source="Orion">API</keyword> called 'Know Your Customer's/Client's Vaccination Status', or <keyword id="12066828" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="kyc-vs" source="Orion">KYC-VS</keyword>, which will enable a verifying entity to know whether a person has been vaccinated against coronavirus or not, the Union Health Ministry said on Friday. Over 72 crore vaccine doses have been administered since the vaccination campaign against <keyword id="8763838" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="COVID-19" source="Orion">COVID-19</keyword> was flagged off on January 16 this year in the country. To provide proof of vaccination for each of these individuals, Co-WIN is already issuing a digitally verifiable certificate. This certificate can be saved on a digital device (smartphone, tablet, laptop etc), or stored in Digi Locker from where it can be digitally shared as and when required as proof of vaccination, the ministry said in a statement. Similarly, at entry points where such certificate is required (e.g., in malls, office complexes, public events etc), it may be shown in both digital and physical forms. However, there may be instances where an entity does not need to see the certificate in full and would just need to know whether an individual has been vaccinated or not, the ministry said. An enterprise/employer may like to know the vaccination status of its employees to resume functions in offices, workplaces etc, it added. The Railways may want to get the status of vaccination of the passengers who are getting their seats reserved in the trains. Airlines may want to get the status of vaccination of the passengers who are booking their flight tickets, and/or airports may only want to allow vaccinated passengers to pass through. Hotels may want to know the vaccination status of the residents at the time they are checking into the hotel, or at the time of making online bookings, it further said. "As the socio-economic activities are being gradually revived while maintaining everyone's safety, there is a need for a way to digitally convey the status of individuals' vaccination to entities with whom they may be engaging with for any or all reasons, as employees, passengers, residents etc. "Therefore, there is a need to enable an Aadhaar like authentication service for the status of vaccination through Co-WIN. To take care of these cases and others that may come up, Co-WIN has developed a new API called 'Know Your Customer's/Client's Vaccination Status' or KYC-VS," the ministry said in the statement. To use this API, an individual needs to enter his/her mobile number and name. Thereafter, they will get an OTP which they have to enter. In return, Co-WIN will send a response to the verifying entity on the individual's status of vaccination, which will be as follows: -- Person is not vaccinated -- Person is partially vaccinated -- Person is fully vaccinated This response will be digitally signed and can be shared instantly with the verifying entity, the ministry said. The KYC-VS is consent-based and privacy preserving, it added. Additionally, in order to facilitate quick integration and faster adoption, the Co-WIN Team has prepared a webpage with the API, which may be embedded in any system. This will allow for a seamless integration with any system in no time, the statement said. Besides the use cases pointed out, this service may be utilised by any service provider, private or public, for whom verifying an individual's vaccination status is critical for facilitating a service requested, it said. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/bitcoin-is-now-legal-in-ukraine-but-not-like-it-is-in-el-salvador/articleshow/86091955.cms">Bitcoin is one signature away from becoming legal in Ukraine and it's not following in El Salvador's footsteps</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/electric-vehicles-registration-are-more-than-cng-vehicles-in-last-two-months-in-delhi/articleshow/86089688.cms">EV adoption on a rise in Delhi — more registrations than CNG-run vehicles in last two months</a>

CoWIN develops a new API to track vaccination status of individuals

<ul><li>The Indian government’s new rules for social media platforms like <keyword id="6354576" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="facebook">Facebook</keyword> and Twitter mandates the ‘voluntary’ verification of users.</li><li>According to <keyword id="6355041" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="mozilla">Mozilla</keyword>, this could potentially put personal data at greater risk of being hacked.</li><li>Doosra, an Hyderabad-based startup, is offering a way, for users worried about their privacy, to create an alternative digital identity.</li></ul>Facebook, <keyword id="790242" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="WhatsApp">WhatsApp</keyword>, Twitter and other social media platforms have been asked to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/enterprise/news/mozilla-is-not-happy-with-indias-new-it-rules-claiming-there-arent-enough-checks-and-balances-in-place/articleshow/81308608.cms">verify the identity of their users</a> — this could be either through phone numbers or government-issued IDs like the Aadhaar card. Putting your number online is not just a risk in the face of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/news/a-scary-proposal-to-use-facial-recognition-and-ai-by-an-indian-state-has-experts-fuming/articleshow/80421935.cmshttps://www.businessinsider.in/news/a-scary-proposal-to-use-facial-recognition-and-ai-by-an-indian-state-has-experts-fuming/articleshow/80421935.cms">increasing government surveillance</a>. It is also about privacy and online safety since personal data can have in-real-life (IRL) consequences like being targeted by stalkers, trolls or people looking to hack into your bank account. “Where there is personal data, there is a great risk of hackers trying to steal it,” pointed out <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/enterprise/news/mozilla-is-not-happy-with-indias-new-it-rules-claiming-there-arent-enough-checks-and-balances-in-place/articleshow/81308608.cms">Mozilla</a> in a statement. An Indian startup based in Hyderabad called <a href="https://www.doosra.com/about-us">Doosra</a> has a possible solution. Instead of using your real number to sign up, use an alternative number to create a secondary digital identity. This doesn’t mean going out to buy a new SIM, but creating a second app-based ‘virtual’ number. “The only people that will have any kind of access to your primary number would be if we got an executive order from the official authorities,” <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/adityavuchi/?originalSubdomain=in">Aditya Vuchi</a>, founder and chief executive of Doosra told Business Insider. This means that if your social media handle is found to be a part of any activity, which violates Section 69 of the IT Act, the government or Supreme Court will first have to issue an order to the social media platform. If and once they discover that the mobile number given is a Doosra number, they will have to issue another order to Doosra in order to gain access to your primary number. The trouble with mobile numbers Mobile phone numbers started out as a simple communication tool. Their purpose was simply to allow your friends and loved ones to reach you no matter where you were. Over time, mobile phone numbers turned identifiers for business databases — a way for them to keep track of their customers — before turning into an all out marketing tool. The Indian government’s mandate to use phone numbers as a way of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/news/indias-new-rules-for-facebook-whatsapp-and-other-social-media-platforms-explained-in-five-points/articleshow/81285658.cms">‘voluntary’ verification</a> — a know-your-customer process, of sorts — for accessing these online platforms poses a new threat. “This means that any message you share on WhatsApp, Facebook and other platforms that is re-shared, makes your number that much more accessible to various databases, leading to spam from real estate offers, insurance scams, stalkers and worse,” said Vuchi. Addressing the deficit of trust The six-month old Doosra is the first such service to be available in India. It is not that other such apps don’t exist — like 2ndLine, Hushed, and Burner — but you need an American or Canadian number in order to sign up for them. Doosra caters to numbers based out of India. You need your real number to sign up for the service, and it is not free with plans starting at ₹59 per month for essential services and ₹83 per month for the pro package. The Doosra number can be used to sign up for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/apps/news/whatsapp-signal-and-telegram-face-a-catch-22-situation-as-indias-new-social-media-rules-threaten-encryption/articleshow/81221070.cms">WhatsApp</a>, Twitter and others or given for Aadhaar, banking details and subscriptions. This is because all of these services require an OTP for verification and Doosra logs all the incoming messages on your <keyword id="10867302" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="secondary-number">secondary number</keyword>. “I bought a car very recently. And, throughout the entire cycle, neither the sales guy or the paperwork guy has access to my primary number. They only had access to my Doosra number,” said Vuchi. According to him, most people using the app so far are addressing a ‘deficit of trust’. They’re uncertain of how their number will be used — or misused — if they give it out to a third party, which is not surprising considering that when you go online to shop for insurance, at a portal like PolicyBazaar, they want you to share your number before you can even compare rates and figure out what you want. The startup did not share the exact number of subscribers it has so far, but Vuchi did disclose that Doosra has seen just shy of a million messages and around 25,000 business sender IDs have been detected. “We can’t see what the messages are, but we do know when businesses reach out to the consumers” he explained. The key clientele so far has been small business owners, sales professionals, and, in some cases, actors too. But with the walls closing in around a person’s digital identity and privacy turning into a luxury that very few can afford — Doosra expects business to boom in the future. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/razorpay-set-to-buyback-esops-worth-10-million-investors-sequoia-and-gic-will-be-the-buyers/articleshow/81324622.cms">Razorpay set to buyback ESOPs worth $10 million – investors Sequoia and GIC will be the buyers</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/enterprise/news/mozilla-is-not-happy-with-indias-new-it-rules-claiming-there-arent-enough-checks-and-balances-in-place/articleshow/81308608.cms">Mozilla is not happy with India's new IT rules claiming there aren't enough checks and balances in place</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/indian-companies-stand-to-lose-7-14-lakh-crore-to-climate-change-but-they-could-end-up-making-2-9-lakh-crore-too/articleshow/81306789.cms">Indian companies stand to lose ₹7.14 lakh crore to climate change — but they could end up making ₹2.9 lakh crore too</a>

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