Last date for mandatory linking Aadhaar to avail services extended

New Delhi: Dateline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar card, to avail services in the country, has been extended by the Centre till March 31, 2018.

The government told the Supreme Court on Thursday that it will extend deadline till March 31 next year to link aadhaar card for availing various services and benefits of government schemes.

The extension, however, will only be given to those who don't have Aadhaar card as yet and for others the dateline will remain same (February 6, 2018) as it was decided by the apex court earlier, said attorney General KK Venugopal.

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This move came after the division bench comprising Justices AK Sikri and Ashok Bhushan was told by the advocates representing the petitioners that ‘panic’ was being caused among the people as the messages sent by the banks and mobile service providers were warning them the services would be deactivated if Aadhaar is not linked.

Attorney General K K Venugopal told the SC that the government will issue the notification on Friday.