Tuesday, Mar 28, 2017

Abu Dhabi

Indian expatiates in the UAE have demanded that the government of India should make arrangements in the UAE for them to enrol in India’s Aadhar, a unique identification system. An estimated 2.8 million Indians are living in the UAE.

Abhimanyu Shekhawat, 29, a regional marketing manager from Rajasthan, said he could not make an Aadhar card during his vacations in India. “Most of my Indian friends and acquaintances in the UAE also don’t have it. If government of India can arrange Aadhar enrolment in the UAE, it will help everyone,” he said.

Andita Tushar Raut, 31, a management consultancy professional from Bengaluru, said she and her husband were not in a position to travel to India before June 30-deadline to get an Aadhar card and link it with PAN (Permanent account number). “We switched jobs recently and we can’t go soon.”

She is concerned about accessing banking and financial services without Aadhar. “I wish Indian government would open enrolment in the UAE or the June 30-dealine be extended,” Raut said.

Prakash Thambi, 45, a contract manager from Kerala, said the government should extend deadline for NRIs with regard to liking PAN and Aadhar. “I could not get the card as it was not easy for me during my short vacations in Kerala. This is the case with most of Indians I know,” Thambi said.

He said he welcomed the unique identification system for security and easing government transactions. “However, its implementation should be without causing any inconvenience to people, especially expats living away from India,” he said.

by Binsal Abdul Kader Senior Reporter

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