NRIs laud ‘Aadhaar on arrival’ proposal

Many Indian expatriates in the Kingdom welcomed India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s proposal to issue Aadhaar cards to non-resident Indians (NRIs) upon arrival in India without having to wait for the mandatory 180-stay in the country. The proposal was made during the announcement of the Union Budget 2019 on Friday, the minister’s first budget speech to parliament. The Aadhaar card is a national identity card issued to Indian residents.

NRIs, however, have not been able to secure the card since its introduction due to the pre-requisite of a six-month mandatory stay in India.

Speaking to Tribune, Indian national Ramshankar Maheshwaran said: “NRIs have been struggling in the absence of Adhaar for land registration, to get PAN [permanent account number] card, children’s admission, to get SIM cards for mobile phones, to get a new driving license and renew it. All NRIs will be now very happy because they can do all these things if they can have the Aadhaar card easily.”