The Indian government has withdrawn the plan to pre-install the Aadhaar app in smartphones. This decision has been confirmed by UIDAI, making it clear that now users will have to download this app themselves. This proposal was discussed earlier this year, but big companies like Apple and Samsung had opposed it due to security and cost concerns. After this step, the government has changed the decision keeping in mind the opinion of the industry.
According to Reuters report, the central government has decided to cancel the scheme under which smartphone companies were required to pre-install 'Aadhaar app' in their mobile phones. According to Reuters, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) confirmed the decision on Friday.
The government proposed that the Aadhaar app be pre-installed in all smartphones sold in India so that citizens do not have to download it separately. UIDAI had discussed this proposal with the Ministry of Electronics and IT. According to the report, the ministry, after reviewing the idea, decided not to be in favor of making it mandatory. UIDAI told Reuters that the ministry is no longer in favor of mandatory pre-installation of the Aadhaar app in smartphones. Aadhaar is a 12-digit identification system linked to fingerprint and iris scan and used in banking and telecom services.
Big smartphone companies like Apple and Samsung had expressed strong opposition to this proposal. Companies said that this could increase security risks and complicate the production process for different markets. Apart from this, a separate line might have to be built for India, which would also increase the cost. Smartphone companies also expressed concern that pre-installed apps could affect the global standard security of the device. For this reason, the feedback received from the industry played an important role in the government's decision.
This is not the first time that the government has tried to take such a step. According to the report, this was the sixth time in the last two years that a proposal was made to pre-install government apps on smartphones. Earlier in December also, an order was given to pre-install a telecom security app, which was withdrawn after a few days.
