NEW DELHI: With the government making Aadhaar Card (unique identification card) mandatory in procuring LPG connections, issuing passports, sale or purchase of houses, opening a PF account or withdrawing your provident fund, opening a bank account, etc, the queue of people waiting to lay their hands on the card seems to be getting longer and longer.

Here's a ready reckoner on how to get the card:

# Aadhaar card enrollment is free and you need to enroll only once as an individual is entitled for only one card.

# You can go to any authorized Aadhaar enrollment center anywhere in India with your identity and address proof.

# UIDAI process accepts Proof of Identity and 33 Proof of Address documents. Common proofs of identity and address are election photo ID card, Ration card, passport and driving license.

# Photo ID cards like PAN card and government ID cards are permissible for identity proof. Address proof documents also include water - electricity - telephone bills from the last three months.

# In case you do not have above mentioned proofs, certificate of identify having photo issued by Gazetted Officer/Tehsildar on letterhead is also accepted as proof of identity.

# Certificate of address having photo issued by MP or MLA /Gazetted Officer/Tehsildar on letterhead or by Village Panchayat head or its equivalent authority (for rural areas) is accepted as valid proof of address.

# If someone in your family does not have individual valid documents, the resident can still enrol if his/her name exists in family entitlement document.

# Where there are no documents available, residents may also take the help of 'Introducers' at the enrolment centre. The Introducers are notified by the registrar.

# At the enrollment center, your photo, finger-prints and iris scan will also be taken as a part of the enrollment.

# You need to enrol only once. Enrolling again is a waste of your time as you will get only one Aadhaar number.

# Based on the information provided, your details will be verified and If the application is successful, an Aadhaar number will be generated and mailed to your address.

# The waiting time for Aadhaar may vary from 60-90 days after receipt of resident data packets.

# Click here for the list of documents that can be submitted as proof of identity and address.

# After enrolment, quality checks are done by the enrolment centre supervisors, followed by correction process (where required) and data packet consolidation.

# Subsequently, the Enrolment Agency sends the data to UIDAI data centre. The data undergoes various stages of screening and validations in CIDR. This ensures that the source of data is authenticated besides ensuring that no duplicate exists.

# Sample quality checks are done on demographic and biometric data collected from residents.

# Apart from that the operator/supervisor/introducer/enrolment agency and registrar, information in each packet is also validated. Only after passing the data quality checks and other validations, the packet goes for de-duplication and Aadhaar gets generated.

# In case of any errors, the packet goes on hold. For example, if the particulars of the operator who enrolled the resident are found to be inconsistent with database or there is a mismatch observed in photo and age/gender (e.g. a child's photo with age mentioned as 50 years), then the packet is held for further enquiry.

# Corrective actions are taken on such packets, wherever possible, else a rejection letter guiding resident to re-enroll is dispatched to the resident.

# India Post is entrusted with the responsibility of printing and delivery of Aadhaar letters. Depending on backlog for generation, location of delivery etc.

# India Post may ordinarily take 3-5 weeks to print and deliver Aadhaar letters to the residents.

Benefits of an Aadhar card

# The unique identification or Aadhaar project would result in saving of about Rs 110,000 crore by 2020 (around 58 per cent of expenditure of major public welfare schemes), a Planning Commission study released said.

# By providing a clear proof of identity, Aadhaar will empower the underprivileged residents in accessing services such as the formal banking system and give them the opportunity to easily avail various other services provided by the government and the private sector. (With inputs from http://uidai.gov.in/aadhaar.html)