According to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the Indian government has decided not to proceed with a proposal to require Apple, Samsung, and other smartphone makers to pre-install the country’s biometric identification application Aadhaar on their devices.
Last month, UIDAI had written to the IT ministry, asking it to engage with Apple, Google, and other leading smartphone makers to consider mandatory pre-installation of the Aadhaar app. Further, as per UIDAI, the IT ministry has reviewed the proposal and is not in favour of mandating the pre-installation of the Aadhaar app on smartphones. Additionally, the ministry held a consultation with stakeholders from the electronics industry before reaching its decision to drop the proposal.
