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Your Aadhaar card can be linked to your bank accounts both online and offline. (Representative Image)

Having an Aadhaar card may simplify your financial life more than you think. It has a 12-digit number based on the individual demographic and biometric data. It is regulated by the UIDAI, government of India. As Aadhaar is recognised as a single identity proof that can be used as identity proof, age proof and address proof, today most banking and financial services accept Aadhaar card as part of the documentation for investments.

Let’s take a look at some of the instruments where you can link you Aadhaar card. It is important to note that Aadhaar card number is not required or compulsory for many of the below instruments.

E-KYC (Know Your Customer)

Investors may use the E-KYC using Aadhaar authentication service to make investments in mutual funds they choose with minimum effort and without any constraints or restrictions, anywhere and at any time. In the mutual fund industry, KYC is required for all the investors if they want to invest in mutual funds.

Banking services

Your Aadhaar card can be linked to your bank accounts both online and offline. One can provide the Aadhaar card as a document proof through bank’s mobile and internet banking.

Income Tax Returns

For the purpose of submitting the Income Tax Return, government has made it mandatory for citizens to link their Aadhaar number with the permanent account number. Individuals who do not reside in India will not be eligible under the Aadhaar Act, 2016, section 139AA of the Income Tax Act to file returns if they do not link their Aadhaar with PAN.

EPF account

Aadhaar may be linked to an Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) account both online and offline. Employees can link their Aadhaar to their Universal Account Number (UAN) through the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).

IRCTC

Users may book railway tickets online using the IRCTC platform from the convenience of their own homes. Every month, users can book up to six rail tickets. When a user links his or her Aadhaar number to his or her IRCTC account, however, he or she can book up to 12 tickets per month. To use this service, at least one of the passengers on the master list must use Aadhaar to validate the information.

Ration Card

The ration card is an approved document issued by the state government of India to every family that is entitled to purchase subsidised foodgrain from the public distribution system under the National Food Security Act. For many Indians, it also acts as a means of identity. When you link your Aadhaar number to your ration card, you can get government-subsidized LPG. Because ration cards are one of the country’s oldest forms of identification, it’s critical to link them to Aadhaar so that the benefits received by the bearer can be simplified and fraud instances may be avoided.

LPG

It is mandatory for all Indian people to link their Aadhaar numbers to their LPG connections. This is also required in order to get the government’s LPG subsidy. However, you must first confirm that your Aadhaar card is linked to your bank account before attaching it to your gas account. It can only be linked to your gas customer number or LPG connection after that.

Driving licence

Aadhaar is now required in order to get government subsidies under various programmes. According to media reports, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has begun to develop simple techniques for connecting Aadhaar with Indian drivers’ licences. That said, one should remember that as driving licenses are issued by road transport department of every state, the online method to link Aadhaar with driving licenses will differ from state to state.

Most importantly, make sure that your mobile number is linked with Aadhar as generally you need to fill one-time-password or OTP sent on your registered mobile number for online verification.