New Delhi: To strengthen the security of Aadhaar-related information, the Women and Child Development (WCD) department is using the Aadhaar Data Vault (ADV) system for storing beneficiary details under the Delhi Lakshmi Yojana, an official said on Thursday.
Political Context
The Education department is also set to adopt the system, as the government is shifting to a vault system in accordance with guidelines issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). The move follows a directive issued by the information technology department last month asking departments to collect and store Aadhaar numbers to the Aadhaar Data Vault system as part of the migration. The WCD department, which administers a range of programmes for women and children, is among the first departments to use the vault-based arrangement for beneficiary information. The Education department’s proposed adoption of the system will bring another large pool of Aadhaar-linked records under the same security framework.
The Delhi Lakshmi Yojana, approved by the Delhi Cabinet last month, provides ₹ 2,500 a month to eligible women and is expected to benefit more than 17 lakh women. The government has allocated ₹ 5,110 crore for the scheme in 2026-27.
The objective is to ensure that sensitive Aadhaar information is not routinely stored in individual departmental applications and databases, officials said. The move is significant as Delhi expands the use of Aadhaar-linked systems for welfare delivery, the official said. The department’s responsibilities include welfare schemes and services for women and children across Delhi, the official said. Education-related databases can contain sensitive information related to students, families, scholarships, and other government benefits, making the secure handling of Aadhaar numbers particularly important, the official said.
