Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in the Union Budget that non-resident Indians (NRIs) may get Aadhaar cards on arrival, without the mandatory waiting period.
NRIs currently need to have spent 180 days to be eligible for an Aadhaar card. The government plans to enable them to apply for an Aadhaar card using their Indian passport.
"I propose to consider issuing Aadhar card for NRIs with Indian passports after their arrival in India without waiting for the mandatory 180 days," Nirmala Sitharaman said.
An Aadhaar card allots a unique identification number to each citizen linked with a centralized database and includes demographic, biometric and other data.
This is the first Budget of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government after his re-election with a massive mandate.
Nirmala Sitharaman also announced that 18 new diplomatic missions would be opened in various locations across Africa.
"We have decided to open Indian embassies and high commissions where India does not have diplomatic missions yet. We have approved 18 new Indian diplomatic missions in Africa," said the Finance Minister.
"Five embassies have already been opened in Rwanda, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Republic of Guinea and Burkina Faso in 2018-19. The government intends to open 4 more embassies in the year 2019-20. This will not only increase the footprint of India's overseas presence but also enable us to provide better public services to the local Indian communities," Ms Sitharaman said.
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