India, Dec. 8 -- The ubiquity of Aadhaar as identity proof comes from nearly every service provider in the country - government or private - insisting on its use for KYC purposes. And Aadhaar-holders are mostly happy to submit this even when other documents are valid and would have sufficed. Done offline, where the Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI)'s servers are not contacted for authentication - think hotels scanning guests' Aadhaar cards and retaining photocopies - this raises several concerns about privacy and data security.

It is against this backdrop that UIDAI is seeking to notify fresh regulations on offline verification based on Aadhaar, which will require users - from hotels, societies, and event organisers to car renta...