The government today asserted that mechanism of Aadhaar system is robust and safe and data in it is secure. Replying to a short duration discussion on the Aadhaar – its implementation and implications in the Rajya Sabha, Information Technology and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, there are stringent provisions under Aadhaar legislation to protect the privacy of bio-metric data. <br/><br/>He said, if there is unauthorised use of Aadhar card details, the law provides for prosecution and punishment for up to 3 years. Mr Prasad said, Supreme Court has held it as a very good system. He said, licences of 34 thousand operators have been suspended for not following UIDAI guidelines.<br/><br/> He assured the House that no person will be denied of his or benefits for want of Aadhaar number but he will be required to apply for it. He said, 113 crore Aadhaar cards have been issued so far and it is being used for various purposes including LPG subsidy, payment of MGNREGA wages and verification of SIM cards. <br/><br/><br/>He said, the government saved about 50 thousand crore rupees LPG subsidy due to the linking of Aadhaar card with Jhan Dhan accounts<br/><br/>Earlier, initiating the discussion, Independent member Rajeev Chandrasekhar described Aadhaar as an unverified data base. He asked the government what measures are being taken to ensure its security. He suggested to make Aadhaar a robust and authenticated document. Jairam Ramesh of the Congress said, it should not be made mandatory. <br/><br/><br/>He said, UPA government did not consider Aadhaar as an instrument. Dr. Vinay P Sahasrabuddhe of the BJP said, people got an identity through Aadhaar. He suggested in case of woman after her marriage, the names of her parents should be added to the Aadhaar Card. <br/><br/><br/>He alleged that Public distribution System lobby and hawala lobby are against Aadhaar system.