The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has issued an amendment to a previous notification, granting the Pharmacy Council of India (PCI) access to the centralized Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System. This move aims to streamline the monitoring of attendance for officials, faculty, and students in PCI-approved pharmacy colleges across the country. This notification was published on March 21, 2025.
The amendment, issued in accordance with the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, and the Aadhaar Authentication for Good Governance (Social Welfare, Innovation, Knowledge) Rules, 2020, modifies a notification dated November 23, 2023.
The previous paragraph in the notification, which outlined the PCI’s adherence to certain guidelines, has been replaced with more detailed requirements as follows:
“Pharmacy Council of India may access the attendance data of officials, faculty and students of the Pharmacy Council of India-approved pharmacy colleges online from the centralised Aadhar Enabled Biometric Attendance System and shall adhere to the provisions of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, rules, regulations, or guidelines made thereunder and directions issued with respect to the use of Aadhaar authentication as laid down by the Unique Identification Authority of India or Central Government from time to time.”
The amended paragraph explicitly states that the PCI must adhere to all relevant provisions of the Aadhaar Act, rules, regulations, guidelines, and directives issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) or the Central Government regarding the use of Aadhaar authentication. This ensures the secure and responsible use of the Aadhaar-based attendance data.
By granting the PCI access to the Aadhaar-based attendance system, the Ministry aims to:
- Provide a more transparent and reliable system for tracking attendance.
- Streamline the process of monitoring attendance for a large number of individuals across various pharmacy colleges.
- Foster greater accountability among officials, faculty, and students.
This development marks a step towards integrating technology into various administrative processes of governance and management within the education sector, specifically for pharmacy colleges recognized by the Pharmacy Council of India.
