In a surprising policy reversal, the Telecom ministry announced today that access to websites offering pornographic content will now be linked to citizens’ Aadhaar cards.

Earlier, the government had imposed a complete ban on pornographic websites in India, and had asked all Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to block access to over 850 websites deemed to be pornographic in nature. The ban decision had come unilaterally and as a complete surprise to the netizens of India, since the ban had not been preceded by any debate or discussion.

Explaining the modalities involved in implementing this new policy, the Telecom Minister, Ravi Shankar Prasad, in a press conference asserted that ISPs will henceforth be required to get a form filled out by all their subscribers which will collect their Aadhaar card details. Users who fail to link their Aadhaar cards with their Internet subscriptions will lose access to porn content on Jan. 1st, 2016. Moreover, the government will now also require you to link your bank account to your ISP provider account, so that the government can refund up to 5 GB worth of porn consumption per month for six months in a year for all citizens.

The move to subsidize porn has been welcomed by many. ‘With my slow connection, I never expect to cross 30 GB in a year, so the government has essentially made all porn free for me. This is welcome news; they did mean it when they promised acche din!’ said an excited Nandakishore, a techie who relies on his Airtel 3G connection for Internet access.

Regarding the rationale behind this move, a government Spokesperson explained: “We are actually excited to implement this new rule, since earlier efforts to promote the adoption of Aadhaar card have met with limited success. We are counting on close to 100% adoption of the Aadhaar card among Internet users in the country as a result of this move.”

However, the government also made an appeal while making the announcement: People who can afford it are requested to give up their porn subsidy and save the nation precious funds that can be used for development projects. The government is expected to spend Rs. 250 crore annually on porn access for its citizens, but if even 30% of internet users give up their subsidy, we will save a substantial amount, which can be diverted to critical development and infrastructure projects.

The move was welcomed by all parties, but a few MPs who did not wish to be named demanded that there be a separate MPs quota for porn access, and that they should not be limited to 30 GBs a year. ‘Most days, our parliament sessions are an utter snooze fest. We try to make things exciting once in a while by rushing to the well and shouting slogans, but honestly we’re all out of ideas here. An increased porn quota for MPs will go a long way in ensuring smooth functioning of the parliament,’ one of the MPs explained to this reporter. When queried by reporters, the I&B minister confirmed that he had heard about the demand for special porn quota for MPs, and that he welcomed the suggestion. The matter would be taken up for discussion next week in the parliament, he said.

Meanwhile, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg has criticized the move, saying India deserved access to free porn, not subsidized porn. In an official response, Facebook also announced that it will be rushing to add all the 850 porn websites to its free Internet initiative internet.org, and that Facebook was committed to providing free porn access to its millions of users in India.

Some alert netizens on Reddit’s India forum, however, have decried this move, declaring it a violation of constitutional rights. “This is a highly objectionable move by a totalitarian regime, and we must petition against it,’ asserted one of the forum members. At press time, however, the top discussion thread on the forum was a how-to guide for applying for an Aadhaar card.