NEW DELHI: Security concerns are no longer an impediment for adopting Aadhaar under the Modi government. After a nod to e-KYC (Electronic Know Your Customer) Aadhaar service for giving SIM cards, the Home Ministry now seems fine with allowing e-KYC for passenger entry to airports.For a start, a passenger having an Aadhaar number can place his fingerprint on a biometric kiosk at airport entry gate in Bengaluru starting January and a display unit will instantly flash his photograph and other details to the CISF personnel for identification and allowing him entry to the airport.Unlike the practice globally, passengers have to show an identity document to CISF personnel at Indian airports to get entry into the airport as security threats have been cited for such checks. Aadhaar card had been accepted as one of the identity documents. However, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), CISF and Kempegowda International Airport Limited (KIAL) have now decided to also roll-out an e-KYC based application at the airport. UIDAI invited bids for the same on October 23. “This is on an experimental basis…if it works out fine, the e-KYC plan can be considered for other Indian airports too,” asenior Home Ministry official told ET.Security at Indian airports has been a major issue in the past but a senior Ministry official said use of e-KYC would in fact increase the security level rather than compromise it. “In paper IDs, there is a scope for the passenger to produce a fake voter-Icard to get entry. But in Aadhaar e-KYC, chances of fraud are negligible,” the ministry official said. The Self Service Biometric Kiosk and the display unit for the CISF at the airport will be connected to an eKYC Server of UIDAI at its Bangalore Regional Office for instant authentification. “The service will be fully automated, and KYC data will be furnished in real-time, without any manual intervention.It will however not be compulsory for passengers to use the e-KYC process and passengers can still show other identity documents for entry.This is a marked change in the attitude of the Home Ministry to Aadhaar under the Narendra Modi government which has portrayed Aadhaar e-KYC as the backbone of Narendra Modi’s “Digital India” project. ET was the first to report on October 21 that the Ministry had effusively praised Aadhaar in a letter to all states.