Major Government Decision: Aadhaar App Will No Longer Come Pre-installed on Mobile Phones..

The Government of India has withdrawn its plan to pre-install the Aadhaar app on smartphones. This decision has been confirmed by the UIDAI, making it clear that users will now have to download the app themselves. This proposal first came up for discussion earlier this year; however, major companies like Apple and Samsung opposed it due to concerns regarding security and costs. Following this development, the government reversed its decision, taking into account the views of the industry.

According to a Reuters report, the Central Government has decided to scrap the plan that would have mandated smartphone manufacturers to pre-install the 'Aadhaar app' on their mobile phones. As per Reuters, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) confirmed this decision on Friday.

**What Was the Aadhaar App Pre-installation Proposal?**
The government proposed to have the Aadhaar app pre-installed on all smartphones sold in India so that citizens would not have to download it separately. The UIDAI had discussed this proposal with the Ministry of Electronics and IT. According to the report, after reviewing the concept, the Ministry decided against making it mandatory. The UIDAI informed Reuters that the Ministry is no longer in favor of mandating the pre-installation of the Aadhaar app on smartphones. Aadhaar is a 12-digit identity system linked to fingerprint and iris scans, and it is utilized for banking and telecom services.

**Industry Opposition and Security Concerns**
Major smartphone manufacturers, such as Apple and Samsung, had strongly opposed this proposal. The companies argued that such a move could heighten security risks and complicate production processes for different markets. Furthermore, it might have necessitated setting up a separate production line specifically for India, which would have driven up costs. Smartphone companies also expressed concern that pre-installed apps could potentially compromise the global security standards of their devices. Consequently, the feedback received from the industry played a pivotal role in shaping the government's final decision.

**Previous Attempts of This Nature**
This is not the first time the government has attempted to take such a step. According to the report, this was the sixth time in the last two years that a proposal was put forward to pre-install government apps on smartphones. Before this, in December, an order was also issued to pre-install a telecom security app, which was subsequently withdrawn a few days later.

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