Students below the age of 18 and applying for scholarships in Tamil Nadu now have to go through a mandatory Aadhaar verification using a one-time password (OTP) if fingerprint or iris scanning fails, reports The New Indian Express.

A recent directive released by the higher education department lists a series of instructions to the directorate of technical education and other institutions, outlining the procedures to be followed for authenticating students' credentials in case of Aadhaar verification failure.  

The beneficiaries of the scholarship include the students who are availing first graduate scholarships and those enrolled under 7.5% reservation.

Why were the guidelines issued?
The guidelines were issued after a series of confusion over the distribution of scholarships for students joining Bachelor of Engineering/ Bachelor of Technology (BE/BTech) courses under the 7.5% quota designated for students from government schools.

The guidelines for students above the age of 18 were available but anomalies were noted for those below the age of 18, according to an official.

How can students below the age of 18 avail scholarships?
The government has declared that the benefits of the scheme shall be provided to these students if they produce any proof of identity along with a copy of the enrollment acknowledgement.

The order further stated that if the fingerprint quality is found to be poor then iris scan or face authentication facilities should be adopted for authentication. The implementing agency is required to make provisions for the same for seamless delivery of benefits.

In other circumstances, if biometric authentication through fingerprints, iris scan, or face authentication is unsuccessful, an Aadhaar OTP or OTP with limited time validity should be offered to students.

And even if biometric or Aadhaar OTP is not possible, benefits under the scheme may be given based on the physical Aadhaar letter.

Further, the authenticity of the letter can be verified using the QR code printed on it, and the government department, through its implementing agency, shall provide necessary arrangements for QR code readers at convenient locations. It is to be noted that the order also states that such benefits cannot be denied to an individual for not submitting Aadhaar.