In New Delhi, the agriculture ministry has imposed a mandatory Aadhaar authentication requirement for individuals and farmer groups wishing to access benefits under the e-NAM (National Agriculture Market) scheme. The ministry’s objective is to enhance transparency, efficiency, and service delivery within the agricultural marketing ecosystem. Over 17.9 million farmers and more than 4,400 farmer producer organizations (FPOs) are registered with e-NAM.
The government anticipates that the integration of Aadhaar with the e-NAM scheme will accelerate digital adoption in markets and improve the security and accountability of market transactions. While authentication is essential, those without Aadhaar can still receive benefits by submitting enrollment proof and a government-issued ID, such as a voter card, ration card, passport, or school certificate, until their Aadhaar number is issued.
In a recent announcement, the ministry stated that beneficiaries—individual farmers and FPOs—must either provide proof of Aadhaar or enroll themselves to receive financial assistance for mandi infrastructure under the e-NAM platform.
Praveen Sharma, a farmer from Solan district in Himachal Pradesh, expressed his support for this move, stating, “I believe the government’s intention is to eliminate dishonest actors in the system, ensuring that only legitimate farmers receive the benefits.”
This decision follows the government’s broader push to integrate welfare schemes with the Aadhaar system to prevent duplication and ensure targeted benefit transfer. Rajnish Chaudhary, chairman of the State Anaj Mandi Arhtiya Association in Haryana, shares a similar view, stating, “I don’t see any harm in making Aadhaar authentication mandatory for individuals and farmer groups, as it aligns with the trend of linking Aadhaar to various platforms.”
The e-NAM scheme aims to establish a unified national market for agricultural commodities. It provides one-time fixed grants of up to ₹75 lakh per mandi for setting up hardware, assaying labs, cleaning and grading units, packaging facilities, and composting infrastructure. Currently, ₹30 lakh is allocated upfront per mandi for information and communication technology equipment and Internet, while ₹40 lakh is sanctioned for processing and packaging infrastructure, and ₹5 lakh for composting. There are 1,473 markets linked to the e-NAM network from 23 states and 4 Union territories.
If biometric authentication fails due to poor fingerprint or iris scans, offline verification methods such as QR code scanning or paperless e-KYC will be allowed to establish identity. The ministry also plans to set up enrollment centers or act as a registrar itself to facilitate Aadhaar issuance, particularly in rural areas.
Furthermore, officials have been instructed to verify the validity of enrollment IDs and related documents on Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) portals. Detailed audit trails will be maintained where benefits are extended under exception handling mechanisms to ensure compliance.
This notification aligns with a broader shift towards using digital identity frameworks to monitor the utilization of government funds, as the Centre looks to expand secondary trading, warehouse-linked sales, and inter-state agricommerce via the e-NAM platform.
