Indian expats in Oman happy as Aadhaar rule tweaked

Muscat: Indian residents in Oman have welcomed their government’s decision to enable them to apply for Aadhar cards at Indian airports.
Their opinions came after the Indian government said that Non Resident Indians (NRIs) who live in Oman and other overseas countries could get their Aadhaar cards issued on their arrival.
Vaishali Gupta, a long term resident in Muscat, said: “Whenever we go to India, the Aadhaar card is required for nearly every service. If you go to the bank, that document is necessary. If you need a new SIM card, you need the Aadhaar. Even something as simple as a new gas cylinder requires the Aadhaar card so this really makes things easier.
“Many of my relatives in India had told me that when they first needed to get their Aadhaar card, the government would only issue a limited amount of cards every day and that was very frustrating, because you had to queue up day after day and I hope it is not the same at the airports,” she added.
Mudassar Baig, another Indian expat, called for the Aadhaar procedures at the airports to be done in a speedy manner.
“Many times, the flights from Oman to India are overnight ones that land early in the morning and many of us have small children who can be a bit cranky when they’ve been unable to get a lot of sleep at night.
“If we are able to get Aadhaar procedures done at the airports, it will save us a lot of time and hassle going forward,” he added. “The Narendra Modi government has tried to make laws that bring NRIs closer to their countrymen in India and this is a great step forward in doing that.”
Announcing this on Friday while presenting the 2019-20 Union Budget in the Parliament, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “I propose to consider issuing Aadhaar card for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) with Indian passports after their arrival in India without waiting for the mandatory 180 days.”
This announcement of Union Budget 2019 comes as a great relief for the non-resident Indians (NRIs) who hold Indian passport. Banks, investment services and even mobile phone SIM card providers in India do not do business unless a citizen hands over the Aadhaar card number.
India on Friday unveiled a budget aimed at boosting infrastructure in several sectors, the first since the Bharatiya Janata Party led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned to power.
Indian expatriates in Oman were happy to see such a decision taken and looked forward to seeing it being rolled out.