Time for a ‘how to’ post. This was a real life hiccup I faced and thought why not put it out there if it helps.

Context

Linking your Aadhaar to bank account is optional, however if you wish to receive government subsidies (ex: LPG) or other welfare scheme benefits, it is mandatory. Some of us might have multiple savings bank accounts with different banks, used for different purposes. What if all these bank accounts are linked to Aadhaar? Which account does government then use to credit the welfare benefits or subsidies?

The answer is Aadhaar seeding. Only one account is seeded to your Aadhaar and this is (supposed to be) done only with the express consent of the customer. I had to open a new bank account for some purpose a couple of months back and the bank executive generously tagged this new account as my Aadhaar seeded account during the opening process, without me knowing. Well yeah, good for them right? 😉

But I preferred to use one of my other accounts to be used for this purpose.

The solution

Initially I thought, oh now I have to run from pillar to post and tell these guys to change it in their system. Luckily we can do it ourselves online using NPCI website.

Go to https://www.npci.org.in/

Customer > Bharat Aadhaar Seeding Enabler (BASE)

Aadhaar Seeding/Deseeding

Rest is pretty self-explanatory.

Remember, Aadhaar linking and Aadhaar seeding aren’t the same. Linking connects your ID to the bank. Seeding tells the government where to send ‘Direct Benefit Transfers’ (DBT) benefits.

PS: The server tends to go down during normal banking hours (you can guess why!). I tried early morning and worked like a charm.

PPS: Ensure you’re on the official NPCI site before entering Aadhaar details.