New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said that it is possible to link mobiles to Aadhaar, allowing banks and mobile telephone companies to use the unique biometric identification number. 

Jaitley was speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in Delhi, where he said, “Most of what Aaadhar does has been upheld by the court. What has not been upheld falls in two categories. The bulk of that has been struck down on two principles. One is the principle of proportionality”.

Jaitley said that the Supreme Court's verdict was a "very sound judgment", and added that the Aadhaar is not a citizenship card. 

He said that a legal provision through legislation can restore the linking of Aadhaar with mobile phones and bank accounts. "By law, it can still be done, provided you do it under the adequate provision of law and do it on the basis of that in this field it is necessary," he said. 

In September, Jaitley said that according to the Centre's estimates, by identifying beneficiaries of government schemes and removing fake and duplicate beneficiaries, the government is able to save 90,000 crore per year. 

The Supreme Court, on September 26, upheld Aadhaar’s constitutional validity by saying that it serves the larger public interest. However, the apex court struck down Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act, which enabled private entities to have access to citizens' biometric data.

With agency inputs