Highlights:
- UIDAI prepares to launch programmes to expand its reach across the country
- Newborn infants will be given a temporary Aadhaar number
According to a report published on June 15, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which has enrolled nearly all of India’s adult population since 2010, is now looking to expand Aadhaar to cover a person’s entire lifecycle with two ambitious pilot programmes.
UIDAI launch programmes to expand its reach across country
The UIDAI prepares to launch programmes to expand its reach across the country, newborn infants will be given a temporary Aadhaar number that will be renewed with biometric data once they reach the age of majority.
It will also combine its data with death registration records in order to prevent the use of deceased people’s Aadhaar numbers to obtain government benefits.
Assigning UIDAI no. at birth gives benefit to children and families
“Assigning a UIDAI number at birth will ensure that children and families benefit from government programmes and that no one is left out of the social security net,” a government official was quoted as saying.
The linking of Aadhaar numbers to the country’s death registration systems, as well as public and private hospital systems, aims to prevent direct benefit transfers from leaking out.
The pilot for these two (programmes) will begin soon
“Biometrics for kids are taken when they are at least five years old,” another senior official was quoted as saying. After that time, our teams will be able to visit these new-borns’ families and complete the formalities of registering their biometrics and assigning them a permanent Aadhaar number.”
According to the source, once a child reaches the age of 18, biometrics are re-registered “as these parameters stabilize by then and remain the same for a (individual’s) remaining natural life,” and “it will also ensure that multiple IDs are not generated for the same child.”
Only a quarter of the country’s infants under the age of five are registered with the identification database, despite the fact that 93 percent of people in the 5-18 year age bracket have received their Aadhaar numbers since its launch.
