The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) urged parents of children between the ages of 5 and 7 to update their children’s Aadhaar biometrics. In the periodic reminder, the UIDAI said that the biometric update would be free of cost at enrolment centres, if done before children turned seven. After this period, the authority said it may cancel Aadhaar numbers issued to those who have not done the biometric update.
A ₹100 fee applies if such an application is made after a child turns seven. The Aadhaar issuer said it has started sending SMS messages to the mobile numbers registered in the Aadhaar of such children for completing the MBU exercise. “The fingerprints and iris biometrics of a child are not captured for Aadhaar enrolment below the age of five because these are not mature at that age,” the UIDAI said.
Meanwhile, a Right to Information (RTI) application filed by national media has revealed that the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has deactivated just 1.15 crore Aadhaar numbers since the programme’s inception 14 years ago, a figure that falls dramatically short when compared to the country’s mortality rates.
As of June 2025, India has 142.39 crore Aadhaar holders.
According to the United Nations Population Fund, the country’s total population stood at 146.39 crore in April 2025. In contrast, official data from the Civil Registration System (CRS) shows that India recorded an average of 83.5 lakh deaths every year between 2007 and 2019. Despite this, UIDAI’s deactivation numbers remain staggeringly low; less than 10 per cent of total estimated deaths have led to Aadhaar numbers being cancelled.
Officials admitted the process of deactivation is cumbersome and largely dependent on external data such as death certificates issued by state governments and updates from family members. The UIDAI has also confirmed that it does not maintain any dedicated data on exclusions or the number of Aadhaar holders who may have died but whose cards are still active in the system. This gap has raised concerns about the misuse of active Aadhaar numbers long after an individual’s death, a loophole that can impact government schemes, subsidies, and other identity-linked services.
