𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗲 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮(UIDAI), Aadhaar Services

The Unique Identification Authority of India (full form of UIDAI)  is the statutory body that issues Aadhaar cards, the standard identification document in India. The Aadhaar card serves various purposes such as photo identification and address verification. The UIDAI gives the individual a digital identity with security. The official UIDAI website provides several services to make the process, changes and getting an appointment hassle-free. An Aadhaar card is an important tool which is efficient in tackling corruption as well. In this article, let us walk you through what is UIDAI, its history, services, features and how it can make you visible in the Government’s records.

What is UIDAI?

The UIDAI stands for Unique Identification Authority of India. It is the government body which provides unique identification documents to Indian citizens. The authority was established in January 2009 by the Government of India. UIDAI aims to facilitate better welfare services to Indian citizens. The UIDAI issues the Aadhaar card, containing a unique 12-digit identification code. The Aadhaar database card contains demographic and biometric information such as fingerprints, photographs and iris scans of all residents. UIDAI has made a global image of becoming the world’s largest platform for providing National Identification numbers. Moreover, the Aadhaar card has become one of the most crucial identification documents. An individual can even link their caste certificate to avail of the benefits and subsidies provided by the government.

History of the UIDAI

The UIDAI was formed in January 2009, and Nandan Nilekani was appointed as the chairman. Nilekani himself designed the logo of UIDAI, and its name Aadhaar was coined back in April 2010. 

The Unique Identification Authority of India officially launched their online portal on February 7th 2012. Individuals can verify their citizenship using a unique 12-digit identification number. Just after the launch of the online portal, UIDAI gained popularity and was recognized nationally. The reason behind the popularity was that the Prime Minister of India at that time, Dr Manmohan Singh, had called for a benefits scheme based on Aadhaar. During the initial period, the scheme was launched to trace the capital transaction and incorporate a safer and secure system with a direct money transfer to the recipient’s bank account. Moreover, this scheme was initially started for only 20 states, but very soon, it spread nationwide.

On August 11th 2015, the supreme court laid out the characteristics of Aadhaar card as it is used for various purposes such as LPG, PDS and kerosene distribution. 

In 2016, UIDAI made history when the Lok Sabha passed the Aadhaar Act, which came into effect just after the parliament introduced the money bill in March 2016. A few days later, the Aadhaar act became a part of the Indian Gazette. 

Let’s talk about the numbers given by the UIDAI. They claim about 40,800,000,000 authentications have been already done, and about 1,357,614,983 people have generated Aadhaar cards. The massive data states that UIDAI has witnessed massive growth over the years. Now, in India, what Aadhaar stands for is identification. 

Services Offered by UIDAI

The UIDAI online offers multiple services for Indian citizens. Some of the services offered by UIDAI are mentioned below. 

Get Aadhaar

Enrollment Centres:  Under the Get Aadhaar service, individuals can locate the nearest aadhaar enrolment centre to get themselves enrolled. It works under the authorization of the Registrar’s office and partakes in collecting demographic and biometric information of the candidate. 

Book an Appointment: Under the Get Aadhaar option, you get this service offered by UIDAI. An individual can book an appointment in an Aadhaar enrolment centre, which is essential for getting an Aadhaar card or making necessary changes. 

Check Status: Under the Get Aadhaar option, the “Check Status” option is present, which is used to check the status of your Aadhaar card once you get yourself enrolled.

Download Aadhaar: The Download Aadhaar option is present under the Get Aadhaar tab. This option gives you the option to download your Aadhaar card once you get one. However, the Aadhaar card will be password protected (unique to every individual), so don’t worry about any misuse of your data.

Retrieve Lost or Forgotten EID/UID: This service is offered by the UIDAI to recover the EID or the UID of the candidates. 

Order Aadhaar PVC Card: The order Aadhaar PVC card service gives you the option to get yourself a debit card-sized Aadhaar card which can be used for photo identification and availing government services. 

Check Aadhaar PVC Card Status: The option will help you track your PVC card’s status once you have ordered it.

Update Aadhaar

Update Aadhaar at Enrolment/Update Centre: This Aadhaar service gives the Aadhaar holders an option to make changes and updates by visiting the enrollment/update centre.

Check Aadhaar Update Status: An individual can check the status of their Aadhaar cards once they’ve enrolled and provided all essential information and details. 

Update Demographic data & Check Status: The Aadhaar users can update their demographic information and check these updates’ status. 

Aadhaar Update History: The Aadhaar update history gives the individual a peek at all their previous or new updates. This way, a candidate can track all information and necessary details.  

Additional Aadhaar Services

Other services that are integrated into the UIDAI online portal are as follows:

Verify an Aadhaar Number: This gives you the option to verify your Aadhaar number.

Verify Email/Mobile Number: This Aadhaar service is provided to verify the email address and mobile number that the individual links with the Aadhaar card.

Virtual ID (VID) Generator: This Aadhaar service will let you generate your virtual ID, which will be sent to you on your registered mobile number. 

Aadhaar Paperless Offline e-KYC (Beta): This Aadhaar service will let the user do aadhaar paperless KYC authentication, which also eliminates the need for the resident to provide a hard copy Aadhaar letter. 

Lock/Unlock Biometrics: The lock and unlock biometric allows the Aadhaar cardholder to temporarily lock and unlock the biometric information, which helps the individual to maintain privacy.

What is the Mission and Vision of UIDAI?

Check out the table below to better understand the mission and vision of UIDAI:

Structural Framework of UIDAI

In UIDAI, there are different functional divisions as it works for generation, registration and other such facilities. The working division under the UIDAI are as follows:

Registration Agency

The registration office serves the purpose of Aadhaar card generation. Any individual who intends to register themselves has to reach their nearest Registrar’s office. The whole process is carried out by entering the candidate’s information into the UIDAI database. The division also looks after the regulations in accordance with Aadhaar.

Content Development Agencies

The CDAs or Content Development Agencies provide training facilities to the operators required for the enrolment process. Such agencies use the training materials to improve the efficiency of the enrollment procedure.

Agency of Standardised Testing and Quality Certification

STQC does all the testing for the equipment used in the enrolment process. The Government of India established this agency. The device testing includes testing the biometric receiver devices, which is one of the most useful tools used for Aadhaar card generation. The agency approves lab-certified devices. Only then can they be used for Aadhaar enrollments. 

Financial Division

The budget planning and the calculation of the income and expenses of the authority are carried out by the financial division. It also optimizes the cash flow and financial arrangements. Financial division is one of the supporting pillars of the UIDAI as it evaluates the income proposal to EFC, cost estimation power delegation. This division also evaluates the new rule and regulations in the UID relevancy and schemes proposed by the Ministry of Finance.

In addition, the division looks after the internal audit, budget planning and accounting offices. After the aadhaar verification, the financial department creates a final audit report for the headquarters and regional offices.

Authentication

The UIDAI set up this agency for enrolment verification. The authentication services assist in establishing centres for the databases from the e-Kyc and online enrolments. However, the recruitment is done by the UIDAI to ensure the enrolment is authentic and not repetitive for any citizens. The numerous banks also deploy multiple authentication agencies for Aadhaar verification.

Testing and Certification Agency

The TCA is incorporated with the UIDAI to recruit and certify new operators to carry out the enrolment procedure through a series of tests and trials.

Operating Agencies

The enrollment centres appoint a team of individuals who manage the proper enrolment procedures, such as fingerprint scanning, iris scanning and form completion. The designated team is in charge of verifying the information provided by the individual who intends to get an Aadhaar card. Moreover, the operating agency also supervises officers for the efficiency of the entire process.

Enrolment Office

The enrolment office works under the Registrar’s authorization which plays an integral role in collecting biometric data and demographic information about the candidate. The enrolment office supervises the enrolment procedure and also looks after the Central Identities Data Repository (CIDR)

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Latest Documents on Aadhaar Card

Features of the UIDAI

The UIDAI has several features to make the enrolment process firmer and hassle-free. Some of the features of UIDAI are as follows:

Enlightenment of Underprivileged

The prime focus of the UIDAI is to bring the socially and economically backward classes into the visibility of the government so that they can avail the benefits and subsidies provided by the government. To deliver the welfare services offered by the government are enhanced by the UID schemes and services.

Taking Responsibility

Agencies such as central and state departments and a few private sectors work collaboratively to act as a registrar for the UIDAI. 

Resident Enrolment

The UIDAI has a bona fide verification format to carry out the registration process of Indian residents. The process takes place with the help of gathering details of the demographic and aadhaar biometric information into the UIDAI’s database. This is an essential step required to eradicate bogus activity and the possibility of fraud.

Online Authentication

Privacy is the concern of UIDAI, which is why the authority ensures online authentication strictly. To maintain the privacy of the individuals, access to the Aadhaar database is limited, and only the designated authority has access.

Flexibility

The UIDAI made the whole mechanism more flexible by introducing the online facility. Individuals can get PVC cards and verify their mobile number and email address from the comfort of their homes. Along with these factors, all the data collection is seamless and secure. 

Eradicating Duplication

The UIDAI has taken necessary steps to eradicate the data duplication, which prevents the clash of data on the servers. Looking at the large scale operation, it is essential to maintain a calibre standard.

Privacy Control

All the data is stored in the UIDAI’s database, kept intact and secure by the most advanced technology. The data stored on the servers are sensitive, posing a threat to someone if exposed to any unwanted organisation. UIDAI takes all the necessary steps to keep the data safe and secure to maintain privacy.

What are the UIDAI’s Core Values

The specific core values of the UIDAI are as follows:

According to the UIDAI, the Aadhaar card will help establish efficient government management.

• Involving new strategies for innovation in the government.
• Making the organisation transparent and secure is one of the core values of UIDAI
• The UIDAI works collaboratively with different agencies to share the partnership value.
• UIDAI aims for nation-building and maintaining a social standard.
• Providing the citizens of India a uniform service.

What are the Objectives of UIDAI?

The UIDAI was launched to give the Indian nation a unique identification to bring every individual into the sight of the government so that they can be facilitated and get access to essential benefits implemented by the government. A few other objectives are as follows:

• To generate a uniform yet unique identification for the citizens.
• To establish a platform that will be standard for all the states. In simple words, An Aadhaar card will remain valid throughout the nation.

What are the Goals of the UIDAI?

The structural framework of UIDAI will assist the government and its citizens in creating a connecting link. The goals of UIDAI are as follows:

• The goal is to make every citizen visible to receive the services offered by the government. The service offered is the formal distribution of all subsidies.  
• The UIDAI promotes the digital India movement to shift the citizens to a digital revolution and raise awareness over the same. That is why the UIDAI majorly works in the online mode; whether you want to update or download Aadhaar, each step is accessible at your fingertips. However, the offline mode still requires some tweaking to maintain security and transparency. 
• One of the major goals of the UIDAI is to enhance the policies and regulations for Aadhaar card enrolment and issuing process. The Aadhaar card contains the biometric and demographic details of the individual, which needs to be protected at any cost.
• UIDAI also focuses on developing technological infrastructure and making sure to implement latest technologies for unique identification purposes. 
• The policies which the UIDAI make are constructed on a base to last generations and prevent any breaches in security. The rules and regulations of the Aadhaar Act are specified in such a way as to avoid causing loopholes.
• The mission is to create sustainability and confidentiality to safeguard and secure all data on a personal level.

Authentication Ecosystem

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI has set up a scalable ecosystem for instant authentication of the citizens. The Aadhaar authentication ecosystem has the capability to handle more than millions of authentication on a regular basis, and also it can be scaled up for more as per demand. The UIDAI has several Authentication User Agencies and  Authentication Service Agencies (ASAs) from numerous Governmental and non-Governmental organizations.

UIDAI Regional Offices

Check out the below-mentioned UIDAI regional offices along with their address, contact details and director’s name:

How does UIDAI Create Governmental Records for individuals? 

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) works on a secure centralised database. In simple terms, those individuals who have enrolled themselves in UIDAI have their biometric and demographic information stored in the database. The presence of data gives individuals a digital identity/footprint that also helps them in availing of various government-provided subsidies.

UIDAI’s Latest Update:

UIDAI Confirms Strict Actions will be Taken Against Agencies Charging for Aadhaar Updates (Dec 5, 2022)

The Unique Identification Authority of India provides an ease to Aadhaar cardholders. According to the new order issued by the UIDAI, strict actions will be taken against those agencies charging for Aadaar updates. To prevent Aadhaar cardholders from playing for updates, the authority also created a helpline number to provide assistance in such cases. You can call 1947 to raise a concern regarding this issue.

UIDAI Advises Citizens to Link Aadhaar with their Email to Get Information on Every Use (Oct 18, 2022)

Linking the Aadhaar with an e-mail address can prove to be beneficial for citizens. UIDAI says that by linking both, the card holders can now get instant access to the use of their Aadhaar card. The real-time information will help them be updated about what and how they have used their document. In case it is lost, they can also track of their Aadhaar and inform the authorities quickly. The linking will help prevent crime to a large extent.

UIDAI Introduced Sturdy Authentication System (Sep 20, 2022)

The Unique Identification Authority of India has pushed a very recent yet strong authentication system to prevent the leakage of government-provided schemes that facilitate the underprivileged.

Over the past few years, numerous agencies, including real estate, telecom, banking and so on, have started asking for Aadhaar card copies for identification purposes. The soft copies can easily be manipulated and presented as fake ones. However, UIDAI seeks to reduce the requirement of Aadhaar copy submission by using authentication devices to create more transparency and stop privacy breaches.

Secure Version of Aadhaar by UIDAI

The Unique Identification Authority of India has introduced a more secure version to prevent security breaches. The Aadhaar card has demographic and biometric information of the Aadhaar holder, which can be misused. To tackle this situation, UIDIA has introduced this version where the first 8 digits of the Aadhaar card will be masked in “XXXX XXXX” format. This secure version is known as Masked Aadhaar and can be used for making financial transactions via the Aadhaar Enabled Payment system. The masked Aadhaar card protects Aadhaar cardholders from financial fraud.

Ongoing Aadhaar Reports on Cost, Corruption, Cut-offs

A series of reports listing the ongoing issues around Aadhaar cards, such as ration corruption, half pension cut-off, rise in the cost of cancellation and face biometrics. 

The integration of Aadhaar cards with Government-provided welfare schemes such as India’s Public Distribution System (PDS), where the underprivileged get edible items at subsidised rates, is facing challenges due to corruption. The unfair distribution of rations is leading to starvation of the underprivileged. This isn’t the only latest update surrounding the Aadhaar card and UIDAI. Furthermore, there is an upcoming date for biometric registration to avail pension schemes. The data shows that half of the pension amount can be stuck off, and the cost for making Aadhaar updation is witnessing a steep rise.

To Sum Up

The vision of establishing an authority such as UIDAI has now become a reality. What initially started as an initiative to safeguard the citizens against any malpractice has become the frontrunner for providing an identification method to the people of India. The Aadhaar is an identification document which is valid for photo identification in various governmental and non-governmental organisations. It is now mandated by the Tax Commission of India to link Aadhaar with Pan Card, and individuals will be ineligible for tax filing if they have not obliged to do the same. The primary mission of UIDAI online is to promote the digital footprints of Indian citizens. UIDAI provides a good platform to the country’s citizens for fulfilling all their authentication needs in one place.

FAQ’s about UIDAI