Schools Join UIDAI in Mandatory Aadhaar Biometric Updates Drive

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has urged schools to ensure mandatory Aadhaar biometric updates for children aged 5-15. UIDAI CEO Bhuvnesh Kumar has called for states and Union Territories to organize camps at schools for pending biometric updates, supporting students' access to government benefits and exams.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is pushing for schools to facilitate timely biometric updates to Aadhaar for children aged between five and 15 years. Bhuvnesh Kumar, UIDAI's CEO, has communicated with Chief Secretaries of States and Union Territories, emphasizing the urgency of organizing school camps for pending biometric updates, as outlined in a recent official release.

In collaboration with the Department of School Education and Literacy, UIDAI is integrating Aadhaar's Mandatory Biometric Update (MBU) status into the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) application. This initiative aims to streamline biometrics updates for millions of students across the country, underscoring the importance of maintaining data accuracy.

Pending biometric updates affect nearly 17 crore Aadhaar numbers. Without updates, children may face authentication challenges affecting access to government schemes and registrations for essential exams like NEET, JEE, and CUET. In the letter, Kumar noted the schools' need for visibility on pending updates and highlighted a tech solution developed with the Department of School Education to use UDISE+ for this purpose.

(With inputs from agencies.)