Aadhaar Update: UIDAI Cancelled 2.5 Crore Aadhaar Cards

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Aadhaar Card Cancelled: The Indian government has taken a major step toward ensuring the security and transparency of the Aadhaar database. Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT Jitin Prasada informed Parliament on Wednesday that the Aadhaar numbers of more than 25 million deceased individuals have been deactivated so far. This action was taken to maintain the accuracy of the world’s largest biometric identification system and prevent potential fraud.

Currently, there are approximately 1.34 billion active Aadhaar card holders in the country. The Minister explained that deactivating the Aadhaar cards of deceased individuals is essential to prevent misuse of their identities. It has often been observed that welfare schemes and government subsidies are illegally availed in the names of deceased individuals. Through this “database sanitization,” the government is ensuring that benefits reach only eligible and living beneficiaries.

While giving information in Parliament about the strict security arrangements, the Minister also highlighted the measures which make Aadhaar more secure. Aadhaar holders can lock their biometric data, making no authentication possible without their permission.

Face Authentication now includes a ‘Liveness Check’ feature. This ensures that the person is physically present at the time of the transaction, preventing spoofing through photos or videos. All verification agencies are mandated to use Aadhaar Data Vault, where Aadhaar numbers are stored in a fully encrypted format.

New Aadhaar App

UIDAI has also launched a new app that allows secure sharing of credentials with entities that require offline verification. The government clarified that the address recorded in the Aadhaar database and the place of death registration may differ, so it is working closely with states and union territories to ensure data reconciliation. UIDAI has implemented strict documentation requirements for updating demographic details and regularly de-duplicates the data. This step will not only prevent theft from the government treasury but also make the identity verification process more reliable under Digital India.

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