UIDAI, the regulatory body for Aadhaar cards, is preparing to completely overhaul the Aadhaar enrollment process for children. Until now, birth certificates were only required for children aged 0 to 5 years, but now it is proposed to make it the only mandatory document for all adolescents up to 18 years of age.
According to UIDAI CEO Bhuvnesh Kumar, the main objective of this move is to streamline the identification process and eliminate fraud. In this article, we will explore in detail the major changes in the rules for changing children’s names and correcting their dates of birth, and how this new system will affect your family.
UIDAI’s Master Plan
During the ‘Aadhaar Impact’ workshop held in Raipur, UIDAI revealed that an average of 75,000 new Aadhaar applications are received daily in the country. Surprisingly, approximately 98% of these applications are from children under 18 years of age. Children aged 0-5 years and 5-18 years account for half of these.
Given this large number, UIDAI is now planning to make birth certificates the primary basis for Aadhaar. If this proposal is implemented, school IDs or other documents will no longer be accepted for Aadhaar enrollment. This will bring transparency to the system and eliminate the possibility of human error during data entry.
Restrictions on changing names and dates of birth
To prevent the increasing incidence of fraud and identity concealment, UIDAI has set limits on updates. Now, no one will be able to repeatedly change Aadhaar data at will:
An Aadhaar holder can change their name only twice in their lifetime.
The opportunity to change their date of birth will be available only once.
If you want to make a major change to your name, a government gazette notification is now mandatory.
Biometrics have now been strengthened so much through artificial intelligence and machine learning that it will be impossible for a single person to have multiple Aadhaar numbers.
Ending the Hassle of Changing Names
Parents often run around government offices to change their children’s names because they lack any valid documentation. UIDAI has clarified that for young children, only the name listed on their birth certificate will be valid. The birth certificate will be considered the only document required for a name change. This will ensure that there is no discrepancy between the Aadhaar database and government birth records.
Data from 35 States Linked to UIDAI
UIDAI is reducing its reliance on offline documents and focusing on online verification. To this end, the birth certificate systems of 35 states across the country have been directly integrated with Aadhaar. Additionally, CBSE mark sheets, PAN cards, passports, and ration cards (PDS) are also being linked to government databases. Now, whenever you submit a document, the system will immediately verify it against the government portal to determine whether it is genuine or fake.