UIDAI: the authority behind the number
The Unique Identification Authority of India issues every Aadhaar number. How it started, what the law says it may do, and what its auditor found.
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) issues Aadhaar numbers, keeps the central database, and answers the yes-or-no authentication requests that banks, ration shops and government offices send it. It sits under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Its official site is uidai.gov.in.
From notification to statute
- 28 January 2009. UIDAI is created by an executive notification as an attached office of the Planning Commission. Nandan Nilekani, co-founder of Infosys, becomes its first chairperson that July.
- September 2010. The first Aadhaar numbers are issued, in Tembhli village in Maharashtra's Nandurbar district.
- 4 April 2016. The 100th crore (one billionth) Aadhaar is generated.
- 12 July 2016. UIDAI becomes a statutory authority under the Aadhaar Act, 2016.
- October 2024. 138.3 crore numbers have been issued.
What it holds
For each person, UIDAI holds demographic details (name, date of birth or age, gender, address, and optionally mobile number and email) and biometrics: ten fingerprints, two iris scans and a photograph. Aadhaar is a number, not a card: identity is confirmed by checking a fingerprint, iris, face or OTP against the database, which replies only yes or no, or with limited details for e-KYC.
By law, Aadhaar is proof of identity. Section 9 of the Act says it is not proof of citizenship or domicile.
What the auditor found
The Comptroller and Auditor General's performance audit of UIDAI, tabled in April 2022 and covering 2014-15 to 2018-19, found that residency was accepted on a self-declaration; that more than 4.75 lakh duplicate numbers had been cancelled by November 2019; that poor-quality biometrics caused failed authentications, with residents paying to fix them; and that UIDAI gave free authentication to banks and telecom companies until March 2019, contrary to its own regulations.
The full figures, and how earlier claims of savings fared, are in The multiple facts of Aadhaar. Who built the system is in the 2015 contractor list.
Sources
- Government of India, Planning Commission notification constituting UIDAI, 28 January 2009.
- Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, sections 9 and 11.
- Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Performance Audit on Functioning of Unique Identification Authority of India, 2021 (tabled April 2022).
- Unique Identification Authority of India, Aadhaar dashboard figures, October 2024.