Aadhaar IDs of 2 crore deceased citizens disabled

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on Wednesday said it has deactivated more than 2 crore Aadhaar numbers of deceased individuals as part of a nationwide clean-up effort to maintain the continued accuracy of the Aadhaar database.

The move followed UIDAI sourcing data from central agencies such as the Registrar General of India (RGI), UIDAI said in a statement.

The national agency in charge of issuing the 12-digit Aadhaar number to all residents, has also run a pilot program to share demographic details of Aadhaar number holders aged more than 100 years with state governments to verify their status. It also tapped into the database of central schemes such as the public distribution system, and the national social assistance program.


In a key move, UIDAI is also looking to collaborate with financial institutions such as banks for getting deceased persons data.

No Aadhaar number is ever re-assigned to another individual. However, in case of the death of a person, current rules mandate that their Aadhaar number is deactivated to prevent potential identity fraud, or unauthorised usage for availing welfare benefits.

Earlier this year, UIDAI launched a facility on the myAadhaar Portal for deaths of family members to be reported, across 25 states and union territories in India presently using Civil Registration System. The process of integration for remaining states and UTs with the portal is currently underway.