Authorities recruited more than 7.9 million children under Bal Aadhaar initiative between April and July
New Delhi:
The Unique Identification Bureau of India, the custodian of Aadhaar, has recruited more than 7.9 million children under the age of five between April and July this year, an official statement said on Monday.
The registration is part of a new effort under the Bal Aadhaar initiative to reach more children in the 0-5 age group and to help parents and children access multiple benefits.
“During the first four months of the financial year (April to July), unique identification agencies have recruited more than 7.9 million children in the 0-5 age group,” the statement said.
As of March 31, 2022, 2.64 million children in the 0-5 age group had Bal Aadhaar, and by the end of July 2022, this number had increased to 3.43 million.
“In states like Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, the enrolment rate of children aged 0-5 already covers more than 70% of the target age group.
In several other states and UT such as Jammu and Kashmir, Mizoram, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and Lakshadweep, the registration of children (0-5 age group) is also doing very well,” the statement said.
Overall, Aadhaar is currently about 94% saturated. Aadhaar saturation for adults is almost 100%.
Children aged 0-5 get Bal Aadhaar.
The collection of biometric (fingerprint and iris) data is a key feature of publishing Aadhaar, as uniqueness needs to be established as well. However, for Aadhaar registrations for children aged 0-5 years, these biometrics are not collected.
In order to distinguish Bal Aadhaar from normal Aadhaar, it is issued in blue and stated to be valid until the child is 5 years old.
When a child turns 5 years old, he or she must provide his or her biometric information at Aadhaar Seva Kendra to complete a process called mandatory biometric update.