Aadhaar

Aadhaar
Slogan"Mera Aadhaar, Meri Pehchaan." Translation : "My Aadhaar, My Identity"
CountryIndia
MinistryMinistry of Electronics and Information Technology, India
Key people
  • Neelkanth Mishra, Chairman, UIDAI
  • Bhuvnesh Kumar, IAS, CEO, UIDAI
Launched28 January 2009 (2009-01-28)
Budget11,366 crore (US$1.3 billion) (up to the month of August 2019)
Status 138.3 crore (1.383 billion) holders as of October 2024
Websiteuidai.gov.in
Aadhaar Card or UID card
Specimen of an Aadhaar Card
TypeIdentity document
Issued by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)
Purpose
EligibilityResident of India
ExpirationLifetime validity
CostFirst-time enrollment is free of cost.
Further demographic updates cost 75 (89¢ US) and biometric updates cost 125 (US$1.50).

Aadhaar is a twelve-digit unique identity number that can be obtained voluntarily by all residents of India based on their place of residence, biometrics and demographic data. The data is collected by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), a statutory authority established in January 2016 by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, following the provisions of the Aadhaar Act, 2016.

Applicants to Aadhaar receive an Aadhaar UID Card/UID Card, that can be utilzed to identify a resident of India. As of May 2023, more than 99.9% of India's adult population had been issued Aadhaar IDs, making it the world's largest biometric ID system

Considered a proof of residence and not a proof of citizenship, Aadhaar does not itself grant any right to domicile in India, and can not be used as an identification document for international travel.