J&K achieves 93% Aadhaar saturation generating 1.26 Cr Aadhaar numbers

JAMMU: Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, today chaired a meeting of the Unique Identification Authority of India Implementation Committee (UIDIC) to review the progress of Aadhaar-based initiatives and discuss measures to strengthen the authentication ecosystem across Jammu and Kashmir.

The meeting focused on accelerating citizen-centric Aadhaar services, achieving universal coverage, and introducing new technological and policy reforms for efficient service delivery.

The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretary, Agriculture Production Department; Commissioner Secretary, General Administration Department; UIDAI Regional Officer, Chandigarh; Commissioner Secretary, Youth Services and Sports; Divisional Commissioner, Jammu/Kashmir; Secretary, Information Technology, Secretary, School Education; Secretary, Law; Director General, Economics & Statistics; and other senior officers. Deputy Commissioners from all districts joined the deliberations through video conferencing.

During the meeting, the Chief Secretary underscored the need for a targeted approach to achieve full Aadhaar saturation, particularly among children aged 0–5 years. He noted that the current enrolment rate in this category stands at 59.07, compared to the national average of 39.54%, and directed the Health and Social Welfare Departments to intensify efforts to ensure complete coverage.

The Chief Secretary also directed the School Education Department to expedite demographic updates and Mandatory Biometric Update (MBU) processes for school-going children across J&K.

 The Deputy Commissioners and the IT Department were asked to submit weekly progress reports regarding the notification of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) schemes, activation of Enrolment Client Multi Platform (ECMP) kits for all groups, and Child Enrolment Lite Client (CELC) kits used for enrolling children aged 0–5 years.

Emphasizing the need for technological reforms, the Chief Secretary called upon departments to move away from manual, non-verifiable certificates toward verifiable, QR-code-enabled online certificates to enhance transparency and trust. He also highlighted the adoption of Face Authentication Technology as a more inclusive and convenient mode of biometric verification suitable for all age groups.

The DDG, UIDAI RO, Chandigarh, Commodore (IN) DhirajSareen,  informed the meeting that the UT has achieved a commendable 93% Aadhaar saturation, generating 1.26 CrAadhaar numbers against a projected population of 1.35 Cr. However, nearly 4.7 lakh Mandatory Biometric Updates remain pending, and the Chief Secretary directed for their completion through focused enrolment drives.

To fast-track this effort, District Administrations have been instructed to organize special enrolment camps at schools and Anganwadi Centres. A renewed emphasis was also laid on the Birth Registration-Based Aadhaar Enrolment (BRBAE) initiative to ensure that every newborn in the UT is seamlessly enrolled for Aadhaar at the hospital itself.

The meeting was apprised that Jammu and Kashmir currently operates over 1,000 Aadhaar enrolment centres, supported by two fully functional AadhaarSevaKendras (ASKs) in Jammu and Srinagar. Ten more ASKs are in the pipeline across other districts to strengthen coverage and accessibility.

The UIDAI also proposed the deployment of Face Authentication Technology at high-footfall religious destinations, including the Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine and the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Shrine, to enhance security, streamline pilgrim management, and improve service delivery.

Further, the system is transitioning from the ECMP platform to the more robust Universal Client (UC) platform, while ePDS devices are being upgraded from L0 to L1 fingerprint devices to ensure greater accuracy and reliability in beneficiary authentication.

The Chief Secretary stressed the importance of data cleansing and inter-departmental integration to enable efficient governance and transparent subsidy delivery. Departments such as ePDS, Revenueand Regional Banks were directed to proactively share Aadhaar-seeded records with UIDAI to ensure accurate linkage of beneficiaries to welfare schemes.

The UIDAI Regional Officer, Chandigarh, appreciated the proactive measures undertaken by the J&K Administration and assured continued support for ongoing and future initiatives.

It is pertinent to mention that the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is a statutory authority established under the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016. UIDAI is mandated to issue unique Aadhaar numbers to all residents of India to ensure targeted delivery of government services and benefits.