Aadhaar UIDAI

UIDAI is mandated to issue an easily verifiable 12 digit random number as Unique Identity - Aadhaar to all Residents of India.

Aadhaar is a 12 digit unique-identity number issued to all Indian residents based on their biometric and demographic data. The data is collected by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), a statutory authority established in January 2009 by the Government of India, under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, under the provisions of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, benefits and services) Act, 2016.

Aadhaar is the world's largest biometric ID system, with over 1.19 billion enrolled members as of 30 Nov 2017. As of this date, over 99% of Indians aged 18 and above had been enrolled in Aadhaar. World Bank Chief Economist Paul Romer described Aadhaar as "the most sophisticated ID programme in the world". However, owing to increasing concerns around privacy, the potential for surveillance, and exclusion of eligible beneficiaries from welfare schemes from the leveraging of Aadhaar-based systems, the Aadhaar project's validity is being challenged in the Supreme Court of India (as of November 2017).