Lok Sabha Question No. 2784 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-20
Subject: Issue of Aadhaar Number
Ministry: ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Asked by: Vinod Chavda, Sanjay Seth

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2784

TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.12.2023

## ISSUE OF AADHAAR NUMBER

## 2784.      SHRI VINOD L. CHAVDA: SHRI SANJAY SETH:

Will the Minister of ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY be pleased to state:

(a) the number of people who are yet to be issued Aadhaar number by UIDAI in the Country especially in Gujarat;

(b)  the  efforts  being  made  to  bring  these  people  under  the  ambit  of  Aadhaar  in  Gujarat especially  in  the  district  of  Kutch  Lok  Sabha  Constituency  along  with  the  details  of  the outcome in this regard;

(c) whether there is any data of the citizens without hands or without visible fingerprints who are still not issued Aadhaar number and if so, the details thereof;

(d) the details of the provisions made for issuing Aadhaar numbers to people without hands or visible fingerprints; and

(e)  the  provision  made  by  the  Government  to  registered  people  who  do  not  have  hands  or have lost their fingerprints due to leprosy or any such disease for Aadhaar card?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR ELECTRONICS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI RAJEEV CHANDRASEKHAR)

(a): The  Unique  Identification  Authority  of  India  provides  digital  identity  (Aadhaar)  and digital identity authentication services to all the residents of India.  Under the provisions of sub-section  (1)  of  section  3  of  the  Aadhaar  (Targeted  Delivery  of  Financial  and  Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, every resident and Non Resident Indian (NRI) is entitled to obtain an Aadhaar number by submitting the requisite information and undergoing the enrolment process. Accordingly, every resident and NRI who is desirous of obtaining an Aadhaar  number  and  who  undergoes  the  enrolment  process  by  submitting  the  requisite information  is  issued  an  Aadhaar  number. As  on  30.11.2023,  after  adjusting  for  estimated deaths, the estimated number of living Aadhaar number holders is 131.21 crore across India, including 6.57 crore enrolled in the State of Gujarat.

(b): As on 30.11.2023, over 60,957 Aadhaar centres were operational across India, including 3,187 centres in the State of Gujarat. In addition, the facility of enrolment of children below the age of five years was available through around 27,718 handheld tablets (including 1,111 in the State of Gujarat) operated by postmen, hospital staff, etc. The details of such centres and tablets available in the Kachchh and Morbi districts, areas of which comprise Kachchh Lok Sabha constituency, are as under:

| District   |   Active Aadhaar centres |   Active handheld tablets |   Total |
|------------|--------------------------|---------------------------|---------|
| Kachchh    |                       91 |                        45 |     136 |
| Morbi      |                       59 |                        29 |      88 |

In  addition  to  enrolment  at  the  centres  and  through  handheld  tablets  as  above,  the  Unique Identification  Authority  of  India  (UIDAI)  organises  enrolment  camps  through  Registrars authorised/recognised by it for Aadhaar enrolment. During the financial year 2023-24, more than  78,902  applicants  were  served  in 1,853  and  639 such  camps  held  in  the  districts of Kachchh and Morbi respectively.

(c) to (e):  In line with Government's commitment to ensure inclusion for digitally enabled access to benefits and services, UIDAI has made special provision in its regulations and has issued Biometric Exception Enrolment Guidelines dated 1.8.2014, laying down the procedure for  enrolling  persons who have missing fingers, the biometrics of whose fingers cannot be captured due to any reason (such as a cut, bruise, bandage, worn-out or bent fingers due to old  age  or  leprosy),  or  the  biometrics  of  whose  irises  or  both  fingers  and  irises  cannot  be captured  due  to  any  reason.  A  person  who  is  eligible  for  Aadhaar  but  unable  to  provide fingerprints  may  enrol  using  only  iris  scan.  Similarly,  an  eligible  person  the  biometrics  of whose irises cannot be captured due to any reason may enrol using only her/his fingerprint. Further, an eligible person who is unable to provide both finger and iris biometrics may enrol without submitting any of the two.

For such persons, under the Biometric Exception Enrolment Guidelines, the name, gender, address and date/year of birth are to be captured along with the available biometrics while highlighting the missing ones in the enrolment software, a photograph is to be taken in the manner specified in the Guidelines to highlight the unavailability of finger(s) or iris(es) or both, and the Supervisor of the Aadhaar enrolment centre is to validate such enrolment as an exceptional enrolment. Thus, every eligible person who undergoes the enrolment process by submitting the required information may be issued an Aadhaar number, irrespective of any inability to provide biometrics.

UIDAI has also issued an advisory to enrolment Registrars and agencies to take all necessary steps to ensure that all Aadhaar enrolment operators are aware of the exceptional enrolment procedure,  follow  the  same,  and  render  the  persons  undergoing  such  enrolment  necessary assistance.

Till  date,  UIDAI  has  issued  Aadhaar  numbers  to  nearly  29  lakh  persons  who  had  missing fingers or were otherwise unable to provide finger or iris or both biometrics.

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