Aadhaar enrolment picks up

Nine states, including Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh, have crossed 90 percent Aadhaar coverage, while 16 states have Aadhaar coverage of over 70 percent, an official release said Tuesday.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is also conducting Aadhaar enrolments in the newly-assigned states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh at a fast pace, the release said.

These four states with a combined population of about 340 million were added earlier this year to UIDAI's mandate by the government.

Till date, Aadhaar numbers have been issued to 89.3 million residents in these states, which is 26 percent of the target population, it said.

Over 25,000 Aadhaar enrolment kits are operational across the country, including both camp mode and Permanent Enrolment Centres, with a total output of approximately one million enrolments per day.

UIDAI has already geared up its processing capabilities to achieve the targets and has the capacity to process around 1.5 million enrolment packets every day. Enrolments are expected to pick up further once the festival season is over, the release by UIDAI said.

In the recent months, the government has provided fresh impetus to the UIDAI by linking Aadhaar to various schemes and initiatives, including the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS), pensions, scholarships, Public Distribution System, passports and attendance system in government offices.