UIDAI celebrates 2B Aadhaar face biometric authentications milestone

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has announced what it calls a new benchmark for Aadhaar face biometric authentication as it has now hit the 200 crore (two billion) mark.

In just six months, the authentication numbers moved from 100 crore (one billion) to the current figure, the ID authority announced in a press release.

UIDAI celebrated the milestone achievement on August 10, ahead of India’s Independence Day anniversary on Friday.

According to UIDAI, the massive jump in figures over a short period of time represents growing adoption of the authentication system and its collaboration with governments, banks and other service providers in the private sector.

By the middle of 2024, UIDAI says it had reached 50 crore (500 million) face authentications, and the number went up to 100 crore by the start of this year.

“Reaching 200 crore Aadhaar Face Authentication transactions in such a short time underlines the trust and confidence that both residents and service providers have in Aadhaar’s secure, inclusive, and innovative authentication ecosystem,” UIDAI CEO Bhuvnesh Kumar commented on the exponential growth.

“The journey from 100 crore to 200 crore transactions in under six months is a testament to its scalability and the country’s digital readiness. From villages to metros, UIDAI is joining forces with governments, banks, and service providers to make Aadhaar Face Authentication a grand success and by giving every Indian the power to prove their identity instantly, securely, and anywhere,” he added.

UIDAI says the Aadhaar face authentication growth testifies to the fundamental objective of the Digital India vision which aims to have in place systems that enable “instant, secure and paperless identity verification” for access to a wide range of services.

Imminent launch of new Aadhaar App

Relatedly, UIDAI has announced the imminent launch of an Aadhaar mobile application which will facilitate update of biographical information by users.

Financial Express reports that the E-Aadhaar app will be launched by the end of this year, and will serve as an all-in-one platform where Aadhaar users can easily make updates to their date of birth, phone number, and location address, right from their smartphones.

This move, according to UIDAI, is part of their efforts to make access to identity management services easily availably and user-friendly, and it will avoid the need for Aadhaar users seeking such services from physical registration offices.

Work is ongoing on the app which is expected to be available for use by November, officials say. Once it’s available, Aadhaar users can visit enrollment offices only for biometric authentication.

In April, UIDAI launched a pilot for an Aadhaar app that enables face authentication.

Article Topics

Aadhaar  |  biometric authentication  |  face biometrics  |  facial authentication  |  India  |  mobile app