UIDAI plans Aadhaar reforms for Indians abroad as it broadens domestic use

UIDAI CEO Saurabh Vijay has announced plans to expand access to Aadhaar for non-resident Indians (NRIs) and overseas citizens of India (OCI), including through greater international availability.

The announcement comes as India expands Aadhaar’s role beyond domestic identification and authentication to facilitate wider access to services. Officials are also looking to introduce more authentication modalities and products such as Aadhaar Lite to strengthen digital KYC, as well as advance ambitions for cross-border interoperability.

Vijay announced the plans during a fireside chat at the Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai, saying UIDAI is working on policy and legal changes to make Aadhaar more accessible internationally, with proof-of-concept projects already underway. Details of how overseas enrolment or authentication would work have yet to be set out publicly.

NRIs can already enrol for Aadhaar without meeting the usual 182-day residency requirement, provided they hold a valid Indian passport, but enrolment currently requires an in-person visit to an Aadhaar center for biometric capture. OCI cardholders, by contrast, generally must have resided in India for at least 182 days in the preceding 12 months to qualify for enrolment.

If UIDAI can make Aadhaar services available internationally, overseas access could reduce friction for Indians authenticating themselves for banking, investment, property transactions and other services at home.

Reforms broaden Aadhaar authentication at home

Alongside its international ambition, UIDAI is broadening how Aadhaar authentication is used domestically. A recent government news release announced the rollout of five new initiatives, which are expected to advance Aadhaar’s trusted digital ID and good governance agenda.

UIDAI used its Aadhaar Samvaad event in Kolkata to launch the initiatives: face authentication for the Electronic Public Distribution System, SWIK Portal 2.0 for authentication approvals, a Sub-AUA/Sub-KUA LITE framework for low-volume users, a new token management system and a revamped UIDAI website. More than 600 policymakers, industry representatives and technology professionals attended the event.

Recently, UIDAI authorities announced the introduction of biometric authentication for citizens registered for liquefied petroleum gas subsidy, with Biometric Aadhaar Authentication mandatory from October 1.

India’s direction fits a wider push to take digital public infrastructure systems outside their original jurisdictions. The UPI payments network has already gone international with live operations already tested in at least eight countries around the world, while the government has increasingly promoted Indian DPI technology and expertise abroad.

Article Topics

Aadhaar  |  digital ID infrastructure  |  digital public infrastructure  |  India  |  UIDAI