UIDAI completes over 1 crore biometric updates for schoolchildren

New Delhi, Feb 8: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has crossed a major milestone by completing over one crore Mandatory Biometric Updates (MBUs) for schoolchildren across 83,000 schools nationwide, under its ongoing mission-mode drive. The special campaign, launched in September 2025, followed UIDAI’s technological integration with the UDISE+ platform, which enabled schools to identify students due for biometric updates and organise on-site camps. UIDAI CEO Bhuvnesh Kumar had written to Chief Secretaries of all States and Union Territories seeking support for the initiative.

Regional offices across eight locations coordinated closely with education departments, district administrations, registrars and school authorities to carry out the exercise, which remains ongoing until all schools are covered.

Biometric updates are mandatory for children after they cross the ages of five and 15, as fingerprints and iris data are not captured at enrolment below five years. Incomplete MBUs can affect authentication for government benefits and registrations for competitive examinations such as NEET, JEE and CUET. To encourage participation, UIDAI waived MBU charges for children aged 7–15 from October 2025 for one year, while updates for the 5–7 and 15–17 age groups remain free. Apart from school camps, children can also complete MBUs at Aadhaar enrolment centres and Aadhaar Seva Kendras. Around 1.3 crore such updates have been carried out at these centres during the same period.