Unique Identification Authority of India completes Aadhaar biometric updates for 1.2 crore students: Government

New Delhi — In a significant achievement, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has covered over 1.03 lakh schools nationwide to help students complete their mandatory biometric update (MBU) for Aadhaar within their school premises, the Ministry of Electronics and IT said on Tuesday.

So far, around 1.2 crore schoolchildren have completed their biometric updates under this large-scale initiative.

The drive aims to ensure that children’s Aadhaar details remain accurate and updated, which is essential for accessing various government benefits and services.

UIDAI launched the mission-mode MBU campaign for schoolchildren in September 2025 after successfully integrating its system with the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) application.

UDISE+, managed by the Department of School Education and Literacy, enabled authorities to track the biometric update status of students in schools. This integration helped identify children with pending updates and facilitated the organisation of special camps within school campuses, the ministry stated.

UIDAI’s regional and state offices have been working closely with state education departments, district administrations, schools, and other ecosystem partners to ensure smooth implementation of the exercise.

According to official data, around 4,000 machines are currently being used for the drive, and the number is being increased to expedite the process.

Updating children’s biometrics in Aadhaar is crucial as it enables seamless authentication for government schemes, scholarships, and registrations for competitive and university entrance examinations such as NEET, JEE, and CUET.

UIDAI has urged parents and guardians to ensure that their children complete this mandatory update.

The mission-mode campaign has been ongoing for the past six months. To encourage participation, UIDAI has made biometric updates free of cost for children in the 7–15 age group for one year starting October 1, 2025.

Besides school camps, children can also visit Aadhaar enrolment centres and Aadhaar Seva Kendras across the country to complete their biometric updates.

With inputs from IANS