In a significant achievement, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has completed over one crore Mandatory Biometric Updates (MBUs) for schoolchildren in 83,000 schools nationwide. This milestone was achieved through a special drive initiated by UIDAI in September 2025, following successful technological integration with the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+) application. The integration allowed for the identification of children due for an MBU, leading to camps being held at schools to facilitate the process.
Enrolling a child under the age of five for Aadhaar involves providing basic details like photograph, name, date of birth, gender, address, and birth certificate. However, fingerprints and iris biometrics are not captured for children below five years during Aadhaar enrollment due to immaturity. Hence, it becomes essential for children to undergo MBU between the ages of 5 and 15 to update this information in Aadhaar.
To encourage and facilitate MBU completion, UIDAI waived off charges for children aged 7-15 for a year starting from October 1, 2025. Additionally, MBU for children aged 5-7 and 15-17 remains free of charge. Apart from school camps, children can also update their biometric information at Aadhaar enrolment centers and Aadhaar Seva Kendras nationwide, with approximately 1.3 crore MBU transactions completed during the same period.
Bhuvnesh Kumar, CEO of UIDAI, reached out to Chief Secretaries of all States and Union Territories to seek their support in organizing focused MBU camps at schools. UIDAI’s Regional Offices across eight locations have been actively coordinating this initiative with various stakeholders, including Education Departments, district-level administration, UIDAI registrars, and school authorities. The mission to cover all schools in the country with MBU updates remains ongoing.
