On Friday, the Uttar Pradesh government issued a directive to all departments, stating that Aadhaar cards will no longer be accepted as proof of birth or date of birth. Officials clarified that Aadhaar does not serve as a birth certificate. Amit Singh Bansal, the special secretary of the planning department, emphasized that Aadhaar cards should not be utilized in this capacity. This change will impact how residents in the state can verify their age or date of birth. The intention behind this move is to clarify the purpose of the document and to avoid any confusion.
Clarification from UIDAI
This directive follows a letter from the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which clarified that Aadhaar is not an approved document for confirming date of birth. In a letter sent by Bansal to the honorable additional chief secretary, chief secretary, and secretary of the Uttar Pradesh government, he referenced UIDAI's communication, stating, "Please refer to the letter number 16013/4/2020-RO-LKO/5416 dated 31.10.2025 from the Deputy Director, UIDAI, Regional Office, Lucknow, which informs that Aadhaar is not an accepted proof of date of birth."
Uniform Compliance Across Departments
The letter further indicated that various state departments do not recognize Aadhaar as proof of date of birth, stressing the need for uniform compliance across all government sectors. The order also instructed officials to issue necessary guidelines to ensure that Aadhaar is not accepted as proof of date of birth in any state government department.
UIDAI's Recent Actions
In related news, UIDAI has deactivated over two crore Aadhaar numbers associated with deceased individuals, marking one of the largest clean-up operations of the national identity database. According to a press release from the Ministry of Electronics and IT, this initiative aims to maintain the accuracy of Aadhaar records and prevent identity misuse. UIDAI reported that it received information about deceased individuals from the Registrar General of India, state governments, union territories, the public distribution system, and national social assistance programs.
