Your Aadhaar

No. As your bank information is not shared by the bank with anyone else, no one can have information about your bank account just by knowing your Aadhaar number. Also, UIDAI or any entity for that matter would not have any information about your bank account. For example, you give your mobile number at various places and to various authorities such as bank, passport authorities, income tax departments, etc. Would the telecom company have access to your bank information, income tax returns, etc.? Obviously no! Similarly, when you provide Aadhaar number to various service providers, your detail remains with the respective service providers and no single entity including the Government or UIDAI will have access to your personal information spread across various service providers.

As per the Supreme Court Judgement in the Aadhaar case (494 of 2012), residents are no longer required to mandatorily verify Bank account with Aadhaar. PAN Aadhaar linking is mandatory. A resident can voluntarily use his Aadhaar number in physical or electronic form by way of authentication or offline verification, or in such other form as may be specified by UIDAI. Mandatory Aadhaar authentication can be performed if the purpose is backed by law or it is in State interest. However, for availing subsidies, benefits, services beneficiaries are required to undergo mandatory Aadhaar authentication. when you link your bank account, demat account, mutual fund account, PAN, etc., with Aadhaar, you secure yourself because no one can impersonate you to avail these services. Often the fraudsters carry out transactions and transfer money from someone else’s account to their accounts and go untraced as they generally submit their fake identities to the bank while opening their accounts. They operate bank accounts in fictitious names/companies and run shell companies’ accounts to carry out money laundering or stash black money. Therefore, when all the bank accounts are verified with Aadhaar then it would not be possible for these unscrupulous elements to go untraced and banking as a whole would become more safe and secure as the identity of each bank account holders is established uniquely beyond doubt through eKYC. As of now 96 crore bank accounts out of total 110 crore accounts have been linked to Aadhaar.

At the same time, you also contribute to serve the vital national interests by making the system rid of bogus, fakes and duplicates who could misuse IDs to evade taxes, siphon off public money, etc. Through use of Aadhaar and other process improvements, the Government has been able to weed out more than 6 crore fakes, duplicates and ghosts beneficiaries and save more than Rs. 90,000 crore of public money. Also, ghost and shell entities and companies used to be created for tax evasion, money laundering, terror financing, etc. Verification of identity through Aadhaar has helped curb these practices. Similarly, use of Aadhaar has checked unscrupulous elements that used to resort to impersonation in various examination and tests for college admission and jobs, etc., and thereby denying the genuine candidates of their rightful dues. There are number of other areas where verification of identity through Aadhaar has brought in fairness and transparency in the system.

Just like by merely knowing your bank account number, one cannot withdraw money from your account, similarly by merely knowing your Aadhaar number, no one can withdraw money from Aadhaar linked bank account. As in bank for withdrawing money, your signature, debit card, PIN, OTP, etc., is required, similarly for withdrawing money from your Aadhaar linked bank account through Aadhaar, your fingerprint, IRIS or OTP sent to your Aadhaar registered mobile will be required. No Aadhaar holder has suffered any financial or other loss or identity theft on account of any said misuse or attempted impersonation of Aadhaar. Notably, everyday more than 3 crore Authentications are carried out on the Aadhaar platform. In the last eight years, so far more than 3,012.5 crore authentications (till 28th May 2019) have been successfully done. UIDAI keeps upgrading and reviewing its security systems and safety mechanisms to make Aadhaar more secure and more useable. There has not been a single instance of biometric data breach from Aadhaar database. Therefore, people should freely use and give Aadhaar to prove their identity as and when required under the provisions of the Aadhaar Act, 2016.

Aadhaar authentication can be performed for availing benefits, services and benefits falling under Section 7 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016 and if the purpose for which Aadhaar authentication is intended to be used is either backed by law made by parliament or is in the State interest. The verification of Aadhaar can be done offline through QR code available on the physical Aadhaar copy. If any agency does not follow these best practices, then that agency will be fully responsible for situations or losses arising out of possible misuse or impersonation. An Aadhaar holder is not responsible for the wrongful act of or by any agency.

Under the PML Rules Aadhaar is one of the officially valid documents accepted for opening bank account and the bank is required to do other due diligence for banking transaction or KYC. If at all some fraudster tries to open bank account using Aadhaar and bank doensn’t carry any due diligence then in such case an Aadhaar holder cannot be held responsible for bank’s fault. It is just like if some fraudster opens a bank account by presenting someone else’s Voter card/Ration card, it is the bank that would be held responsible not the voter or ration card holder. Till date no Aadhaar holder has suffered any financial loss on account of such misuse.

No. Just, by knowing your Aadhaar number, no one can harm you. It’s just like any other identity document such as passport, voter ID, PAN card, ration card, driving license, etc., that you have been using freely for decades with service providers. Aadhaar identity, instead, is instantly verifiable and hence more trusted. Also, as per the Aadhaar Act 2016, the Aadhaar card is required to be verified  either by in physical or electronic formby way of authentication or offline verification, or in such other form as may be specified. Verification is done through fingerprint, iris scan, OTP authentication, and QR code etc. Hence, it is near impossible to impersonate you if you use Aadhaar to prove your identity. People have been freely giving other identity documents such as passport, voter ID, PAN card, ration card, driving license, etc. But did they stop using these documents for the fear that somebody would use them to impersonate? No! They continue using them and if any fraud happens, the law enforcement agencies handle them as per law. The same logic will apply to Aadhaar. In fact, Aadhaar is more secure than many other identity documents, because unlike other IDs, Aadhaar is instantly verifiable through biometric and OTP authentication and QR code. Further, under the Aadhaar Act, 2016 stringent penalties, including fines and imprisonment are provided whenever a person misuses your Aadhaar number or tries to cause any harm to you.

You use PAN card, debit card, credit card, bank cheques wherever required. But do you put these details openly on internet and social media such as Facebook, Twitter, etc.? Obviously no! You do not put such personal details unnecessarily in public domain so that there is no unwarranted invasion attempt on your privacy. The same logic needs to be applied in case of uses of Aadhaar.

You should use your Aadhaar without any hesitation for proving your identity and doing transactions, just like you use your bank account number, PAN card, debit card, credit card, etc., wherever required. What UIDAI has advised is that Aadhaar card should be freely used for proving identity and doing transactions, but should not be put on public platforms like Twitter, Facebook, etc. People give their debit card or credit card details or cheque (which has bank account number) when they purchase goods, or pay school fee, water, electricity, telephone and other utility bills, etc. Similarly, you can freely use your Aadhaar to establish your identity as and when required without any fear. While using Aadhaar, you should do the same level of due diligence as you do in case of other ID cards – not more, not less.

You can link your PAN with Aadhaar by following process:

a) Open the Income Tax e-filing portal - https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/

b) Register on it (if not already done). Your PAN (Permanent Account Number) will be your user id.

c) Log in by entering the User ID, password and date of birth.

d) A pop up window will appear, prompting you to link your PAN with Aadhaar. If not, go to ‘Profile Settings’ on Menu bar and click on ‘Link Aadhaar’.

e) Details such as name date of birth and gender will already be mentioned as per the PAN details.

f) Verify the PAN details on screen with the ones mentioned on your Aadhaar. Pls. note that if there is a mismatch, you need to get the same corrected in either of the documents.

g) If the details match, enter your Aadhaar number and click on the “link now” button.

h) A pop-up message will inform you that your Aadhaar has been successfully linked to your PAN

i) You may also visit https://www.utiitsl.com/ OR https://www.egov-nsdl.co.in/ to link your PAN and Aadhaar.

There is no concept such as smart Aadhaar card. Aadhaar letter or Aadhaar downloaded from UIDAI website, in the form as may be specified from time to time, is sufficient and a valid form of Aadhaar. Only visit authorized common service centres or Aadhaar permanent enrolment centres for Aadhaar related services. For further info see this press release: https://goo.gl/TccM9f.

If your Aadhaar was generated from the first Enrolment then every attempt to re-enrol will be rejected. DO NOT re-apply. You can retrieve your Aadhaar:

(a) Online using https://resident.uidai.gov.in/lost-uideid (if you have the registered mobile no)

(b) By visiting at permanent enrolment centre

(c) By dialing 1947

Aadhaar updation has a fixed process which takes up to 90 days from the date of requested. The updation process cannot be altered. Please wait. You may check the status from https://ssup.uidai.gov.in/ssup/

Aadhaar updation takes up to 90 days. If your update request is more than 90 days old, then Please dial 1947 (toll free) or write to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for further assistance.

Aadhaar generation may take up to 90 days. Aadhaar letter is delivered by post. Once Aadhaar is generated, you also get a sms on registered mobile (if mobile number provided during enrolment).

The resident gets an opportunity to notice and correct such errors during enrolment while the data is being entered. One more opportunity is given to the resident to make corrections prior to finalization of Enrolment request and printing of the Enrolment Acknowledgment. In the event that both these opportunities are missed, resident can get the name address corrected by visiting the enrolment centre along with relevant documents and enrolment slip within 96 hours of enrolment.

If resident does not get Aadhaar letter he/she should contact UIDAI contact centre with his/her Enrolment number or he/she may check Aadhaar status here.https://resident.uidai.gov.in/check-aadhaar-status or meanwhile resident can download e-Aadhaar .

a) Resident can find his Aadhaar number using Aadhaar Service - Retrieve Lost UID/EID

b) Resident can call 1947 where our Contact Centre Agent will help him/her in getting his/her EID number. The resident can further use this EID to download his/her eAadhaar from Resident Portal - eAadhaar

d) Resident can also get his/her Aadhaar number from EID number on IVRS system by calling 1947

The resident can contact the Contact Centre (through phone / portal / email) with the enrolment number and make a request for sending a new letter communicating Aadhaar.

The reason for rejection along with steps to be taken post rejection will be communicated to the resident and the Registrar.

Rooting is the process of allowing users of smart phones, tablets and other devices running the Android mobile operating system to attain privileged control (known as root access) over various Android subsystems.

No, mAadhaar does not works on rooted devices.

Yes, mAadhaar is available for iOS devices.

Android Version 5.0 and up.

One Aadhaar profile can be active on only one device at a time. If you create profile on another device by inserting the SIM in another device, the previous profile would become inactive and would be deleted from older device whenever any operation is attempted from that device.

A user can add maximum 3 profiles in his device, all having same mobile number registered in their Aadhaar. Auto-fill OTP is valid and hence user cannot add any profiles which are registered with any other mobile number. If members of your family have the same mobile number registered as you in their Aadhaar, you can add their profile in your device.

Registered mobile number is the mobile submitted at the time of Aadhaar enrollment or update.

Yes, it is compulsory to have registered Mobile Number.OTP will be shared and auto-filled via registered mobile number in mAadhaar app. In case you’re mobile number is not registered with Aadhaar visit the nearest Aadhaar Enrolment/Update Centre.

This feature is to secure biometric authentication by locking biometrics data of the resident. Biometric remains locked till the Aadhaar Holder chose to either unlock it (which is temporary) or Disable the Locking system.

TOTP is generated in mobile application like mAadhaar. However, the Client mobile device’s time should be in sync with IST time-zone.

TOTPs avoid a number of shortcomings that are associated with traditional SMS based OTP. The most important shortcoming that is addressed by TOTPs is that resident will not be dependent on mobile network for SMS delivery. Generating and sending OTP requires users to go through a completely unrelated workflow.

Electronic Know your Client or e KYC is the way of resident authentication used by organization like Banks, Aadhaar allows the residents to submit it as an address proof electronically which is valid as a Xerox copy of Aadhaar Card.

There is no provision to manually enter the OTP anywhere in mAadhaar. This is a security feature. Please do not navigate from application if it is waiting for SMS. Aadhaar will automatically read the OTP once it is received.

mAadhaar needs to be connected and download data from UIDAI. So ensure that internet connectivity is available on your phone.

Application will ask for password as soon as it is opened as the first step. User should enter a password of minimum 8 and maximum 12 characters length. The password should contain at least 1 number, 1 alphabet, 1 special character ( @,#,&,%,*,!,-,(,) ) and 1 alphabet in capital e.g. Sharma@123.

Resident can view profile by following these steps:

Resident can view profile by following these steps:

m-Aadhaar is accepted as proof of identity for undertaking journey in any reserved class in Indian Railways. For details view the Circular released by Indian Railway.

You can download 'm-Aadhaar' from Google Playstore Click here to download

Yes, Registrars can add / remove / modify Introducers at a later stage. The area of operations of an Introducer can also be modified at a later stage. UIDAI encourages Registrars to review performance of Introducers on an on-going basis and make changes to the list as required.