100 percent Aadhaar coverage in Telangana

Hyderabad: The Central government has made it mandatory to have an Aadhaar number for filing income tax returns, and claims that 88 per cent of people across the country have been assigned Aadhaar numbers.

Of the 36 states and Union Territories in the country, eight states, including Telangana, claim to have 100 per cent Aadhaar coverage.  

Assam (7%) and Meghalaya (9%) have the lowest number of registered Aadhaar card holders. Ninety-seven per cent of the population of Andhra Pradesh has an Aadhar number. In Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state of Gujarat, 92 per cent of people have Aadhaar numbers.

Across the country, 15 states and Union Territories have more than 90 per cent Aadhaar coverage. Manipur, Jammu & Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland are below 70 per cent and in Bihar, 79 per cent of the population has an Aadhaar number.  

Age-wise, Aadhar number assignment below 5 years of age is 31per cent, between 5 years and 18 years, 72.4 per cent, and above 18 years coverage goes up to 99 per cent.  

Some states like Delhi (118%), Haryana (103%), and Telangana (102%) have crossed 100% in assigning Aadhaar number. Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), J. Satyanara-yana, attributes this to migration of people from one state to another, and the Aadhaar number of those who have died not being removed.

He said every year the population increases by two-and-a-half crore. Speaking to this newspaper, Mr Satyanarayana said that some states handed over the work of assigning the Aadhaar number to census enumerators who did not make much progress. Now, UIDAI is doing the work itself and expects to achieve 100 per cent Aadhaar coverage in states that are lagging behind.

To a question, he said, “No citizen in the country will be denied any government service due to not having Aadhaar number.” He said that while filing tax returns, taxpayers should give their Aadhaar number, but those who do not have an Aadhaar number can give any other proof of identity as prescribed by the income tax department.

Aadhaar for three-year-olds
At present, a new-born baby can also get an Aadhar number, but not an Aadhaar card. For children below the age of five, only an Aadhaar number is generated for which the biometrics of the mother or father are taken whenever necessary.

The Central government, however, is now planning to issue Aadhaar cards to children above the age of three years.