Aadhaar completes six years of journey

New Delhi: The journey of Aadhaar started six years ago on this day from a small village Tembhli in Maharashtra where the first Aadhaar card was issued.

On 29 September 2010, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) issued the first Aadhaar card to Rajana Sonawne, a resident of Tembhli village. A total of 10 people from this village were issued the 12-digit unique identification number during the inauguration ceremony held outside the village in the presence of former prime minister Manmohan Singh, United Progressive Allaince Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and former UIDAI chief, Nandan Nilekani.

In July, UIDAI became a statutory authority established under the provisions of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016. Prior to its establishment as a statutory authority, UIDAI was functioning as an attached office of the defunct Planning Commission since its inception.

Aadhaar card has emerged as probably the world’s largest biometric identification programmes in the world with the UIDAI issuing nearly 1.05 billion cards. The project was created in order to provide every resident of India with a unique identification number that can be used to access a variety of services and benefits.

With the notification of the Aadhaar Act this month, the government can now use the unique identification number for identifying beneficiaries of social welfare schemes and disbursing subsidies.