UIDAI UNIQUE IDENTIFICATION AUTHORITY OF INDIA

Why in news: In a recent report, global ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service raised concerns about India’s Aadhaar program, highlighting potential privacy and security risks

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) was established on July 12, 2016, as a statutory authority under the Aadhaar Act 2016, by the Government of India, part of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). UIDAI’s main role is to collect and store demographic and biometric data of Indian residents and provide them with a 12 digit unique identity number known as Aadhaar.

Before becoming a statutory authority, UIDAI operated as part of the Planning Commission, now known as NITI Aayog.

UIDAI’s primary mission is to issue Aadhaar numbers to all Indian residents. It is responsible for the entire Aadhaar life cycle, including enrolment and authentication. UIDAI also develops policies and procedures for issuing Aadhaar numbers and ensures the security of individual identity information and authentication records.

In simpler terms, UIDAI is a government agency that creates unique 12 digit identity numbers (Aadhaar) for all Indian residents, stores their information securely, and manages the entire process, ensuring data protection and privacy under the Aadhaar Act 2016.

To know more visit: https://uidai.gov.in/