New Delhi, Aug 18: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has completed more than two crore Mandatory Biometric Updates (MBU) in Aadhaar for schoolchildren across the country under a nationwide mission-mode drive launched last year, covering around 1.56 lakh schools.
The special drive, initiated in September 2025, was undertaken in coordination with State and Union Territory education departments to facilitate biometric updates for children directly at their schools through dedicated camps and outreach programmes.
UIDAI said the initiative was enabled by its technological integration with the Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+), which allowed authorities to monitor the biometric update status of children enrolled in schools and streamline the exercise.
The authority said taking Aadhaar update services to schools has made the process more accessible and convenient for crores of students, helping ensure timely completion of mandatory biometric updates.
Under Aadhaar norms, children enrolled before the age of five are issued Aadhaar based on demographic details and photographs, as fingerprints and iris biometrics are not fully developed at that age. Mandatory biometric updates are therefore required when a child attains the age of five and again at the age of 15.
UIDAI said timely completion of these updates helps ensure smooth Aadhaar authentication as children advance through school and higher education and seek access to various services and benefits linked to Aadhaar.
To encourage greater participation, UIDAI has waived charges for biometric updates for children between the ages of five and 17 years until September 30, 2026. The fee waiver for children in the 7-15 age group came into effect on October 1, 2025, for a period of one year, while updates for children aged 5-7 years and 15-17 years continue to remain free.
The authority urged parents and guardians to ensure that mandatory biometric updates are completed within the prescribed age brackets, warning that failure to do so may lead to authentication-related difficulties while availing benefits under government schemes.
UIDAI also noted that an updated Aadhaar is important for registration and verification processes in major competitive and university entrance examinations, including NEET, JEE and CUET.
