In one of the biggest data-cleanup exercises ever conducted by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), more than 2 crore Aadhaar numbers linked to deceased individuals have been deactivated. The move aims to prevent identity misuse and strengthen the accuracy of India’s digital ID ecosystem.
Why the Aadhaar numbers were deactivated
UIDAI carried out a massive verification process using official death records collected from central and state authorities, including the Registrar General of India, state governments, Union Territories and welfare departments. After cross-checking these records, Aadhaar numbers belonging to individuals who had passed away were permanently disabled.
Officials say that keeping deceased persons’ Aadhaar active poses risks such as impersonation, fraudulent access to government benefits and misuse in financial transactions. Deactivating these IDs ensures that no one can use them to claim schemes, open accounts or carry out unauthorised activities. UIDAI has also clarified that once an Aadhaar number is deactivated, it is never reassigned to anyone else.
What families should know
To help keep Aadhaar data updated in the future, UIDAI is now encouraging families to officially report the death of any relative through the myAadhaar portal. The process requires the deceased person’s Aadhaar number and details from the death certificate. Once verified, the Aadhaar ID will be deactivated in the system.
In rare cases where an Aadhaar number is mistakenly deactivated, such as when someone is wrongly marked as deceased, recovery is possible. Individuals can reactivate their Aadhaar by submitting valid proof that they are alive. UIDAI says such cases are extremely uncommon but has kept a process ready to handle them smoothly.
This nationwide clean-up marks a major effort to maintain the integrity of India’s digital identity network. It also highlights the growing importance of accurate records in a country where Aadhaar is linked to banking, subsidies, mobile numbers and countless essential services.
