This is the second consecutive month to register more than 10 million face authentication transactions. The number of face authentication transactions is on an upward trajectory and the monthly numbers clocked in May is an increase of 38 percent, compared with such transactions reported in January 2023, indicative of its growing usage.

The AI/ML-based face authentication solution developed in-house by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), is now being used by 47 entities, including state government departments, ministries in the central government, and some banks.

Among many usages, it’s being used for registering beneficiaries under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana; for authentication of beneficiaries in the PM Kisan scheme and for generating digital life certificates at home by pensioners. It’s being used for marking staff attendance at several government departments and for opening bank accounts at a few leading banks via their business correspondents.

Among several states, the government of Andhra Pradesh is using Aadhaar-based face authentication for Jagananna Vidya Deevena Scheme for fee reimbursement to eligible higher education students and under the EBC Nestham scheme for welfare delivery to women from economically backward segments.

Face authentication provides features like ease of usage and faster authentication and it is preferred as an additional modality to strengthen the authentication success rate along with fingerprint and OTP authentications. It captures live images for authentication. It is safe against any video replay attacks and static photo authentication attempts by anti-social elements.

Face authentication is also working as a robust alternative and helping senior citizens and all those who have issues with the quality of their fingerprints due to several reasons including manual work or health issues.

The month of May also saw the UIDAI executing 14.86 million Aadhaar updates following requests from residents

Aadhaar e-KYC service continues to play a key role in the banking and non-banking financial services sectors by providing transparent & improved customer experience and helping in ease of doing business. More than 254 million e-KYC transactions were carried out in May alone.

By the end of May 2023, the cumulative number of Aadhaar e-KYC transactions has gone past 15.2 billion. Continued adoption of e-KYC is significantly reducing customer acquisition costs of entities like financial institutions, and telecom service providers among others.

Whether it is AePS for last mile banking, e-KYC for identity verification, Aadhaar-enabled DBT for direct fund transfer or authentications, Aadhaar, the foundation of India’s digital public infrastructure and a tool of good governance, is playing a stellar role in improving the Ease of Living for residents.

To use the feature, residents need to enter their Aadhaar number and the mobile number or email ID they want to verify. If the mobile number or email ID is already verified, a message will appear on the screen saying that the number is already verified with UIDAI’s records.  If the mobile number or email ID is not linked to the Aadhaar, the feature will notify the resident to take the necessary steps to update the information. The feature gives confirmation to residents that their email/mobile number under their knowledge is only seeded to their respective Aadhaar.

Mobile number updates require biometric authentication by the Aadhaar holder and can only be done at an authorized Aadhaar Kendra. The use of Aadhaar has been notified for almost 1700 social welfare and good governance programs at the Central and State levels. According to UIDAI, there were over 26.79 crores of electronic KYC transactions in February, bringing the total to 1,439.04 crores.

Govt Extended deadline for linking Pan Card and Aadhaar card to June 30. The linking of PAN numbers with Aadhaar is considered to be one of the key factors that pushed the growth of linking mobile numbers with Aadhaar. The UIDAI has been encouraging residents to link their PAN numbers with their Aadhaar to avoid the deactivation of their PAN cards.     

To add or update a mobile number to an Aadhaar card, UIDAI has provided the following step:

1. Locate an Aadhaar enrollment center or Aadhaar Seva Kendra using the UIDAI website or by calling 1947.

2. Update or correct your Aadhaar number

3. Provide your Aadhaar number and biometrics for verification.

4. Submit a fee of Rs 50 for adding or updating a mobile number to your Aadhaar.