The ‘Bal Aadhaar’ programme for children below 5 years of age started in Odisha today.
From now on, birth registration of newborns will be done by linking the Aadhaar card after the birth of a child making access to government services easier.
For Aadhaar card registration of an infant, mobile phone number of the father or the mother will be used. The registration will be free of cost within 21 days of the birth of the baby, official sources said.
All newborns will be enrolled without biometrics as part of the Baal Aadhaar initiative. Similar to the Aadhaar which is meant for adults, the Baal Aadhaar also has a 12 digit unique identification number. Their unique identification number (UID) will be processed on the basis of demographic information and facial photographs linked with the UID of their parents. Registration within 21 days of birth is free, while Aadhaar card registration is always free.
The children will have to update their biometrics of 10 fingers, iris and facial photograph, when they turn five and 15 years. Intimation to this effect will be mentioned in the original Aadhaar letter.
The decision was taken as part of the Digital India initiative and residents have been urged to get the benefit of a free document update facility on the myAadhaar portal. The free service is available for the next three months from March 15 and will be available only on the myAadhaar portal.
Meanwhile, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has decided to allow residents to update documents in their Aadhaar online free of cost for the next three months.
