UIDAI generates 70.43 cr Aadhaar numbers till November 15

New Delhi, Nov 27: As many as 70.43 crore Aadhaar numbers have been generated by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) as on November 15, Parliament was informed on Thursday.

"A total of 70.43 crore Aadhaar have been generated in the country as on November 15," Planning Minister Rao Inderjit Singh said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.

The Aadhaar saturation level is more than 90 per cent in nine states and union territories (UTs), between 75 per cent and 90 per cent in another eight states/UTs. In the remaining twelve states/UTs, the Aadhaar saturation level is under 50 per cent, he said.

The Minister further said the government has allocated 24 states/UTs to UIDAI for Aadhaar enrolment and the remaining 12 states/UTs to Registrar General of India (RGI) for enrolment under National Population Register (NPR) process.

Replying to a question about UIDAI starting enrolments in states other than those allocated to it, Singh said, "There is no proposal under consideration of the government, at this stage to change the allocation of states/UT."

At present, Aadhaar enrolments in the state/UTs not allocated to UIDAI are being undertaken by Registrar General of India under NPR process.

On the timeline to complete Aadhaar enrolments in the country, Singh said, "While a target of universal enrolment in the country is being pursued, it has to be noted that Aadhaar enrolment is undertaken on voluntary basis and is an ongoing process."

He also informed the House that a total outlay of Rs 13,663.22 crore has been sanctioned for Aadhaar project for the period 2009-10 to 2016-17. The government has spent Rs 5,181 crore on Aadhaar scheme as on October 31, 2014.

Meanwhile replying to another question in the house, the Minister said the Department of Telecommunication has issued instructions to telecom service providers on October 16 to collect Aadhaar number along with customer acquisition form while issuing mobile telephone connections and to store the same in their database along with other data.

PTI