Over 2.5 crore Aadhaar numbers linked to deceased individuals have been deactivated to prevent misuse, fraud and wrongful welfare claims, strengthening India’s digital identity security system.
Published: February 4, 2026 6:32 PM IST
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has announced that it has deactivated more than 2.5 crore Aadhaar numbers belonging to people who are dead. With this move, the central government is continuously working towards cleaning up the Aadhaar database to ensure authenticity, credibility and reliability.
UIDAI Removes Aadhaar Numbers of Deceased People: More than 2.5 Crore Deactivated
Ensuring No Fake UIDAI Aadhaar Numbers Existence. The deactivation of Aadhaar numbers belonging to deceased individuals was revealed by Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Jitin Prasada while replying to a question in the Lok Sabha. Such moves are necessary to curb identity fraud and any illegitimate use of Aadhaar services.
“No idea of any living person should remain inactive in the system. If this continues there are chances of fraudulent use of Aadhaar authentication,” said Prasada while replying to a written question on the issue of deactivation of Aadhaar numbers.
Aadhaar is India’s 12-digit unique identity number that is issued to all Indian citizens and is voluntary for foreigners residing in India. Here’s why deactivating Aadhaar numbers of dead persons is important:
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Prevents duplication
Eliminates identity theft
Protects families from becoming victims of fraud
Aadhaar which has over 1.2 billion active users across the country today, has become an essential component of Indians’ digital identity. Every Indian citizen who has an Aadhaar number can use it to avail benefits from multiple services ranging from bank accounts to welfare programs.
Here’s how UIDAI does it:
UIDAI has been tying up with the respective State/UT Government departments for death data received from civil registration system. The Death Data is then verified and Aadhaar numbers corresponding to deceased individuals are determined for deactivation. UIDAI ensures that no personal information associated with the demographic and biometric data is leaked.
Citizens can now register the death of their family members on the UIDAI portal and seek deactivation of the Aadhaar number. This facility was introduced by UIDAI last year in an effort to make the procedure convenient for users.
More security features
UIDAI has also introduced additional security layers for Aadhaar holders including a Biometric lock feature that prevents Aadhaar numbers from being authenticated if anybody else tries to use the number without authorization.
Apart from biometric lock, there are other security features like Face Authentication with Liveness Detection feature for Aadhaar authentication which has been launched by UIDAI to protect Aadhaar holders from identity fraud. The authority is also working towards making improvements to the database and will continue to keep deleting Aadhaar numbers of dead individuals.
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