Aadhaar for newborns at 500 hospitals from August

PUNE: Aadhaar enrolment for newborns is set to become a child’s play in the state.

Around 500 hospitals and healthcare centres in Maharashtra will have trained staffers for initiating Aadhaar-linked birth registration from August. The move aims to maximize Aadhaar enrolment of children in the age group of 0-5 years.



As per UIDAI data, Aadhaar enrolment in the age group of 0-5 years stands at 46.2%. “The move follows the success of a pilot project at a hospital in Nagpur. The project will now be rolled out in the state at select healthcare facilities, including district, civil, general and sub-district hospitals. Tab-based enrolment kits will be used for the enrollment programme,” an official from the state information technology (IT) department told TOI.

The official said hospital or healthcare centre staffers will be trained for the purpose and will be given the tabs for enrollment. “Two staffers from each of the hospital and the healthcare centre will be trained for this programme before its roll out from August,” state IT department officials said.

As per the government directive, Aadhaar enrollment for newborns will not even require the child’s name. The child will get the Aadhaar number and the card under the term “baby of (Mother’s name)”. Parents can later update the name of the child on the Aadhaar website.

Besides the 500 centres, the IT department is in talks with the health department to start the facility at their 1,000 health centres too. “The Aadhaar enrollment will reflect on the child’s birth certificate too. The biometrics of children (iris and fingerprints) are not taken for newborns. They will have to be updated at the age of 5 years and 15 years. This can be done at any of the Aadhaar centres,” an official from the state IT department said.

At present, one of the parents of the child should have an Aadhaar for the child’s enrolment. The parent needs to visit the Aadhaar centre, along with the child, for biometric authentication. There are four categories of identification documents, including supported proof of identity, proof of residence, address and date of birth.

According to the UIDAI, of the state’s total projected population of 12,08,37,347, around 11,19,80,383 or 92.7% have been assigned Aadhaar numbers as of June-end.