To provide good governance, efficient, transparent, and targeted delivery of subsidies, benefits, and services to the people of Ladakh, Advisor Ladakh, Umang Narula, chaired a meeting of the State Unique Identification Implementation Committee (UIDIC) at the Civil Secretariat, Leh on March 29.

Constituted by the UT Administration in September 2022 for Ladakh, the State Unique Identification Implementation Committee (UIDIC) is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the unique identification system in Ladakh. The system aims to provide a unique identification number to every individual in the UT and to streamline government services and welfare schemes.

In the meeting, it was reported that 83.09% of the total population in Ladakh holds Aadhaar cards, with 118.64% coverage of those aged 5-18 years. Additionally, 248,439 Aadhaar cards have been generated in the Union Territory as of March 05, 2023.

Advisor Narula reviewed the progress of the implementation of the unique identification system in the UT of Ladakh and discussed various issues related to the implementation of the system. He stressed the importance of covering children aged 0-5 years under the Bal Aadhaar initiative to enable parents and children to avail multiple benefits including vaccination and school admissions. He directed the organisation of Aadhaar Camps to cover pending biometric updates in this age group and the implementation of awareness campaigns by the district administration.
 
Principal Secretary, Information Technology, Sanjeev Khirwar shared updates on efforts to ensure that the population aged 0-5 years is covered. He highlighted that the UIDAI has appointed the Department of Health, UT Ladakh as the enrollment agency under Registrar Secretary IT, UT Ladakh to cover the designated hospitals in the UT. In addition, the ICDS Department has been on-boarded with UIDAI to carry out Aadhaar enrolments and updates. To facilitate enrolment of children 0-5 years in Leh and Kargil districts ICDS has been equipped with Tablets.  Furthermore, UIDAI has collaborated with IPPB to enable enrolment and updating of mobile numbers for children aged 0-5 years through postmen who will use Tablets/Smartphones to provide these services to residents, he added.

Moreover, the Principal Secretary updated the meeting on the steps taken to cover the population aged 5-18 years. He mentioned that 22 ECMP kits have been provided to the Department of School Education for this purpose. To cover the remaining population, India Post has been equipped with Enrolment kits, and its staff members have been trained and certified as Aadhaar Operators. Additionally, he highlighted the plan to organize Aadhaar camps in border areas to ensure that no resident is left out of the coverage.

The Director General, UIDAI, RO Chandigarh, Bhawna Garg, apprised the meeting that the UIDAI has developed a State Government Portal with access to the UT administration to facilitate verification of new enrolment of >18 years and documents submitted by the residents. She also informed the committee about a recent SOP issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology requiring the UT to verify the documents provided in Aadhaar during the enrolment of all citizens in selected ten blocks of the UT by conducting a door-to-door survey.

Taief Mir, Assistant Manager of UIDAI, provided the participants with a comprehensive presentation on the progress made since the 1st UIDIC meeting held in October 2022, as well as the strategy for covering the left-out population. He highlighted that dedicated camps will be organized in schools for mandatory Biometric Updation of 5 and 15-year-old students, and coverage of any left-out students will also be ensured.

It is to be noted that Aadhaar holders who have not updated their Aadhar in the last 8 to 10 years are required to upload proof of identity and proof of address documents. The service can be availed at the Aadhar Seva Kendra at a fee of Rs. 50. However, no fee will be charged for online updation of the proof of identity, proof of address, and Aadhaar from March 15 to June 14, 2023.  Aadhaar online services can be availed from the myAadhaar portal (myaadhaar.uidai.gov.in) and through mAadhaar app where also the list of documents acceptable as proof of identity and proof of address is available.