The UIDAI has launched one of the country’s largest welfare clean-ups, deactivating Aadhaar numbers linked to deceased individuals to curb benefits issued in the names of the dead. More than 1.4 crore IDs have been disabled, ensuring subsidies, pensions and entitlements reach only living, eligible beneficiaries.
Because Aadhaar is mapped to 3,300+ government schemes, the move has nationwide implications. It responds to years of reports about “ghost” beneficiaries and aligns with the government’s 2047 vision of a fraud-resistant welfare state.
Execution remains challenging. Death registration is fragmented and Aadhaar isn’t mandatory in many death records, leading to omissions and errors. Data needed for verification is dispersed across financial and non-financial systems, complicating reliable matches. UIDAI has set a target of nearly 2 crore deactivations by December 2025.
UIDAI CEO Bhuwanesh Kumar said the drive is essential to protect public funds and the credibility of welfare programmes. To maintain checks and balances, officials say deactivation follows cross-verification with civil registries and medical records, auditable workflows, and grievance redress for any wrongful flags. Citizens are being encouraged to voluntarily report deaths via the mAadhaar portal, helping keep the identity database current and safeguarding millions of beneficiaries.
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