With Aadhaar initiative by the Government of India picking up its momentum, the govt. has enrolled nearly 92% of the total Indian residents for the same. Despite the fact that managing the whole task was a humongous task, the UIDAI has come up with a number of Aadhaar card services that people can use to check, verify or manage various facilities that will increase the acceptance and portability of the 12-digit biometric identity proof. All these services are free of cost and available for everyone irrespective of the region, religion, caste or creed. These services can be availed online 24×7 and 365 days of the year.
Following Aadhaar card services are provided by UIDAI to all Indian residents:
Aadhaar Number Verification:
- Aadhaar number can be verified whether it is an authentic document or a forged one
- Visit the Aadhaar Verification option in the Aadhaar Services section
- Enter the Aadhaar number and the security code
- Click on the verify button to check the authenticity of Aadhaar
- Verification results show whether Aadhaar number exists or not
- If the Aadhaar number is valid, other details are also displayed such as age band, gender, state and the last 3 digits of the registered mobile number
- It is not necessary to have mobile number linked with Aadhaar to avail this facility
- This feature allows common man to verify anyone’s Aadhaar details
- This facility can be used by landlords while renting houses, hotel owners for verifying guest details, various educational institutions, etc.
- There is no limit on the number of Aadhaar details that a user can verify
Email/Mobile Number Verification:
- This facility allows you to check whether your mobile number or email address is mentioned in Aadhaar or not
- Your mobile number should be registered with UIDAI to avail this facility
- Nobody else can run this verification on your behalf
- You can either verify your mobile or email id at a time
- Select the “Verify Email/Mobile Number” option from the Aadhaar Services menu
- Enter your 12-digit Aadhaar number in the box provided
- Now enter either your mobile number or your email ID
- Enter the security code and click on “Get OTP”
- An OTP will be sent to your mobile number registered with Aadhaar
- Enter this OTP in the space provided and click on verify
- The result will be displayed whether your mobile number is linked with Aadhaar or not
- Also, if the number is registered, last 3 digits of the number will be displayed
Biometric Locking/Unlocking:
- Aadhaar biometric locking/unlocking is one of the most effective security feature of this identity
- This facility allows you to lock your biometrics and prevent it from being misused
- Your fingerprints and iris scan are disabled from being used once you lock your biometrics
- When you wish to use your biometrics, you can unlock it temporarily
- When unlocked, the biometric authentication remains active for 10 minutes for you to carry out your task
- After 10 minutes, the biometric data is locked automatically
- In case you do not want to add this layer of security, you can simply disable the biometric lock
- Click on “Lock/Unlock Biometrics” option in the Aadhaar Services section
- Login to the UIDAI portal using your Aadhaar number
- Enter your Aadhaar and security code and click on Get OTP
- An OTP will be sent to your mobile number
- Enter this OTP and click on Login
- Now enter the security code to authenticate and click on the “Lock” button to lock your biometrics
- In case you want to unlock your biometrics, you will have to login again
- This time, you get two options – Unlock and Disable
- In case you want to temporarily unlock your biometrics for a single verification, you can unlock the biometrics
- In case you do not want to shield your biometrics, you can simply click on the disable button to remove the lock from your Aadhaar biometrics permanently
- You can lock your biometrics again whenever you want
- Biometric locking/unlocking is also available through the mAadhaar app which is the official app of the UIDAI
- When you lock your biometrics for the first time, it may take up to 6 hours for the lock to be implemented fully
Aadhaar-Bank Account Linking Status:
- This facility allows you check the latest bank account linked with your Aadhaar
- In case you have not linked any bank account with Aadhaar, a message will be displayed stating the fact
- You have to link your mobile number with Aadhaar before availing this facility
- The Aadhaar linking information is fetched from the NPCI server
- However, no information accessed from servers of NPCI is stored by UIDAI
- Click on the “Check Aadhaar & Bank Account Linking Status” to check the linking status online
- Enter your Aadhaar number and the security code
- Click on Send OTP to send an OTP to your registered mobile number
- Enter this OTP and click on the submit button
- The bank account linked with Aadhaar will be displayed on the screen
Aadhaar Authentication History:
- You can check the Aadhaar authentication history through this feature
- The results displayed contain the transactions for which Aadhaar has been invoked for authentication
- Click on the “Aadhaar Authentication History” to view all authentication details
- Enter your Aadhaar number and the security code and click on the “Generate OTP” button
- Select the “Authentication Type”, date range, number of results (maximum 50) and the OTP sent on your phone
- Click on the Submit button
- All results will be displayed on the screen clearly mentioning the transaction ID, date, authentication type and other details
- This feature helps you to keep a track of all authentications for which your Aadhaar data had been invoked
Virtual ID Generation:
- Virtual ID is a 16 digit temporary code generated against an Aadhaar number
- This number will be issued and used in place of Aadhaar
- An applicant will not have to share his Aadhaar card if he provides the VID
- All agencies have to make provisions to accept VIDs in place of Aadhaar by June 1st 2018
- VIDs can be generated by visiting the UIDAI’s portal
- Click on the “Virtual ID (VID) Generator” option in the Aadhaar Services section
- Enter the Aadhaar number and security code and click on the Send OTP option
- Enter the OTP received on your mobile and select whether you want to generate or retrieve your VID
- Click on the Submit button
- A virtual ID will be generated and sent to your mobile number registered with Aadhaar.