SRINAGAR: Dr Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary today impressed upon all the concerned Departments to ensure 100 percent Aadhaar registration of individuals by activating all the enrollment centres run by them and optimum utilization of available gadgets.He gave the instructions while presiding over a meeting of the Civil Secretariat’s Unique Identification Implementation Committee (UIDIC). Administrative Secretaries, representatives from UIDAI, Divisional Commissioners for Kashmir and Jammu, and others were present at the meeting. Prerna Puri, Commissioner Secretary, IT, opened the meeting by providing a summary of the Aadhaar status in Jammu & Kashmir. According to reports, 121,96,367 Aadhaar numbers have been created as of this writing, covering more than 90% of the population of the UT. A breakdown of Aadhaar saturation by age groups—0 to 5 years: 60.70%; 5 to 18 years: 89.2%; and over 18 years: 92.4%—was also provided. Although there has been growth, there have been concerns about the 0–5 year age group falling behind the national average. The meeting’s main topic was the pressing necessity for residents who haven’t updated their Aadhaar information in the last ten years to update their documents.To spread awareness about document updates, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has distributed brochures and banners throughout all of Jammu and Kashmir’s blocks. In order to address the issues and speed up the Aadhaar registration process, an action plan was developed during the meeting. This plan calls for creating lists of children who need Mandatory Biometric Updates (MBUs) by school and by class, creating a roster for the movement of MBU kits in the schools, and enlisting the help of Health and ICDS for the enrollment of young children (0–5).Dr Mehta requested that, in addition to initiatives to boost school attendance, awareness campaigns be carried out by the School Education Department at all sites by the Deputy Director General UIDAI, Regional Office Chandigarh. According to information about the availability of operating Aadhaar centres, 780 permanent centres and 450 mobile tablets are running throughout the UT. In order to close the gap between the real population and the registrations completed thus far, the Chief Secretary urged the activation of each of these centres and the best use of their resources.Dr. Mehta gave the relevant officers instructions to make sure that all kids in schools, including those who aren’t yet registered under Aadhaar, are included within the next six months in an endeavour to include all school pupils under Aadhaar registration. In order to populate it in real time, he further emphasised the significance of Aadhaar registration during births, whether in government-run or private facilities. The Chief Secretary further exhorted all authorities concerned to promote awareness of the Aadhaar update procedure by guaranteeing complete functionality of all Aadhaar centres.The Aadhaar Authentication for Good Governance (Social Welfare, Innovation, and Knowledge) Rules, 2020 were also highlighted during the discussion. The Shri Amarnath ji Shrine Board’s eKYC registration of pilgrims at all counters in J&K, the Department of Registration’s authentication of applicants for property-related documents, DBT-linked beneficiary-oriented schemes, and the Revenue Department’s authentication of applicants for Domicile Certificates are just a few of the proposals that have been approved. Dr. Mehta emphasised that Jammu and Kashmir wants to attain full Aadhaar registration, ensuring seamless services and improvement in quality governance for its inhabitants, with the plan in place and the commitment of all stakeholders.
