UIDAI Partners with Research Firm to Boost Aadhaar Biometric Updates for Children

To improve the reliability of India’s digital identity system for minors, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has partnered with Behavioural Insights Limited (BIL), a global research consultancy. This move focuses on enhancing the adoption of the Mandatory Biometric Update (MBU) for children aged 5 and 15, ensuring that their Aadhaar credentials remain current and fully functional.

What is Mandatory Biometric Update (MBU)?

When a child is enrolled into Aadhaar, initial biometric data is either not collected or incomplete. To maintain the effectiveness of Aadhaar for identification and authentication, UIDAI mandates biometric updates at two critical ages,

• At age 5, when the child’s biometric features like fingerprints and iris patterns become more stable.
• At age 15, when significant changes occur again as the child approaches adulthood.

These updates ensure that Aadhaar authentications do not fail during use in welfare schemes, school benefits, or government services.

MoU with Behavioural Insights Limited

UIDAI’s collaboration with Behavioural Insights Limited is designed to implement evidence-based behavioural strategies that encourage parents and guardians to complete the required MBU for their children. These strategies aim to,

• Raise awareness about update deadlines
• Address psychological and social barriers to compliance
• Improve the ease and timeliness of Aadhaar biometric updates

The initiative recognizes that simply making a rule isn’t enough—people need reminders, motivation, and simplified processes to act on it.

MBU Fee Waiver for One Year

To remove cost as a barrier, UIDAI has announced a one-year fee waiver for MBU services for children aged 5 and 15. This is expected to,

• Encourage more parents to complete updates during the waiver period
• Benefit millions of families by reducing financial burden
• Lead to higher Aadhaar authentication success rates for children