11.7 crore deaths in 14 years but only 1.15 crore Aadhaar numbers deleted, shocking revelation from RTI

New Delhi: Aadhaar card has been introduced as the biggest document of citizen identity in India, but now an RTI reply has revealed that in the last 14 years only 1.15 crore Aadhaar numbers have been deactivated on the basis of death. This number is very less compared to the deaths in the country.

According to the United Nations Population Fund, the total population of India by April 2025 is 146.39 crores, while the number of Aadhaar card holders is 142.39 crores. In comparison, according to the Citizen Registration System of India, an average of 83.5 lakh people have died every year from 2007 to 2019. In such a situation, there must have been more than 11.69 crore deaths in the last 14 years, but UIDAI has closed only 1.15 crore Aadhaar numbers. That is, less than 10%.

UIDAI said: We have no estimate of people without Aadhaar
When asked if UIDAI has ever estimated how many people in the country do not have Aadhaar, the answer was, “No such information is available.” According to UIDAI, when the Registrar General of India shares the data of a deceased with the Aadhaar number, then the Aadhaar number is deactivated after a process. According to a circular issued in August 2023, first the data of the death register is matched with the UIDAI database. Then two things are seen: (1) There should be 90% similarity of the name, (2) There should be 100% match of gender.

Even if both these conditions are met, the final decision is taken when it is confirmed that no biometric authentication or update has been done with that Aadhaar number after death. If Aadhaar has been used even after death, then further investigation is done. At the same time, if the deactivated Aadhaar is used for any process in the future, the system warns the user. Then that person can reactivate the Aadhaar through biometric verification.

UIDAI does not have a record of Aadhaar deactivation year by year
When asked in RTI that how many Aadhaar numbers have been closed year by year on the basis of death in the last five years, UIDAI clearly said, “We do not have any such information.” UIDAI only gave the total figure that 1.15 crore Aadhaar numbers have been deactivated on the basis of death till 31 December 2024.

More than 100% Aadhaar saturation in Bihar and alarm bells
During SSR i.e. Special Summary Revision in Bihar, more than 100% Aadhaar saturation has been seen in many districts. For example: Kishanganj: 126%, Katihar and Araria: 123%, Purnia: 121%, Sheikhpura: 118% This means that Aadhaar numbers have been issued to more people than the estimated population of these districts. A major reason for this is that Aadhaar numbers of those who die are not deactivated on time. Apart from this, errors in population estimates, migration, and duplication are also responsible.

What does all this say?
This RTI reply makes it clear that UIDAI neither has any estimate of Aadhaarless people, nor an effective system to deactivate the Aadhaar of dead people. This not only raises questions on the accuracy of the data but also exposes a serious flaw in policy making and population data. UIDAI needs to bring transparency and freshness in its system, especially when Aadhaar is now linked to banking, ration, voting, and government schemes.