Aadhaar cards deactivated: News agency PTI reported on Wednesday, February 4, 2026, citing Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Jitin Prasada, that the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the authority that issues Aadhaar cards, has deactivated over 2.5 crore Aadhaar numbers of deceased individuals to prevent misuse of the national identity document.
The minister stated in a written reply to the central parliament on Wednesday that the central government has launched Aadhaar, the world’s largest biometric identification system, with approximately 134 crore active holders.
Prasada said that this cleanup drive aims to maintain the accuracy and integrity of the Aadhaar database in the country.
“As part of a nationwide cleanup drive to continuously maintain the accuracy and integrity of the Aadhaar database, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has so far deactivated over 2.5 crore Aadhaar numbers of deceased individuals,” Jitin Prasada was quoted as saying by the news agency.
What happens to a person’s Aadhaar after their death?
In his reply, Minister of State for Electronics and IT Jitin Prasada said that upon the death of an Aadhaar card holder, the authority must deactivate the number in an effort to prevent any potential identity theft or fraud.
“Upon the death of an individual, their Aadhaar number must be deactivated to prevent potential identity fraud, or unauthorised use of such Aadhaar numbers for availing welfare benefits,” Prasada was quoted as saying by the news agency.
The minister stated that several measures have been taken to mitigate the risk of identity fraud by providing biometric lock and unlock features to prevent unauthorised authentication attempts.
Prasada also said that Aadhaar has “face authentication,” which has been deployed with a ‘liveness detection feature’ to prevent spoofing and ensure the physical presence of the holder during transactions. New Aadhaar App
UIDAI has introduced a new Aadhaar mobile application, which was formally launched on Thursday, January 29, 2026.
This application offers several distinct features compared to the existing Aadhaar app, giving users greater control over their personal information, simplifying verification and authentication processes, and making commonly used services such as updating profile details easier.
The new Aadhaar app allows users to share only selected personal details without revealing their entire Aadhaar card, addressing privacy and security concerns of Aadhaar holders.
Additionally, another significant change is that holders will now be able to update their Aadhaar-linked mobile number directly through the app.
(With agency inputs)