UIDAI was founded in the year 2009. This agency works as a part of the Planning commission of India. And the primary mission and vision of the UIDIA are to issue a unique identification to every citizen in the form of an Aadhaar card under the new program.
The term UIDAI stands for Unique Identification Authority Of India. It is an agency that functions under the supervision of the country’s central government. And the agency is specially designed to collect biometric and demographic information from the citizens of this country.
The primary purpose behind collecting every individual’s biometric and demographic data is to provide them with a unique identity. And the collected data will help issue a unique identification to everyone in this country. The data collected from the people will be stored in the central database.
According to the agency, they will provide a 12-digit unique identity number issued to every individual participating in this program. As per the Aadhaar Act of 2016, the government has given over 111 crore Aadhaar cards to the citizens of India.
With the help of UIDAI, the government will be able to develop and maintain an infrastructure with the entire database in hand. It will also help the government establish a solid framework to build a bright future for the country in the upcoming days.
Aims and Objectives of UIDAI
The aims and objectives of the government behind setting up UIDAI are as follows.
● To provide a unique identity to all the country’s citizens with the help of numbers. ● The 12- digit UIDAI number helps you maintain an identity of your own. ● It also helps eliminate fake identities and spot the imposter, if there are any. ● The process of issuing a 12-digit number is an effective way of maintaining information about an individual.
● It is also a cost-effective way of finding out whether the cardholder is a genuine person in real life or not.
● Therefore, the UIDAI scheme’s main aim is to give all the country’s citizens a unique identity. It also promises to provide a platform to ensure you can enjoy hassle-free identity verification from any country corner.
What is the significance of an Aadhaar Card for a Citizen?
The term Aadhaar card refers to a 12- digit figure issued by The Department of Unique Identification Authority of India. Typically it is given to an Indian Citizen who successfully meets all the criteria set by the governing body.
The best part about it is anyone can apply for an Aadhaar card. Any adult can enrol in this process—irrespective of age, gender, religion, caste or financial or social status. By registering on the UIDAI scheme, you can create your own unique identity.
The person who wants to get their Aadhaar card done needs to give their biometric and demographic at the service centre at the time of enrolment. The entire process is cashless, so you will not have to pay a single penny for participating in this program.
Once the enrolment process for the Aadhar card is done, you will receive a confirmation message. The validity of the Aadhar card is for a lifetime. In short, it will never expire, and you can use it for the rest of your life.
The 12-digit number will be allotted as the unique identification code to each individual. In simple words, it does not have any exceptional intelligence behind it. And at the same time, it does not intend to differentiate among the people based on their cast, creed, gender or religion.
List of Services Offered by UIDAI
The Department of Unique Identification Authority of India has offered a wide range of services to the citizens since it came into existence; they are as follows.
1. Getting your Aadhaar Card Made
● Individuals aspiring to take advantage of this scheme must find their nearest Aadhaar enrolment centre to start the process. The enrolment centres work on behalf of the government as registered offices and collect all the necessary information.
● The next step involves booking an appointment, which helps you save time and effort simultaneously. You must set an appointment at your nearest officially registered Aadhaar centres and proceed to the next step.
● After completing the first two steps, you must check the status under the get Aadhaar option. Once you know the current status of your Aadhaar card, you can download it as soon as it is from the download Aadhaar option.
2. Update Your Aadhaar Card
● This is yet another attractive feature you can avail yourself of if you want to. With the help of updated Aadhaar services, you can enjoy making changes to your Aadhaar card just by visiting your nearest Aadhaar enrolment centre.
● A person can check the current status of their Aadhaar card and all other details related to their respective Aadhaar cards. You can also keep track of all the necessary information related to your Aadhaar card’s status.
● The Aadhar card holder also enjoys the liberty of updating their demographic information if they have to. It also allows you to look back at your previous update history. In case you are on the verge of making any new updates to your Aadhaar card any time soon.
3. Other Additional Services
● This broad spectrum consists of various services offered by the UIDAI under the get your Aadhaar card initiative. You can verify your Aadhaar number if you want to for any given reason. It also gives you the liberty to confirm your email and mobile number, which is linked with the Aadhaar card.
● The Aadhar card services also help you generate Virtual IDs of your own. When you voluntarily opt for this service, the cardholder should ideally receive a virtual ID on their registered mobile number.
● The cardholder can lock or unlock their biometric information for a temporary period. The cardholder might do so if they feel their privacy is threatened. Even though nothing as such happens, it’s just a personal choice of an individual who wants to maintain their privacy.
How To Lock Your Aadhaar Number From UIDAI Website?
If you want to unlock your Aadhaar number from the UIDAI website, the steps are as follows. Step-1: Type www.uidai.gov.in in the search bar.
Step-2: Select the My Aadhaar tab and click on the Aadhaar lock/unlock option.
Step 3: Click the option “lock UID” and fill out all the necessary information.
Step-4: You must click on the “send OTP” option. It will send an OTP directly to your registered mobile number.
Step-5: Enter the OTP and then click on the submit now option. Once you have completed all the steps mentioned above, you will receive a confirmation message stating that your Aadhaar card is locked.
How to Unlock Your Number From the UIDAI website?
Now, if you are willing to unlock your Aadhaar number from the UIDAI website, the following steps are as follows.
Step-1: Go to the search bar and click www.uidai.gov.in.
Step-2:Then again, select the “My Aadhaar” tab and click on the unlock/lock option to proceed with the process.
Step-3:Once you have completed the steps mentioned above, you need to click on the “Unlock UID” option and fill out your Virtual ID and the security code in the correct order.
Step-4: Click on the Send OTP option to receive the OTP from the other end. You will receive an OTP on your registered mobile number.
Step-5:Now, you must enter the OTP and click on the submit option to unlock your Aadhaar number from UIDAI’s official website.
How to Lock Your Aadhaar Number With The Help of using SMS?
If you are facing difficulties accessing the website, then you can go for this option. You can lock your Aadhaar number with the help of SMS. The following steps to unlock your Aadhar number with SMS are as follows.
Step-1: First, you must send an SMS to 1947 from your mobile number. The message should contain the last four digits of your Aadhaar number.
Step-2: You should receive a six-digit OTP on your mobile via SMS. The one-time password will be sent to you by UIDAI.
Step -3: Send a message with the last four digits of your Aadhaar number and the six-digit OTP.
Step-4: If you have registered the same mobile number with multiple Aadhaar numbers. Then you will have to send the last eight digits of the Your Aadhar card instead of the previous four.
How to Unlock Your Aadhaar Number With the Help of Using SMS?
Now you have arrived in a situation where you want to unlock your Aadhar number using the SMS facility. Then in the situation as such, you should undertake the following steps to unlock your Aadhaar number.
Step-1: you need to send an SMS from your registered mobile number. You will have to send the SMS in 1947 along with the last six digits from your Virtual ID.
Step-2: in this step, you will receive a six-digit OTP through SMS.
Step-3: To unlock your Aadhaar number, you need to send a second SMS to 1947 again. Still, you will have to send the last six digits from your virtual ID and the six-digit OTP number in your mobile number.
Step 4: This is more of a disclaimer to remember that you will have to send the last ten digits of your Virtual ID instead of six. You will only have to do this if you have multiple Aadhaar numbers associated with the same mobile phone.
How to Generate Virtual ID to Lock or Unlock Your Aadhaar Number?
Let’s take a look at the list of steps that are involved in generating Virtual ID. ● You need to compose a message in your phone’s message box.
● Then write GVID along with the last four digits of your Aadhaar number. You will also have to add the last four digits of your registered mobile number and send an SMS on 1947.
● To generate the Virtual ID, you must type RVID and add the last four digits of your Aadhar number.
● Once you have completed the abovementioned steps, you will receive two OTP. At first, you will receive an OTP through an Aadhaar number, and the second OTP will be generated via VID.
● To generate OTP through the Aadhaar number, type GETOTP, give space, and then put the user’s last four digits of the respective Aadhar number.
● If you want to generate OTP through VID, type GETOTP followed by the last six digits of your official Virtual ID in the message box. And then send it to the hotline mentioned above.
Conclusion.
It would be best if you never considered taking any chance regarding safety and security. You should always ensure that your data is kept safe from any attack. Thus the initiative taken by the UIDAI is an excellent measure keeping in mind the safety needs of the citizens.
Whether you want to lock/unlock your Aadhaar number, you can do it as quickly as possible without any hassle. The new facilities like the SMS or applying via the website is a convenient way of using for rectification. Both of them are super convenient and consumer-friendly at the same time. Therefore you don’t have to worry anymore if you feel your privacy is under attack.