Maharashtra’s Osmanabad first to issue Aadhaar cards at birth

aadhar

In a first, in the light of Centre’s digital India drive, Maharashtra’s Osmanabad district has commenced issuing Aadhaar Cards to children aged up to 5 years using the government health facilities for vaccination.

A total of 500 infants have been enrolled so far. According to Ayush Prasad, a top district official of Osmanabad, the facility is currently being offered at two government hospitals at the district headquarters in the city. “Special kits have been introduced and counters opened in hospital premises, which have registered nearly 500 infants so far, “the Times of India quoted Prasad as saying.

“We photograph the infant and capture biometric samples of either of its parents. The Aadhaar card and fingerprint authentication of the parent are then recorded to process the enrolment.”

To obtain the Aadhaar card, parents are required to submit a proof of relationship with the child. The child’s name is not mandatory to mention because it can be submitted or modified later. As per revised rules, the infant’s biometric samples are not collected.

It may be noted that Osmanabad is one of the 100 districts identified for the Centre’s “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Scheme”, owing to a bad sex ratio. The Maharashtra government is optimist that Aadhar registration at birth would help to achieve objectives like reducing infant mortality, child tracking and 100% Aadhaar registration.

The district administration plans to launch this service at taluka levels soon.