"The Prime Minister's Office has directed UIDAI and the NPR to complete the enrolment of the entire population of 121 crore (rpt) 121 crore by March," a source said.
According to him, the direction was given during a review meeting of the Aadhaar project last month. Earlier too, the government had advanced the deadline for completing this task to June from December next year.
Aadhaar enrolments in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh are going on at a fast pace.
These four states with a combined population of about 34 crore were added earlier this year to UIDAI's mandate by the government. Aadhaar numbers have been issued to 8.93 crore residents in these states, which is 26 per cent of the target population.
Also Read
UIDAI has already geared up its processing capabilities to achieve the targets and has the capacity to process around 15 lakh enrolment packets every day.
In the recent months, government has provided fresh impetus to the UIDAI by linking Aadhaar to various schemes and initiatives, including the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), MGNREGS, Pensions, Scholarships, DBTL, UAN (EPFO), PDS, Passports, Attendance system in government offices etc.
Aadhaar facilitates "anytime, anywhere" online authentication of a resident through universal verification of identity based on the demographic and biometric information of an individual, eliminating any chances of duplication or fraud.