PAC calls for Aadhaar review, flags high failure rate of biometric verification

Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee has called for a review of the functioning of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), flagging several concerns, including the high rate of failure of Aadhaar biometric verification which can lead to many beneficiaries being excluded from social welfare schemes.

At its meeting on Thursday (July 17, 2025), the committee, headed by senior Congress leader K.C. Venugopal, received a briefing from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) team which produced a 2021 report on the UIDAI. The panel also listened to oral evidence from officials of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, and the UIDAI itself. “This is a common man’s issue. We flagged various problems and have raised several questions,” Mr. Venugopal told reporters at the conclusion of the meeting.

Changing biometrics

Across party lines, MPs on the committee pointed out that biometric verification failure is a serious issue since the majority of the government’s social welfare schemes are tied directly to Aadhaar. This has led to many eligible beneficiaries being prevented from recieving food rations or jobs, under schemes such as the Public Distribution System or the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, because their biometric data no longer matches the UIDAI record.

The UIDAI officials, according to sources, explained that in many cases of people doing hard labour, their fingerprints are not read properly by the machines. In the case of elderly people, there is often a failure in matching iris patterns. However, the officials also insisted that the UIDAI is constantly upgrading its systems to address these challenges. 

Data leaks and duplicates

Sources said that several MPs also cited various reports to underline the dangers of data leaks. The UIDAI officials claimed that their central repository is unbreachable, and their investigations have shown that whatever leak has been reported has come from the enrolment centres. They added that UIDAI has strengthened the monitoring mechanism to plug all holes.

Some estimates suggest that there are more Aadhaar cards currently in use than the total population of the country, indicating possible duplications as well as delays in deactivating the cards of the deceased. The UIDAI officials said that in the case of the deceased, it is dependent on voluntary deactivation. The PAC directed the UIDAI to act proactively to clean up the list of Aadhaar card holders.