Srinagar, Nov 5: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has onboarded 300 Offline Verification Seeking Entities (OVSEs) since the rollout of the initiative in January, marking a significant step towards expanding Aadhaar-based offline verification across various sectors.
According to a statement issued by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) on Thursday, the newly onboarded entities represent sectors including hotels and hospitality, healthcare, education, events, the gig economy and consumer-facing services.
The initiative aims to facilitate secure, consent-based and paperless verification, offering greater convenience to both service providers and residents while minimising the need to share personal information.
UIDAI said the growing network of OVSEs reflected increasing confidence in privacy-focused digital verification mechanisms that prioritise user control and data minimisation, in alignment with the provisions of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act.
The expansion of the offline verification ecosystem comes alongside the growing adoption of the Aadhaar App, which has recorded nearly 7.5 crore downloads so far.
The app has facilitated more than 86 lakh mobile number updates, 22.16 lakh address updates and 40.25 lakh email updates, enabling residents to update their details through their smartphones without physically visiting an Aadhaar centre.
It has also recorded 4.6 crore biometric lock and unlock transactions, indicating growing adoption of digital security features that allow Aadhaar number holders to exercise greater control over the use of their biometrics.
Additionally, 3.61 lakh Aadhaar lock and unlock transactions have been recorded through the app. UIDAI said these features provide users with an additional layer of privacy and security by allowing them to manage access to their Aadhaar and biometric authentication facilities.
The authority said the app was evolving as an important digital interface between UIDAI and residents, providing convenient access to a range of Aadhaar-related services through smartphones.
