Learning that a person in Kerala was unable to enroll for Aadhaar as she did not have fingers, Electronics & IT Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar directed recently that immediate steps be taken to ensure her enrolment.

A team from the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) visited Ms Josymol P Jose at her home in Kumarakam, Kottayam district in Kerala, the same day and got her Aadhaar number generated.

Her mother thanked the authorities for their support and assistance, and said that with the help of Aadhaar, her daughter will now be able to easily avail of various benefits and services, including Social Security Pension and Kaivalya, a rehabilitation scheme for divyangjan.

Mr Chandrasekhar said, “Standard advisory has been sent to all Aadhaar Service Kendras giving instructions that Aadhaar should be issued to people like Ms Josymol P Jose or to others having blurred finger prints or similar disability, by taking alternative biometrics.”

In line with the Government’s commitment to ensure inclusion for digitally enabled access to benefits and services, UIDAI has made special provision in its regulations and has issued Biometric Exception Enrolment Guidelines dated 1st August 2014, laying down the procedure for enrolling persons who have missing fingers; the biometrics of whose fingers cannot be captured due to any reason (such as a cut, bruise, bandage, worn-out or bent fingers due to old age or leprosy), or the biometrics of whose irises or both fingers and irises cannot be captured due to any reason.

A person who is eligible for Aadhaar but unable to provide fingerprints may enroll using only iris scan. Similarly, an eligible person whose irises cannot be captured due to any reason may enroll using only her/his fingerprints.

Further, an eligible person who is unable to provide both finger and iris biometrics may enroll without submitting any of the two. For such persons, under the Biometric Exception Enrolment Guidelines, the name, gender, address and date/year of birth are to be captured along with the available biometrics while highlighting the missing ones in the enrolment software, a photograph is to be taken in the manner specified in the Guidelines to highlight the unavailability of finger(s) or iris(es) or both and the Supervisor of the Aadhaar enrolment center is to validate such enrolment as an exceptional enrolment.

Thus, every eligible person who undergoes the enrolment process by submitting the required information may be issued an Aadhaar number, irrespective of any inability to provide biometrics.

The UIDAI enrolls about 1000 persons every day under exceptional enrollment. Till date, UIDAI has issued Aadhaar numbers to nearly 29 lakh persons who had missing fingers or were otherwise unable to provide finger or iris or both biometrics.

UIDAI also inquired into the reasons why Aadhaar number did not get issued to Ms Josymol when she enrolled earlier and learnt that this happened since the Aadhaar enrolment operator did not follow the exceptional enrolment procedure.

Therefore, UIDAI has issued an advisory to enrolment Registrars and agencies to take all necessary steps, including dissemination of knowledge and awareness and sensitisation through training, to ensure that all Aadhaar enrolment operators are made aware of the exceptional enrolment procedure, follow the same, and render the persons undergoing such enrolment necessary assistance.

Further, an informative poster in this regard has been prepared to display Aadhaar enrolment centers.