The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has deactivated more than 2.5 crore Aadhaar numbers of deceased individuals in a major clean-up drive. The Ministry of Electronics and IT has informed the parliament that the drive was carried out to maintain the accuracy and integrity of the database.
A PIB release further informed that the deactivation was carried out using verified death records provided by the Registrar General of India and state-level civil registration databases. This marks the second large-scale purge in recent months, following the deactivation of 2 crore such numbers in late 2025.
Over 2.5 Crore Aadhaar Numbers of Deceased Persons Deactivated to Prevent Identity Fraud
— DD News (@DDNewslive) February 4, 2026
As part of a nationwide clean-up effort to maintain the continued accuracy and integrity of the #Aadhaar database, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has deactivated more than… pic.twitter.com/wcr6UNDyg1
UIDAI’s Aadhaar database is the world’s largest biometric identity system, with over 134 crore active Aadhaar holders. By removing numbers linked to deceased persons, the authority seeks to prevent potential identity fraud and ensure transparent distribution of government welfare benefits.
UIDAI has also highlighted strengthened security features, including biometric locking, face authentication with liveness detection, offline QR code verification, and regular de-duplication processes to safeguard against unauthorized access. The regular de-duplication and deactivation of Aadhar numbers of deceased individuals is a part of database sanitisation exercise carried out by the UIDAI.
