Government Deactivates 2.5 Million Deceased Aadhaar Cards to Combat Fraud

• The central government has cancelled approximately 2.5 million Aadhaar numbers of deceased individuals to enhance security and prevent fraud.
• This initiative aims to ensure transparency in the Aadhaar database and confirm that only eligible individuals receive government benefits, preventing misuse of welfare schemes.
• New technical features like biometric lock and 'liveness detection' for facial recognition have been introduced to bolster security against cybercrimes and fake identities.
• A new Aadhaar mobile app allows family members to easily report deaths and complete the Aadhaar cancellation process from home, streamlining database cleanup.
• Entities using Aadhaar for verification are instructed to use a 'data vault' for encrypted storage, and UIDAI never discloses biometric details, ensuring maximum security.