No fee needed for kids' Aadhaar biometric updates till October next year

NEW DELHI: Unique Identification Authority of India waived off all charges for mandatory biometric update of Aadhaar for children , an official statement said on Saturday. The fee waiver has kicked in effective Oct 1 and will be in force for a period of one year.

"In a pro-people measure, UIDAI has waived off all charges for Mandatory Biometric Update, a move that is expected to benefit around six crore children," an official statement said.

A child under the age of five enrols for Aadhaar by providing the photograph, name, date of birth, gender, address and birth certificate. The fingerprints and iris biometrics of a child are not captured for Aadhaar enrolment below the age of five because these are not mature at that age.

"As per existing rules, fingerprints, iris and photo are mandatorily required to be updated in Aadhaar when a child reaches the age of five. This is called the first Mandatory Biometric Update ( MBU ). Similarly, a child is required to update biometrics once again upon reaching the age of 15, which is referred to as the second MBU. The first and second MBUs, if performed between 5-7 and 15-17 years of age, respectively, are thus free of cost. Thereafter, a prescribed fee of Rs 125 per MBU is charged. With this decision, MBU is now effectively free for all children in the age group of 5-17," the statement said.