A surprising development has emerged in Kerala, where the number of Aadhaar cards issued surpasses the state’s total population.
According to a reply from the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)
to a Right to Information (RTI) query, as of September 30, 2025, Kerala’s population stands at 3,60,63,000, yet 4,09,68,282 Aadhaar cards have been issued, a discrepancy of approximately 49 lakh. While similar discrepancies have been noted in other states, Kerala has the most significant gap.
Data Hygiene Concerns
According to a report in The New Indian Express, Kochi-based RTI activist Raju Vazhakala commented on the situation, saying, “This mismatch demonstrates a serious flaw in the data hygiene of the Aadhaar system. One major reason is the lack of an effective mechanism to cancel or deactivate the Aadhaar cards of deceased individuals in a timely manner.”
Although UIDAI has initiated steps to link death registration data with the Aadhaar system and launched a reporting portal, there remains no mandatory, automated system. Consequently, there is a risk of Aadhaar cards of deceased individuals being misused, which increases the chances of identity fraud and data security threats, the report pointed out.
Nationwide Discrepancy
Interestingly, this discrepancy is not confined to Kerala. Across India, the number of Aadhaar cards issued exceeds the population. With India’s total population being around 1.41 billion, more than 1.42 billion Aadhaar cards have been issued. Similar imbalances have been observed in states such as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal, the report stated.
What Steps Are UIDAI Taking?
In response, UIDAI asserted that it is actively working to maintain the accuracy of the Aadhaar database and prevent identity fraud by deactivating the Aadhaar numbers of deceased individuals.
According to The New Indian Express report, UIDAI, in collaboration with the Registrar General of India (RGI), has collected around 15.5 million death records from 24 states and Union territories through the Civil Registration System (CRS). Following verification, 11.7 million Aadhaar numbers have been deactivated thus far. A similar process is underway for non-CRS states and union territories, the report said.
New Portal For Reporting Deaths
On June 9, 2025, UIDAI launched a new feature on the myAadhaar portal called “Reporting the death of a family member.” The report stated that this feature allows family members to enter the deceased person’s Aadhaar number and death registration number to report the death, after which UIDAI verifies and deactivates the Aadhaar.
The authority has urged individuals to register information about deceased family members on the myAadhaar Portal to keep the data updated and secure.
Additionally, UIDAI is collaborating with banks and state governments to collect information and confirm the status of individuals over 100 years old.
