Officially referred to as the Aadhaar card or Aadhaar number, Aadhaar is India's biometric identity system. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), a statutory entity within the Indian government, is responsible for issuing it. Each resident receives a 12-digit unique identity number from Aadhaar, which is connected to their biometric information (iris scan and fingerprints) and basic demographics. It is intended to function as a standard identity document enabling locals to securely and dependably access services and social programs.
Opening bank accounts, obtaining government benefits, submitting taxes, and obtaining mobile connections are just a few of the many uses for Aadhaar to verify identification.
Additionally, it can be electronically confirmed via mobile apps or QR codes in place of a physical card, which lessens fraud and the misuse of paper papers.
UIDAI made significant improvements in 2025 that made it simpler to update information online, including name, address, date of birth, and cellphone number, without going to an Aadhaar centre. Nonetheless, in-person presence at an approved location is still necessary for biometric upgrades. By the end of 2025, Aadhaar and PAN will be required to be connected for financial purposes.
Updates to the system have also been made with inclusiveness in mind. For instance, millions of families are benefiting from the free one-year biometric updates for children between the ages of five and fifteen.
Aadhaar has encountered difficulties and criticism despite its advantages. While privacy advocates voice worries over centralised data and possible exclusion when authentication fails, some citizens cite administrative or technical issues while utilising or changing their data.
All things considered, Aadhaar continues to be essential to India's digital identity infrastructure, striking a balance between security and convenience for citizens using both governmental and private services.
A tragic incident unfolded in Uttar Pradesh's Azamgarh following an eight-hour siege where a man named Arvind Singh shot dead his wife Babita, two priests, and his son. The incident occurred during a ceremony organised following his brother's demise. Upon returning home, the accused reportedly questioned the priests about their Aadhaar cards before opening fire. While two priests managed to flee, two others along with Arvind's wife were killed on the spot. Arvind subsequently held his three children hostage inside a room. Police personnel and family members attempted to negotiate his surrender, but Arvind issued death threats, shot his son, and opened indiscriminate fire on the police. In retaliatory firing conducted for self-defence and child rescue, Arvind was injured and later declared dead at the hospital alongside his son. Police successfully rescued two daughters from the residence and rushed them to the hospital.
Surendra Kohli, who was convicted and later acquitted in the infamous Nithari serial killings case, has been found dead at a tea stall in the Bhupatwala area of Haridwar. According to local police, information was received around 11:30 AM about a man found hanging by a rope inside a small kiosk. Police took the body into custody for postmortem examination to ascertain the exact cause of death, while initiating a formal probe into the incident. An Aadhaar card recovered from the deceased confirmed his identity as Surendra Kohli. Reports indicate that Kohli had been living incognito in Haridwar after being cleared of all charges by the Supreme Court and had set up the tea stall just three days prior. Haridwar police are currently treating the matter as a case of suspected suicide as forensic and medical assessments proceed.
In an interview with India Today, Dr. Arvind Gupta, Head of the Digital India Foundation, analyzed the global race for artificial intelligence and contrasted the technological paradigms of major world powers. Addressing China's proposal to offer open-source artificial intelligence to BRICS nations, Dr. Gupta dismissed the gesture, remarking, "There's nothing called free in technology." He outlined the core differences in national tech models, explaining that the Chinese model focuses on surveillance, the American approach centers on capitalism, and the Indian framework champions technology for development and humanity. Dr. Gupta highlighted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's consistent push for the non-weaponization of artificial intelligence, noting that global tech giants are now acknowledging these risks. He also addressed the rapid commercial developments in Silicon Valley and the critical need to build safety guardrails.
Bharat Ratna recipient and scientist Professor C.N.R. Rao has been asked to establish his identity after his name was flagged for a spelling mismatch during the special intensive revision of electoral rolls. The 92-year-old scientist's prefix Professor was erroneously recorded as 'PREFF' instead of 'PROF' on the Election Commission of India website. While his office confirmed they did not receive a physical notice, a notification uploaded on the official website flagged the error and asked for verification documents to resolve the discrepancy. The development has raised concerns over the inconvenience caused to senior citizens during electoral roll revisions, highlighting how clerical errors on official portals require citizens, including eminent personalities, to produce identity proofs such as Aadhaar cards to rectify mistakes made by authorities.
The Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision exercise in Telangana has raised concerns over the potential removal of genuine voters alongside bogus entries. Chief Minister Revanth Reddy expressed concern that over one-third of the state population is under scrutiny under ASDD classifications, urging the Chief Election Commissioner to extend the revision deadline. High voter scrutiny has been recorded in constituencies like Musheerabad, Yakutpura, and Malakpet, with Musheerabad seeing 1.4 lakh votes under verification. On the ground in Secunderabad, citizens faced significant hurdles, reporting missing Booth Level Officers, long wait times, and confusing documentation demands, including requests for decades-old proofs despite presenting government-issued Aadhaar and voter identification. Electoral officials, including Assistant Electoral Registration Officers and supervisors, stated that thousands of notices for logical discrepancies, unmapped voters, and ASDD categories were issued, maintaining that hearings are underway and available documents are being accepted to prevent genuine voters from being excluded from the electoral roll.
DMK Chief MK Stalin, who is currently not a member of the assembly after his defeat in Kolathur, could contest upcoming by-polls from Tiruchirappalli East, according to sources.
In an exclusive interview with India Today, Harish Salve said that a passport is not a document to prove citizenship within our country.
Politics has intensified over the MEA's clarification that a passport by itself isn't the conclusive proof of Indian citizenship.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi became India's longest continuously serving elected head of government, marking 4,399 days in office.
The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) reevaluation and verification portal faced fresh technical glitches immediately after going live on June 2, following a four-day delay.
In an exclusive interview with India Today, former Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia discussed the fuel price hikes, current economic crisis and the need for structural reforms.
From co-founding Infosys to leading Aadhaar and championing India Stack, Nandan Nilekani helped build the infrastructure that powers UPI.
Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) MP and senior party leader Arvind Sawant paid an emotional tribute to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who died in a tragic plane crash on Wednesday, describing him as a “trustworthy man” and a “man of his words.”
The release of the draft voter list in Uttar Pradesh has sparked a major political row after the Election Commission of India (ECI) deleted approximately 2.89 crore names. Out of nearly 16 crore voters in the state, 12.55 crore submitted enumeration forms under the Self-Identification Registry (SIR) process. Opposition parties, including the Congress and Samajwadi Party, have termed the exercise a 'big conspiracy' and accused the ECI of mass removals without adding new voters. A speaker noted, 'The purpose of the SIR was never to enlist genuine voters,' alleging that the system was intentionally complicated to exclude eligible citizens. The Samajwadi Party further claimed that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) faced undue pressure during the survey, leading to health crises and fatalities. However, the ECI maintained that the list is merely a draft and citizens can verify deletion reasons on the official website, dismissing the allegations as baseless and asserting that mass removals are not being conducted.
A political dispute intensifies in West Bengal ahead of the 2026 assembly elections, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah accusing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's government of facilitating illegal infiltration to alter state demographics for vote bank politics. Shah stated that the BJP, if elected, would end this practice. In a sharp rebuttal, Banerjee compared BJP leaders to mythological figures 'Duryodhan and Dushasan' and questioned why the central government's Border Security Force has not secured the borders. The controversy also includes debates on the issuance of identity documents to migrants. Separately, the report covers the diplomatic fallout from an upcoming film, 'Battle of Galwan'. Chinese state media has reacted strongly, accusing the film of distorting the facts of the 2020 Galwan Valley clash. This has led to analysis of the broader implications for India-China relations and the status of de-escalation along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
A political war has intensified in West Bengal ahead of the 2026 assembly elections, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah accusing Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's government of facilitating illegal infiltration to alter state demographics for vote bank politics.
On this Special Report, the focus is on the heated debate over illegal infiltration in West Bengal. Union Home Minister Amit Shah accuses the Mamata Banerjee government of stalling border fencing work along the 112-km difficult terrain. Countering the narrative, Bangla Pokho General Secretary Garga Chatterjee argues that the percentage of Bengali-speaking people has declined, dismissing the 'Bangladeshi bogey'. Political Analyst Rishi Bagri highlights the arrest of Bangladeshi actress Shanta Paul with fake Indian documents as proof of a demographic shift. The panel, including BJP’s R P Singh and Senior Journalist Shikha Mukherjee, discusses the implications of the SIR process and the 2026 elections.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah addresses Parliament, stating that 450 km of border fencing in West Bengal is pending because the 'Bengal sarkaar bhumi nahi deti' (Bengal government does not provide land). He notes that 112 km of the border comprises difficult terrain like rivers and hills. During the discussion, analyst Rishi Bagri cites the recent arrest of Bangladeshi actress Shanta Paul, who was caught with Indian Aadhaar cards, as evidence of unchecked infiltration. Journalist Shikha Mukherjee analyses the political narrative linking 'Ghuspetia' to demographic changes ahead of the 2026 elections.
A demolition drive in Bengaluru has ignited a political firestorm, with the city's civic body chief, Maheshwar Rao, stating the cleared land was an unsafe quarry area used for solid waste disposal. The action drew sharp criticism from Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, which Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah dismissed as politically motivated. Adding to the opposition, CPM MP A. A. Rahim condemned the move, stating, 'This is a bulldozer, Raj. Under the Congress regime, that is the news value and that is the political significance of this incident.' Rahim claims the displaced residents are legitimate Indian citizens with all necessary documents and that the government failed to follow the Supreme Court's directions on evictions. The controversy also involves accusations of 'minority appeasement' by the BJP against the Siddaramaiah government.
In this special report, India Today's Samarth Srivastava details a joint operation by Lucknow Police, the Railway Protection Force (RPF), and the Government Railway Police (GRP) to identify illegal Rohingyas and Bangladeshis. The drive, conducted near the Lucknow railway station, involves rigorous verification of Aadhaar cards and other IDs of those living in shanties. While residents claim to be from districts like Amethi and Raebareli, the crackdown follows Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's directive to identify illegal immigrants. No illegal residents have been found so far in this specific drive. Cameraman Sandeep Dubey assists in the report.
