The Government of India’s decision to link Aadhaar with popular schemes such as Income Tax filing, Bank Accounts has made it the most crucial piece of document for any individual. Aadhaar’s importance has grown together with the government’s ongoing crackdown on black money.

The tax net in the country has extended and the government has restrained in people possessing multiple Aadhaar and PAN cards. In fact, the Unique Identification Authority of India has recently deactivated close to 81 lakh Aadhaar cards and 11 lakh PAN numbers till date.

“Till date, approximately 81 lakh Aadhaar numbers have been deactivated. The state, year and reason wise data is not maintained by the UIDAI,” Minister of State for Electronics and IT, P P Chaudhary informed the Rajya Sabha. 

The move was clearly aimed at dishonest people’s effort to exploit the government policies by using multiple cards. As per the provisions of Sections 27 and 28 of Aadhaar (Enrollment and Update) Regulations, 2016, a person’s Aadhaar can be canceled or deactivated if multiple Aadhaars have been issued, or there are discrepancies in the biometric data or supporting documents.

Related Article: Govt Deactivated 11.44 Lakh PAN Cards Till Now, Check Your PAN Status

“Prior to enactment of the Aadhaar Act, 2016, the deactivation (suspension) of Aadhaar numbers was done as per the Aadhaar Life Cycle Management (ALCM) guideline,” Chaudhary said. He added that regional offices of UIDAI have the authority to deactivate the Aadhaar numbers.

It may be noted that children who enroll before the age of 5 years should update their biometrics once after attaining the age of 5 years and then again after turning 15 years of age.

Earlier this year, the government made Aadhaar number mandatory to file Income Tax Returns and applying for PAN number. The government has also asked people to link their Aadhaar card with PAN numbers for which the last day is August 31. But before you go for linking the Aadhaar number with PAN number, you need to check the status of your Aadhaar and PAN to know if they are still active.

Here’s How To Check The Status Of Your Aadhaar:

1. Visit Unique Identification Authority of India’s official website, uidai.gov.in

2. Go to the ‘Verify Aadhaar Number’ link on the website. The link is visible on the right side of the homepage.

3. Enter the 12-digit Aadhaar number in the relevant box to verify if your Aadhaar number is valid or not.

4. In the second field, called ‘Enter Security Code’, fill in the code as displayed on the image and click ‘Verify’.

5. If your number is valid, the page will be shown, which will display a message confirming the status of the Aadhaar number entered. However, in the case of invalid Aadhaar number, the page says that the number does not exist.

What To Do If Your Aadhaar Is Inactive?

If your Aadhaar is inactive, you need to visit the nearest enrolment center along with the supporting documents.

You will be required to fill out the Aadhaar update form and your biometrics will be re-verified and updated. You need to pay a fee of Rs 25 at the enrolment center for the update. Mentioning a valid mobile number would be mandatory during the process.

Since the process to activate the Aadhaar requires your biometrics to be re-verified and updated in the UIDAI database, you need to pay a personal visit to the enrolment center and this can’t be done online or by post. The officials at the Aadhaar enrolment center will match your new biometrics with the biometrics previously recorded with that Aadhaar number and only if the two sets match then the updating will be done.

Related Article: How To Link Your Aadhaar Card To PAN Card, Step-By-Step Process