The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has achieved a major milestone in the Mandatory Biometric Update (MBU) campaign for school children. So far, MBU has been completed for over 20 million (2 crore) children across the country.
This campaign was made possible through the technical integration with Unified District Information System for Education Plus (UDISE+), which facilitates easy access to information regarding the MBU status of children in schools.
For Aadhaar enrollment of children under the age of five, demographic information and a photograph are collected, but fingerprints or iris scans are not taken because these biometrics are still developing. As the child grows, the MBU updates their biometric information.
More than 1.56 lakh schools have been covered so far under the special campaign launched in September 2025. Aadhaar biometric update facilities are being provided directly within schools through the collaboration of UIDAI and the education departments of States and Union Territories.
To encourage timely biometric updates, UIDAI has waived the MBU fee for children aged 7–15 years for a period of one year, starting October 1, 2025. For children aged 5–7 and 15–17 years, the MBU will remain free, as before. Thus, the MBU is free for children aged 5–17 years until September 30, 2026.
The Ministry stated that the failure to update biometrics in Aadhaar could lead to difficulties in undergoing authentication to avail benefits of government schemes and in registering for competitive and university examinations.
