- Oct 28, 2015 - Animesh Singh| New Delh
Worried over poor registration of population mostly below 18 years of age under Aadhaar enrolment, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged upon the states to complete the registration process of all such people by January 26, 2016, the next Republic Day.
The Prime Minister is learnt to be more keen on ensuring registration under Aadhaar of those people who have now become bonafide citizens of the country after signing of the Land Boundary Agreement between India and Bangladesh recently.
Mr Modi discussed the situation recently with top officials of the department of electronics & information technology (DEiTY), Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and the Registrar General of India (RGI), and according to sources aware of the details, expressed concern over the poor penetration of Aadhaar registration among the young population of the country, which has largely remained uncovered despite the government having set up specialised Aadhaar centres in various parts of the country, especially in rural areas.
People residing in conclaves located mainly in Assam and West Bengal, who now are part of India, should be enrolled under Aadhaar on priority basis, Mr Modi is said to have conveyed to the officials during the meeting, sources informed this newspaper.
He directed DEiTY to coordinate with the Assam government to expedite the process of enrolment of such citizens and ensure that their Aadhaar cards are issued as soon as possible.
Sources even said that the Prime Minister has asked DEiTY to submit a consolidated follow up report on the matter to him by end of this month.
Meanwhile, calling upon other state governments to try and complete the enrolment process by January 26, 2016, Mr Modi is learnt to have directed DEiTY to shift Aadhaar kits from states where registration work has been completed to all those states which require them.
It was also discussed in detail during the meeting that states should take the matter seriously and it was felt that enrolment camps in schools, colleges as well as aanganwadi centres in villages should be set up on priority basis to ensure that all those below 18 years of age are registered under Aadhaar.