The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) conducted a day-long stakeholders conference 'Aadhaar Samvaad' in Kolkata, coinciding with the 17th Aadhaar Day, attended by over 600 senior policy makers, industry leaders, technocrats, and professionals. The event was graced by Shri Jitin Prasada, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry and Electronics and IT, who emphasized Aadhaar as a critical component for India's growth story, instrumental in enhancing service delivery, promoting financial inclusion, and ensuring government benefits reach the right people with transparency, efficiency, and inclusivity.
UIDAI launched five new initiatives aimed at enhancing resident convenience, strengthening security, and enabling good governance. The key launch was Face Authentication for the Electronic Public Distribution System (ePDS), jointly undertaken with the Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) and National Informatics Centre (NIC). This consent-based, contactless authentication provides beneficiaries an additional mode where fingerprint authentication may be difficult, enabling States and Union Territories to integrate Face Authentication into their ePDS ecosystems.
The SWIK Portal 2.0 was launched to streamline the approval process for Aadhaar authentication under the Good Governance framework, allowing eligible non-Government entities to submit proposals for permissible use cases directly to concerned Ministries/Departments through https://swik.meity.gov.in/. The Sub-AUA/Sub-KUA (LITE) Framework facilitates wider adoption of Aadhaar authentication by Government and eligible entities with low-volume requirements, enabling simpler and faster onboarding by leveraging existing authentication infrastructure without establishing new infrastructure.
A new Token Management System was unveiled to make it easier for people to access services at state and regional UIDAI offices. Additionally, a revamped UIDAI website was launched with real-time information flow, designed around resident journeys for understanding Aadhaar, accessing services, finding documents, or seeking assistance. The website features screen-reader compatibility, adjustable font sizes, improved color contrast, keyboard navigation, and BHASHINI integration supporting 13 languages (with plans to expand to 23 languages), along with a new UIDAI Career Portal for online applications for deputation opportunities.