KOCHI: Kerala is reportedly facing a perplexing situation where the total number of Aadhaar registrations has exceeded the state’s actual population.
As against the total population of 3,60,63,000 in the state, the number of Aadhaar cards assigned as of September 30, 2025, is 4,09,68,282, which is over 49 lakh more Aadhaar cards, reveals an RTI reply provided by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). While such a variation is seen in several other states, the difference is comparatively higher in Kerala.
“This anomaly highlights a significant issue with data hygiene in the unique identification system. A primary contributing factor to this disparity is the lack of a systematic mechanism to cancel or deactivate the Aadhaar of deceased individuals promptly,” said Kochi-based RTI activist Raju Vazhakala.
Despite recent efforts by the UIDAI to integrate with death registration data and introduce a reporting portal, a comprehensive, mandatory, and seamless system is still awaited. The gap leaves the door open for potential misuse and fraud of the identity documents belonging to the deceased, necessitating urgent policy intervention to ensure data accuracy and security, Raju pointed out.
In fact, the Aadhaar count exceeds the population when the scenario of the whole country is taken. As against the population of over 1.41 crore people in India, the total number of Aadhaar cards issued was over 1.42 crore. Besides Kerala, the oddity is reflected in states including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.
Meanwhile, the UIDAI is taking proactive steps to maintain the accuracy of the Aadhaar database and prevent identity fraud by deactivating the Aadhaar numbers of deceased residents. A crucial measure involves collaboration with the Registrar General of India (RGI), which has provided approximately 1.55 crore death records from 24 states/UTs via the Civil Registration System (CRS). Following validation, over 1.17 crore Aadhaar numbers have been successfully deactivated. A similar exercise is underway for non-CRS states/UTs, it said in a statement.
Additionally, UIDAI launched the new ‘Reporting of Death of a Family Member’ service on the myAadhaar portal on June 9, 2025. It allows family members to report a death using the deceased’s Aadhaar and Death Registration Number for subsequent validation and deactivation. Residents are strongly encouraged to report the death of family members on the myAadhaar Portal after obtaining the official death certificate, it added.
UIDAI is also exploring sourcing death records from banks and collaborating with state governments to verify the status of centenarians.
India
Total population: 141,22,25,700
Aadhaar cards issued: 142,95,78,647
Difference: 1,73,52,947
