UIDAI Launches ‘Udai’ Mascot to Simplify Aadhaar Communication

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is introducing a cute mascot, called Udai, to make communication easier around Aadhaar, the biometric ID system in use by over 1.4 billion Indian inhabitants. UIDAI Chairman Neelkanth Mishra launched Udai during an event in this city where winners of the countrywide design and naming competitions that were hosted on MyGov were honored.

Udai seeks to simplify the services, such as updates and offline verification, particularly to underserved populations.

Strategic Outreach Plans

Udai was observed by the deputy DG Vivek C. Verma as a narrator to such upgrades as face authentication.

Purpose and Features of UDAI

Udai is a visual map to the ecosystem of Aadhaar, which explains:

• Enrollment/updates (demographics, biometrics).

• Authentication (e-KYC, OTP based)

• Offline (mAadhaar QR, masked Aadhaar)

• Selective sharing ( Virtual ID, share codes)

• Use of responsibility (fraud prevention)

Personification of these processes enhances digital identity literacy by increasing the trust in digital identity against the growing cyber threats, as demonstrated by Udai. CEO Bhuvnesh Kumar highlighted its contribution to the outreach of citizens.

Recruitment by Public Competitions

UIDAI was crowdsourced through MyGov where it received 875 entries:

• Design Type: 1st: Arun Gokul (Thrissur, Kerala); 2nd: Idris Dawaiwala (Pune); 3rd: Krishna Sharma (Ghazipur).

• Name: 1st: Riya Jain (Bhopal); 2nd: Idris Dawaiwala; 3rd: Maharaj Saran Chellapilla (Hyderabad).

• The jury was multi-stage and this was done to ensure transparency since Aadhaar is a public good.

Aadhaar Ecosystem 

Within the Aadhaar Act, 2016, UIDAI assigns 12-digit unique IDs that are based on iris, fingerprints, and face scan authentication of welfare, banking, and services. 

Key stats:

• 1.38 billion enrollments (99% cover).

• A billion authentications every month.

• Empowerment 20 lakh crore+ per year DBT transfer.

• Udai fills knowledge gaps, especially among the rural/senior users.

This participative action is in line with Digital India, and it improves the involvement of UIDAI after its previous scandals. Just like the mascot of IRCTC or Ria of RBI, it makes technology human enough to be used by masses. As Aadhaar is the key to UPI, CoWIN, and ONDC, Udai may reduce service gaps, which will enhance governance efficiency.

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