In a startling revelation, a Right to Information (RTI) query filed by India Today TV has uncovered that the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has deactivated only 1.15 crore Aadhaar numbers since the programme's inception in 2009 — a number that pales in comparison to the country’s estimated death figures over the same period.

As of June 2025, India has 142.39 crore active Aadhaar holders. However, data from the United Nations Population Fund places India’s total population at around 146.39 crore in April 2025. Meanwhile, official records from the Civil Registration System (CRS) indicate that India saw an average of 83.5 lakh deaths annually between 2007 and 2019.

This wide gap between recorded deaths and deactivated Aadhaar numbers has raised serious questions. Less than 10% of the estimated deceased individuals in India have had their Aadhaar numbers cancelled, potentially leaving millions of dormant identity numbers still active in government systems.

UIDAI officials acknowledged that Aadhaar deactivation is a complex process and depends heavily on the submission of official death certificates by families or state authorities. In the absence of direct notification or data-sharing from local bodies, UIDAI has no mechanism to automatically remove a deceased person’s Aadhaar from the active database.

Adding to concerns, UIDAI has confirmed it does not maintain a dedicated record of Aadhaar holders who have passed away but whose numbers remain active. This administrative gap, experts say, could leave room for misuse of identity credentials in availing government benefits, subsidies, or fraudulent transactions.