In a shocking revelation, Kerala has issued more Aadhaar cards than its total population. According to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) in response to a Right to Information (RTI) query, the state’s population as of September 30, 2025, is 3,60,63,000, while 4,09,68,282 Aadhaar cards have been issued, a discrepancy of around 49 lakh. Although other states show similar gaps, Kerala’s is the largest.
Although UIDAI has initiated steps to link death registration data with the Aadhaar system and launched a reporting portal, there remains no mandatory, automated system. Consequently, there is a risk of Aadhaar cards of deceased individuals being misused, which increases the chances of identity fraud and data security threats, the report pointed out.
As reported by The New Indian Express, Raju Vazhakala, an RTI activist from Kochi, remarked on the situation, stating, “This mismatch demonstrates a serious flaw in the data hygiene of the Aadhaar system. One major reason is the lack of an effective mechanism to cancel or deactivate the Aadhaar cards of deceased individuals in a timely manner."
The Aadhaar discrepancy isn’t limited to Kerala. Across India, over 1.42 billion Aadhaar cards have been issued, exceeding the country’s population of roughly 1.41 billion. Similar gaps exist in states like Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal.
UIDAI Steps to Address the Issue
UIDAI is working to maintain database accuracy and prevent fraud by deactivating Aadhaar numbers of deceased individuals. In collaboration with the Registrar General of India, it has collected 15.5 million death records from 24 states and UTs through the Civil Registration System, verifying and deactivating 11.7 million Aadhaar numbers so far.
