Guwahati: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has collaborated with Army for the first time in the northeast to launch a special Mandatory Biometric Update (MBU) camp in Assam’s Tamulpur district, which borders Bhutan.The initiative aims to cover students who have not yet completed the mandatory biometric update for their Aadhaar. Under UIDAI guidelines, biometric details must be updated twice during a person’s childhood — once at the age of five and again at the age of 15. Officials said 17,480 students had been identified for the exercise across Tamulpur district.The first camp under the initiative was held on Monday at Naokata Milan Higher Secondary School in Tamulpur.Updating Aadhaar biometrics can help individuals access services such as school admissions, entrance-examination registrations, scholarships and direct benefit transfer schemes where Aadhaar authentication is required. The initiative aims to cover all eligible students aged 5 to 17 through MBU camps organised at schools across the district.Ngachan Zimik, deputy director general at UIDAI’s regional office in Guwahati, appreciated the Indian Army for developing a school-wise strategy for conducting the camps.“The Army’s support in mobilising students who have not yet completed their mandatory biometric update in Aadhaar will go a long way in ensuring that eligible children complete the process in a timely manner,” Zimik said.“The camps will be held at different schools across the district to make the Aadhaar biometric update process accessible to students at their respective schools,” a govt release said. Special camps will be organised to ensure that all eligible students are covered, it added.UIDAI said timely biometric updates helped ensure continued Aadhaar authentication and prevent difficulties in accessing services where such authentication was required.UIDAI regional office in Guwahati and Indian Army appealed to govt and private schools in the district to extend their cooperation and support to maximise coverage of eligible students and ensure the timely completion of their mandatory biometric updates.
