Government has an important update regarding your Aadhaar – Times of India

During the past decade, Aadhaar number has emerged as an important proof of identity for Indian citizens. Aadhaar number is used for availing several government schemes and services. It is also widely acceptable as a KYC document by several private companies and institutions. These include banking and finance companies, travel companies, airlines and more. Telecom companies also offer Aadhar-based KYC verification.
Residents who had got their Aadhaar issued 10 years ago, and have never updated after that in these years, such Aadhaar number holders are encouraged to get their documents updated. Recently, some news reports incorrectly reported that this has been made mandatory. According to UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India), the government body that issues these 12-digit unique identity numbers, it is advised to ignore these reports and social media posts.

What the UIDAI gazette notification says
The UIDAI has previously issued a press release underlining that it is urging and encouraging residents to keep their documents updated. The recently issued gazette notification also clearly mentions that residents “may” do so on completion of every 10 years.
Keeping the documents in Aadhaar updated helps in ease of living, better service delivery, and enables accurate authentication. UIDAI has always encouraged residents to keep their documents updated, and the gazette notification is another step in that direction. “Always keep your POI/ POA documents updated to enjoy the benefits of more than 1000 government schemes & non government services. Charges to update POI/ POA documents in your Aadhaar. Online :Rs 25, Offline :Rs 50,” said UIDAI in a tweet.

UIDAI also warns citizens, institutions and companies that every 12-digit number is not Aadhaar. It asks entities to easily verify a resident’s identity by scanning the secure QR code available on all forms of Aadhaar. They can also verify the identity of any resident by scanning the QR Code on the Aadhaar using the Aadhaar app. The Aadhaar QR code scanner is also available at Google Play Store and Apple App Store.

Another warning is that UIDAI never calls any resident asking them to update their Aadhaar. To update your Aadhaar, residents need to either visit Aadhaar centers near them, or apply online through myAadhaar portal.