Aadhaar Update Chaos in Pune: Faulty Kits Stall Services Across Multiple Centres
Pune, 20th April 2025: Residents across Maharashtra are struggling to update their Aadhaar details as hundreds of Aadhaar Seva Kendras remain crippled due to non-functional biometric equipment, severely impacting public access to essential government and financial services.
Many centres have been turning away citizens because of faulty or inoperative kits — critical systems that include web cameras, fingerprint scanners, and iris recognition devices. Despite a government announcement in February to deploy over 4,000 new Aadhaar kits to district collectorates, the rollout has hit a roadblock due to widespread technical issues.
“We began the distribution of the new kits, but had to pause after several units developed faults during initial deployment,” said a senior official from the state’s Information Technology department. “These kits need to undergo thorough re-testing before we can resume full-scale distribution.”
So far, fewer than 2,000 kits have been dispatched, and many of them are experiencing glitches. In Pune district, only 203 kits were allotted, while Thane received 134. Officials admit the situation remains precarious due to outdated infrastructure. The last significant batch of Aadhaar kits was distributed over a decade ago, in 2014, of which more than 1,300 out of 3,873 were found to be defective.
Learning from past issues, authorities are now prioritizing quality checks. “This time, we’re being cautious. Every kit is being individually tested to avoid widespread breakdowns like we saw in 2014,” the IT department official added.
The ongoing crisis has caused long queues, frustrated applicants, and confusion at several centres. Citizens are also calling for better transparency from the UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India).
In Pune, of the 212 previously distributed kits, only 175 are currently working, according to the district collectorate. A senior official there explained, “Several operators report issues ranging from technical failures to locked kits. We’ve been consistently requesting more equipment to streamline the process.”
Amid growing public discontent, state IT Minister Ashish Shelar recently announced a hike in the honorarium for Aadhaar operators — from ₹20 to ₹50 per successful update — as a measure to boost efficiency.
Additionally, in a bid to increase Aadhaar enrolment among children aged 5 to 17, the state has launched a performance-based reward initiative. The top three operators who meet enrolment targets within three months will receive cash prizes of ₹1 lakh, ₹50,000, and ₹30,000 respectively.
Maharashtra has already registered 12.8 crore Aadhaar cards, but officials admit that the infrastructure must be urgently upgraded to keep up with the growing demand for updates and new registrations.
