Now, color-coded 'Baal Aadhaar' cards for children below 5 years (Picture credit: Twitter/UIDAI) | Photo Credit: Twitter

New Delhi: It is no secret that Aadhaar cards have been made mandatory for children going to school, thus it is all the more necessary to get their verification process done. It may be noted that children below the age of five years get Aadhaar without any biometric details but have to complete a mandatory verification process when they turn five and again when they are 15 years old. To make the categorisation simpler, UIDAI authorities have introduced blue colour 'Baal Aadhaar' cards, which will be given to children below the age of five years.

"A child below 5 years of age gets a blue in coloured Aadhaar known as Baal Aadhaar. When the child becomes 5 yr old, a mandatory biometric update is required. Failing to do this till 7 years may result in suspension. #AadhaarForMyChild" pic.twitter.com/Q91BsP2xDQ — Aadhaar (@UIDAI) February 23, 2018

In a tweet, UIDAI said, "A child below 5 years of age gets a blue in coloured Aadhaar known as Baal Aadhaar. When the child becomes 5 years old, a mandatory biometric update is required. Failing to do this till 7 years may result in suspension."

The tweet had an attached infographic that showed a blue-coloured Aadhaar card. While children of such age do not have to mandatorily enrol for Aadhaar, it is mandatory for attending educational programmes overseas to availing other government scholarships.

Here is some more information that will come in handy while enrolling children for Aadhaar:

- For enrolling children below five years, you need to visit the nearest enrolment centre, fill out the form and enclose important documents with your own Aadhaar card. It would be ideal to carry the original documents as well.

- No biometric will be recorded if the child is below five years and only a photograph would be sufficient. In such cases, child's Aadhaar will be linked to the UID of his parents and when he turns five, a mandatory biometric verification is necessary. The same process of updating biometrics of 10 fingers, iris and the facial photograph has to be repeated at the age of 15 again.

- If a child is above the age of five, the enrollment form has to be filled out and crucial documents such as birth certificate and school's identity card have to be provided.

Meanwhile, the Aadhaar debate continues to boil in the Supreme Court, with the deadline to linking it fixed at March 31. The top court has rejected a plea to extend the deadline of Aadhaar linking to a host of services, including banking and mobile services.