NEW DELHI: In order to extend the use of Aadhaar number to various social welfare schemes, government has asked the Unique Identification Authority and the National Population Register to complete the enrolment of the entire population by March.

"The Prime Minister's Office has directed UIDAI and the NPR to complete the enrolment of the entire population of 12 crore by March," a source said.

According to him, the direction was given during a review meeting of the Aadhaar project last month. Earlier too, the government had advanced the deadline for completing this task to June from December next year.

UIDAI has already issued 70 crore Aadhaar numbers to residents across the country. Nine states, including Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, have crossed 90 per cent Aadhaar coverage, while 16 states have over 70 per cent coverage, said a press statement by UIDAI.

Aadhaar enrolments in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand and Chhattisgarh are going on at a fast pace.

These four states with a combined population of about 34 crore were added earlier this year to UIDAI?s mandate by the government. Aadhaar numbers have been issued to 8.93 crore residents in these states, which is 26 per cent of the target population.

Over 25,000 Aadhaar enrolment kits are operational across the country as on date, including both camp mode and Permanent Enrolment Centres, with a total output of approximately 10 lakh enrolments per day.

UIDAI has already geared up its processing capabilities to achieve the targets and has the capacity to process around 15 lakh enrolment packets every day.

In the recent months, government has provided fresh impetus to the UIDAI by linking Aadhaar to various schemes and initiatives, including the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY), MGNREGS, Pensions, Scholarships, DBTL, UAN (EPFO), PDS, Passports, Attendance system in government offices etc.

Aadhaar facilitates "anytime, anywhere" online authentication of a resident through universal verification of identity based on the demographic and biometric information of an individual, eliminating any chances of duplication or fraud.