Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pushed for universal enrollment under the ambitious Aadhaar project by the year-end.
At a recent high-level meeting of PRAGATI (Pro-Active Governance And Timely Implementation), Modi asked Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and chief secretaries of states such as UP and Bihar which are lagging behind to accelerate and complete enrollment of all residents by December 2015.
Modi's emphasis on the 'JAM (Jandhan, Aadhaar, Mobile) trinity' in his Silicon Valley outreach, is a clear indication that he wants Aadhaar to be one of the pivots of his anti-poverty strategies ensuring entitlements meant for poor and rural masses actually reach them.
On its part, the UIDAI, which has enrolled around 91.68 crore citizens since it issued the first Aadhaar number five years back, is confident it can rise to the PM's expectations.