Aadhaar Seva Kendras (ASKs) are UIDAI-run centres offering Aadhaar-related services such as update and enrolment. One such ASK in Kantatoli, Ranchi, is popularly known as ‘Mangal Tower’ among most of Jharkhand’s population, along with some from Bihar and West Bengal. If you are from Jharkhand and have been unable to resolve Aadhaar-related issues at local centres, you would have probably been redirected to Mangal Tower as a one-stop solution.A visit to Mangal Tower on a regular day feels like a dive into a Kafkaesque reality, replete with distraught faces of individuals queuing up in the heat and a haze of impenetrable bureaucratic language. From filling out forms that are available only in English and standing in the heat for hours before entering the centre, to finally being told that their applications cannot be processed, the trials of having an “updated” Aadhaar are numerous.To gauge the reasons behind this chaos, 100 people were interviewed over three months from March to May 2025. These people would reach the centre as early as 6 am, when the forms would be distributed. We would reach the centre around 8 am, start speaking with applicants and work our way through the queue. Due to the long queue and the desperation to enter the centre, many people refused to engage with us. Some also hesitated to disclose information to us, fearing scams and misuse of information. However, many were quite forthcoming when we explained the purpose of the survey.For simple procedures such as biometric updates, name correction, date of birth (DOB) update or address changes, people came from districts such as Gumla, Hazaribag, Chatra, Latehar and West Singhbhum to Mangal Tower in Ranchi. A video taken on March 25, 2025, shows the ASK packed with people, the queue extending beyond the premises and reaching the main road. The interviews revealed that a major reason behind this is the increasing centralisation of Aadhaar enrolment and update facilities.Aadhaar centres are of various kinds. The ASKs, of which there are only 88 across India, are exclusive UIDAI centre for all Aadhaar services. There are five ASKs in Jharkhand, of which two are in Ranchi. The Regional Office (RO) is set up at the regional or zonal level and is responsible for implementing UIDAI rules and regulations. The RO also extends support to the state by addressing complex cases that remain unresolved at other Aadhaar centres. Distinct from standard Aadhaar centres, the RO possesses discretionary powers that enable it to handle exceptional situations. The RO that has jurisdiction over Jharkhand, West Bengal and Bihar is located in Namkum, Ranchi.In Jharkhand, some basic updates can be made at the block offices, although not all of them are functional at all times. Some basic services are also provided at Common Services Centres (CSCs), established under the Digital India Initiative. These local centres previously offered services spanning enrolment and update in Aadhaar. However, with the passing of time, many local Aadhaar centres have been blacklisted due to inconsistent document verification during applications. During interviews, Aadhaar operators viewed this increasing centralisation as a means to prevent undocumented migrants from obtaining Aadhaar numbers. The underlying assumption is that anyone who does not yet have Aadhaar, or valid documents to update their Aadhaar, must not be a citizen of the country. This recurring narrative is used to justify the centralisation of Aadhaar enrolment and update.Also read: Tears, Queues and a Never-Ending Search for Kagaz: The Real Story of AadhaarPeople have also complained of high rejection rates at these local centres as well as those in the block offices in the past, as the computer operators were unaware of the proper application protocol. In Garu Block, we found three enrolment applications from 2022 that were rejected. All were processed by the same operator, who was later suspended for high rejection rates. Recently, because of the country-wide eKYC drive in the Public Distribution System (PDS), people have been pouring in to update their biometric details. Thirty-four respondents in the survey were visiting the ASK to update their biometric data, and 19 respondents were there solely to link their mobile number. Even then, many children, old people and daily-wage workers fail to get their fingerprints captured and go home disheartened. While this is brushed off as a technical issue, it is quite common among people doing hard physical labour as it wears down their fingerprints over time. The struggle of attempting to update biometric data multiple times is compounded by the centralisation of this facility.On June 4, 2025, in a Jharkhand government cabinet meeting, it was decided to set up Aadhaar update centres (via CSCs) in government premises such as Panchayat Bhawans or ward offices. While this is a welcome move, it remains to be seen which update services are offered at these centres. This may also not be adequate in addressing the issue of high rejection rates in local CSCs, as has been the case in the past.Procedural difficulties at the Aadhaar Seva KendraThe process of correcting Aadhaar is riddled with a lack of clarity. While people have become aware of the importance of Aadhaar following its integration into public and private services, what constitutes a correct or “updated” Aadhaar is still unclear to many. Having a PVC card of the Aadhaar, a rectangular laminated physical copy of Aadhaar, originally generated in the 2010s, seems sufficient to many until their authentication gets rejected at some point due to a cancelled Aadhaar, obsolete biometric details or an unverified DOB.During the initial years, enrolling for an Aadhaar did not require any verifiable documents. Many have created their Aadhaar without any documents at all. A decade would have passed without them making any updates to their Aadhaar simply because they thought enrolling for Aadhaar was a one-time process they had already undergone. However, many Aadhaar numbers without any documents have been known to get cancelled. Some of them only had a year of birth printed on the card, instead of the full DOB. Although the Supreme Court ruled in 2024 that Aadhaar is not proof of DOB, many targeted schemes that require age proof accept Aadhaar.To get a verified DOB printed, one has to show either a verifiable birth certificate or an exam marksheet. Such stringent documentation processes disproportionately exclude rural populations with low literacy rates and document access. All documents are required to have QR codes for digital verifiability, which means older documents, such as birth certificates and voter IDs, without the code are considered invalid. This was confirmed by respondents as well as Aadhaar operators upon asking. In the absence of QR codes, there are no fallback verification systems – another consequence of centralisation that renders human discretion on the part of operators impossible. For instance, Geeta Devi, a 35-year-old woman from Baridih, Ranchi, was on her fifth visit to an Aadhaar centre. She wanted to correct her name and DOB in Aadhaar and had visited the local Aadhaar centre, but to no avail. Her first visit to Mangal Tower was partially successful, as her name was corrected with her voter ID. However, her DOB could not be corrected as her birth certificate did not have a QR code. Due to the lack of clear communication at the time of the interview, she had returned with the same birth certificate, which lacked a QR code.Also read: Modi Took a 180-Degree Turn on Aadhaar, But the ‘I Am Me’ Card’s Flaws RemainPeople have had to make circuits around their block office to get their birth certificates made. It also disproportionately affects women who tend not to have any documents that prove their age. Out of the 14 respondents in the survey who had come to correct their DOB, five people claimed to have visited different Aadhaar centres thrice, and one person said she was visiting a centre for the sixth time. Patras Khalkho, a 55-year-old man, as per his voter ID card and birth certificate, from Sorha village, Namkum block, is eligible for a state pension of Rs 1,000. However, due to the wrong DOB in the Aadhaar system, he is unable to avail of this pension. Despite having valid documents (albeit without a QR code), his application was not even accepted by the operator.Since the primary purpose of introducing Aadhaar is to authenticate identities and eliminate duplications in availing welfare schemes, UIDAI has imposed strict and inflexible rules regarding Aadhaar verification. The name printed on Aadhaar should match that in other documents or the name registered under various services, be it welfare schemes, or health/education-related services. A difference of one letter amounts to an Aadhaar mismatch. Twenty-one respondents in the survey said they wanted to correct their names. Even in this, there are caveats.Mukesh Mahto from Maganpur village, Gola block, visited different Aadhaar centres four times. His name is Mukesh in all documents except his Aadhaar, where it says Bhubaneswar Mahto. He was denied a correction and asked to produce a gazette notification. A gazette notification entails issuing a notarised affidavit and publishing a name change advertisement in two local newspapers (one in the local language and one in English). Mukesh Mahto’s wife lamented that they do not understand what to do or why they need to do it when everyone in the village knows her husband’s real name. A letter from the Gram Sabha should have sufficed.There are also cases of pending applications since 2022, which show “under process” when checked on myAadhaar – an app offering basic online Aadhaar services. Anjel Bara, a nin-year-old girl from Dewaki village, Ghaghra, applied for a new Aadhaar in August 2022. As of June 2025, the status of the application is “under process”. When timelines for applications are not adhered to, applicants are kept in the dark about the status and stage of their application till they are finally processed or rejected. Backend systems lack real-time alerts or reminders to follow up on stale cases.Lack of well-defined processesThe lack of a well-defined process is a recurring pattern in Aadhaar, stemming from the continuous changes in rules. While some broad rules were established in the Aadhaar (Enrolment and Update) Regulations, 2016, the amendment in 2024 introduced many new regulations, such as the need to update documents “on completion of every period of 10 years from the date of generation of the Aadhaar number assigned to him”. Statements such as “in accordance with such process as the Authority may specify” allow ambiguity in processes. The absence of clearly defined procedures can hinder citizens’ ability to submit grievances when these processes are not adhered to. On top of such ambiguities, for many difficult cases, a call to the toll-free number 1947 proves to be futile and ASKs refuse to accept such applications; only a visit to the regional office brings some answers. Such was the experience of Sanmati Gope, a mother of two from Chaibasa, West Singhbhum.Gope has been making rounds of Aadhaar centres across Jharkhand, trying to correct the Aadhaar of her twin children. Following UIDAI recommendations, she updated the twins’ Aadhaar when they turned five, capturing their biometric details and photograph. However, the biometric details got swapped while updating the information. Her daughter’s Aadhaar card now has her son’s photo. Gope has visited the local Aadhaar centre, the Ranchi regional office and ASK in Jamshedpur. I met her at Mangal Tower, where she was attempting yet again to correct the biometric details of her children. When that failed, she went back to her local Aadhaar centre again, who told her to visit the ASK in Jamshedpur one last time. Operators in Jamshedpur ASK reluctantly agreed to file an application upon incessant pleading by the parents and asked them to check the Aadhaar after two weeks. Two weeks passed, and nothing happened. When we called the toll-free number 1947, we were told a simple biometric update would suffice, but the reality was not so simple. Both the children’s Aadhaars now show ‘deactivated’ when checked for validity. On the phone, Sanmati’s voice broke, saying, “Mere baccho ka zindagi kharab ho jayega (My children’s lives will be ruined)”.The reason for such distress is that children are now being asked for their valid Aadhaar for school admissions. Despite repeated circulars by UIDAI that Aadhaar is not mandatory for school admissions, the design of digital portals for school registrations mandates Aadhaar details. Out of 40 applicants between the ages of five and 18 interviewed at Mangal Tower, 10 respondents explicitly cited school admission as their reason for enrolling or updating their Aadhaar. A school teacher in the Latehar district confirmed that upon admission, they are repeatedly asked for Aadhaar details of the students by the block authorities. Gope’s daughter is now in class nine, and she is worried about being barred from her final exams due to a deactivated Aadhaar.Also read: Waiting for Aadhaar on a Delhi Winter DayGope’s problem is a case in point for circumstances that lie beyond the purview of Aadhaar rules and processes. For instance, if one loses their Aadhaar and forgets their number as well, there is no well-defined formal process to retrieve it. One method that is often recommended by computer operators is to apply for a new Aadhaar, and when it gets rejected due to duplication, use the shown EID details to retrieve their original Aadhaar. This cannot be done at local centres that are no longer authorised for fresh enrolments. One has to visit an ASK or the RO in particularly complicated cases. This method uses human ingenuity to find loopholes in the existing technological structure, rather than having a well-defined process. Moreover, this process may take up to six months for the applicant, as is the usual timeline for adults applying for a new Aadhaar. Meanwhile, they have to go without entitlements and essential services that are linked to Aadhaar.Conclusion and recommendationsAadhaar’s governance and technology systems, though designed for standardisation, have unintentionally created barriers to access for vulnerable populations. The system disproportionately burdens rural, poor and remote citizens through repeated rejections, documentation hurdles and travel costs. Children should not be deprived of an education because of the hurdles in updating Aadhaar. The old and destitute should not be deprived of PDS foodgrains and social security pensions because they could not navigate the web of Aadhaar’s complexities. Keeping in mind these everyday challenges faced by the ordinary citizen, the following recommendations would somewhat alleviate the unnecessary burden on them.RecommendationsDecentralised Aadhaar update services: In light of increasing integration of Aadhaar with welfare schemes, being able to update one’s Aadhaar at the local level is imperative. Local CSCs should be given the license to facilitate basic updates, such as biometric updates and name corrections. ASKs must be the last resort for people living far away for more complex cases. Alternatively, more ASKs can be established, at least one in each district, so that the more complex cases can be resolved at the district level.Adequate training of operators: It follows from the above recommendation that local operators must be trained rigorously and regularly. If local centres are given the license for basic updates, but the rejection rates are high, people will be pushed to visit faraway ASKs.Establish an escalation and appeals process along with effective grievance redressal: When a certain application is rejected, one should not have to go through the entire process again. Establishing escalation and appeals would mean that rejections are further looked into and applicants informed about the steps needed to rectify their application.Appoint one officer at the block level who takes accountability for all Aadhaar-related cases in the block. This will ensure better coordination between Aadhaar and other welfare schemes. Such an officer can suo moto set up camps or resolve Aadhaar issues within the block when a certain social welfare scheme demands it. For example, eKYC for PDS, as mentioned above, would require camps to be set up to update the biometric details of people.Implement real-time status tracking and notifications at different stages of application verification/processing. Enrolment for a new Aadhaar takes 180 days. In such cases, real-time status tracking is useful for the citizen to understand the stage where their application gets stuck or rejected and the reason behind the rejection. Without knowing the reason, repeated applications amount to pouring water into a sieve.Devahuti Sarkar is associated with LibTech India, a centre based at Collaborative Research and Dissemination (CORD). Views expressed are personal.