RTI reveals UIDAI did not track Bihar Aadhaar DOB changes after pension hike announcement

Former Bihar CM Nitish Kumar. File Pic

A Right to Information (RTI) query has revealed that the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) did not maintain separate data on Aadhaar holders in Bihar who changed their dates of birth after the then Chief Minister Nitish Kumar announced a major pension hike ahead of the 2025 Assembly election.

In June 2025, Kumar announced that the monthly pension for elderly citizens, persons with disabilities and widowed women under the Social Security Pension Scheme would be increased from Rs 400 to Rs 1,100, effective July 2025.

RTI seeks details of Aadhaar DOB changes

The applicant sought the total number of Aadhaar holders in Bihar who updated their date of birth after the pension hike announcement, along with month-wise and district-wise details of such changes.

The RTI query also asked whether the UIDAI, which maintains the Aadhaar system, had conducted any internal review or flagged unusual patterns in date-of-birth updates following the revision.

UIDAI says data was not available

UIDAI initially said the information sought was not covered under the RTI Act.

However, in the first appeal, the authority clarified that "no such information" was available for the questions relating to the number and breakup of date-of-birth changes. The query regarding an internal review was stated to be "not applicable".

During the hearing before the Central Information Commission (CIC), the authority said it did not maintain separate data on Aadhaar holders who had updated their dates of birth after the pension enhancement announcement.

It also said no month-wise or district-wise compilation of such updates was available.

The authority further submitted that no internal review or flagging of unusual patterns, as referred to in the RTI, was applicable or available in its records.

CIC says public authority need not create information

The CIC said the RTI Act does not require a public authority to create, compile or generate information that is not maintained in its records in the form sought by an applicant.

Information Commissioner P R Ramesh, however, observed that the CPIO's initial response, which stated that the information was not covered under the RTI Act, was "not appropriate".

(With PTI inputs)