Osmanabad becomes first district in Maharashtra to issue Aadhaar cards at birth

AURANGABAD: Osmanabad has become the first district in Maharashtra to issue Aadhaar cards to children aged from 0-5 years, who avail government health facilities for vaccination.
"The facility is currently being offered at two government hospitals at the district headquarters in the city. Special kits have been introduced and counters opened in hospital premises, which have registered nearly 500 infants so far, " probationary district collector of Osmanabad, Ayush Prasad, told TOI on Monday."We photograph the infant and capture biometric samples of either of its parents. The Aadhaar card and fingerprint authentication of the parent are then recorded to process the enrolment,"
Parents need to submit a proof of relationship with the child, although they may not share the baby's name, which can be submitted or modified later. As per revised rules, the infant's biometric samples need not be collected, he added.
Osmanabad is one of the 100 districts identified for the Centre's "Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao Scheme", owing to a skewed sex ratio.
Authorities feel that Aadhar registration at birth would help the government achieve objectives like reducing infant mortality, child tracking and 100% Aadhaar registration.
K B Kondekar, Osmanabad district informatics officer, said, " We plan to launch this service at taluka levels soon."