Amid reports of alleged friction between the Indian government and industry over having the new Aadhaar app pre-installed in smartphones, both sides have now said this was a proposal still being discussed, and there's no plan to make it mandatory. App may come pre-installed but can be removed, says official. (Photo: Google Play Store)
The proposal was sent to the IT ministry in November 2025 to preinstall the new Aadhaar app on mobile phones, and there are stakeholder consultations going on in the matter, a senior official at the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) told HT on Friday. “The UIDAI’s logic behind the preinstallation of the app was convenience for underprivileged people who don’t have access to high-end mobile phones and cannot install apps that may occupy a lot of space on their devices," the officer said.
The new app was launched early this year.
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The officer further clarified, "If it comes preinstalled, then they (users) won’t have to install it. Then it’s up to them if they wish to use it or not. As is the case with Google Maps, it comes pre-installed but it’s up to us whether we wish to use it or not.”
The Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology (MAIT) also responded to a report by news agency Reuters that was headlined 'India's proposal to preload national ID app Aadhaar on phones faced pushback'.
The MAIT said it views the reportage as “an instance of unwarranted attempt to sensationalise a discussion that is three months old”.
It argued that the report was based on “disjoint pieces of internal communications”.
“It is critical to clarify that these discussions/communications represented an initial stage of consultation and were never issued as a government mandate. The dialogue was a preliminary exploration of ideas, typical of the early phases of policy formulation,” it added. The association also said it's “appreciative of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and its consistently transparent approach toward industry consultation”.
“The MAIT urges the media to exercise diligence and refrain from sensationalising routine, non-mandatory policy deliberations. We remain committed to working closely with the government to ensure that India’s digital transformation continues to be built on a foundation of mutual trust and constructive engagement,” it further said.
As per details reported earlier by HT in November and January, the UIDAI's new Aadhaar app is part of the authority’s effort to curb misuse of physical Aadhaar cards and strengthen the offline verification ecosystem.
Speaking with HT, UIDAI CEO Bhuvnesh Kumar had said in November: “The idea is that when people give their Aadhaar to an establishment physically, many people keep their photocopies, which is not very safe. And that is why one should be able to carry their Aadhaar card in electronic form in mobile itself. Just like when one makes a UPI payment, everything is happening from a mobile phone. Then why not have Aadhaar also on the mobile?”
Arguing that electronic sharing would also prevent tampering, he had clarified that the physical Aadhaar card is not being phased out as many people in India still do not have smartphones.