DNA Exclusive: Aadhaar a must for kids moving into care homes

The government will make it mandatory from next month that if a missing child is found, he or she will be issued an Aadhaar card before being let in a care home to ensure faster rehabilitation, a move that broadens the use of the contentious 12-digit unique identification number.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) will issue directives to child welfare committees and child care institutions in this regard.

Last month, a 15-year-old girl was found in Chhattisgarh and was eventually moved to a child care home in Delhi. However, even after her family was traced, the girl was not handed over to it because the child welfare committee did not have the girl’s details. After a complaint was made to the NCPCR, the child will now be released.

“During video-conference sessions that we conducted between July 17 and July 21, over 28 state units said that they did not have concrete information about which states the missing children belonged to,” NCPCR member Yashwant Jain said.

“With Aadhaar, it will be easy to send the children back to their states, as there have been success cases,” NCPCR member Yashwant Jain said.

The NCPCR had earlier issued directives to state units to ensure …read more