The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment issued a notification on 14 October 2026, published in the Extraordinary Gazette of India under S.O. 5628(E). According to reports from Mint, the rules were issued under Section 7 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016, covering identity verification for children receiving scholarship assistance to continue their education from Class 1 to Class 12 under the PM CARES for Children scheme.
The notification establishes that children cannot be denied benefits solely because Aadhaar authentication fails or they lack Aadhaar, subject to prescribed alternative identity-verification procedures. As reported by Mint, for children below 18 years, required documents include an acknowledgement from the Aadhaar enrolment centre containing the enrolment ID and proof of age through birth certificate, Indian passport, or Class 10 or Class 12 certificate from a recognised school education board. For beneficiaries 18 years or above without Aadhaar, acceptable documents include Election Commission-issued voter identity card, ration card, Indian passport, driving licence, disability certificate, or Unique Disability ID along with an enrolment acknowledgement.
The notification addresses situations where Aadhaar authentication fails due to poor-quality biometric information. According to Mint, if one biometric authentication method does not work, another biometric method or one-time password (OTP)-based authentication must be offered wherever feasible and permissible. If biometric and OTP-based authentication are not possible, benefits may be provided after establishing the genuineness of the Aadhaar number through offline verification using Aadhaar Secure Quick Response (QR) codes and Aadhaar Paperless Offline e-KYC documents.
The Department of Social Justice and Empowerment will designate an officer to verify documents submitted by beneficiaries without Aadhaar. As reported by Mint, the officer must verify the enrolment request by entering the enrolment ID on the myAadhaar portal to establish validity and confirm that the enrolment request has not been rejected. The officer will also verify other documents and may seek assistance from government entities responsible for maintaining relevant records.
The ministry is required to publicise Aadhaar requirements through media channels to ensure beneficiary awareness of the verification process. According to Mint, for children, the department must maintain records when benefits are provided through alternative identity-verification procedures, which will be reviewed and audited periodically. The department must also follow specified exception-handling mechanisms to ensure genuine beneficiaries aged 18 or above are not deprived of their benefits.
