Neelkantha Mishra, Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), stated at the Global Fintech Festival 2026 that Aadhaar currently processes about 100 million authentications daily and is preparing to increase this figure to 250–300 million per day.
Mishra is also the Executive Director of the World Bank Group, representing Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Sri Lanka. He noted that the pace of authentication growth surprises him, emphasizing the transition from an initial phase where Aadhaar was predominantly used by the government to broader adoption.
He reported that the number of organizations using Aadhaar has exceeded 600. According to Mishra, the expansion of usage has been made possible by cultural changes in the government's application of Aadhaar, including beneficiary identification and fraud prevention. Convenience and trust have been key factors in widespread adoption.
Mishra added that Aadhaar has enabled remote and low-cost trust establishment. The Aadhaar ecosystem is transforming from paper and physical processes to digital interaction via the Aadhaar app. Downloads of this app have nearly reached 60 million, up from 50 million just a few weeks ago.
The app allows users to update data such as address and mobile phone number without needing to visit an Aadhaar Seva Kendra service center. Mishra believes the app can create a 'flywheel effect,' encouraging companies to integrate Aadhaar into their workflows, which will lead to increased app usage.
Aadhaar has become a vital element of India's digital public infrastructure, supporting use cases beyond payments, such as telecommunications registration and venture capital collection. Mishra also mentioned that new applications are expected as gig economy workers integrate into the system.
UIDAI is working on the next phase of Aadhaar's technological architecture. The Aadhaar Vision Committee held a four-month meeting and developed a ten-year technology roadmap. One priority is the implementation of post-quantum cryptography, as public and private key systems could become vulnerable within the next three to five years.
Furthermore, UIDAI uses artificial intelligence for fraud detection, including facial and fingerprint liveness testing. Mishra compared this to a 'cat-and-mouse game,' as fraudsters constantly improve, just like the defense system.
There is also consideration for providing Aadhaar authentication outside of India, driven by the projected growth of Indians living and traveling abroad. However, removing geo-restrictions carries security risks, given that UIDAI faces 'hundreds of attacks every day.' On the backend, UIDAI is building functionality comparable to a hyperscaler by global standards.
Mishra reported that discussions are underway to establish a World Bank knowledge hub in India to disseminate experience regarding India's digital public infrastructure to other developing economies. UIDAI also supports startups and enterprises developing new Aadhaar use cases by providing them with secure and reliable infrastructure.
