Saurabh Vijay, chief executive officer of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), during the Global Fintech Fest in Mumbai, India, on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026.

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Bloomberg/DHIRAJ SINGH

When the first Aadhaar was generated in 2010 in Maharashtra’s tribal Nandurbar district, few could have imagined that the identity system would eventually clock more than 185 billion authentications and touch virtually every aspect of the economy. Now, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is looking to take the Aadhaar journey a step further — exploring how the infrastructure can be made “international” for Indians living overseas, including NRIs and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs).UIDAI CEO Saurabh Vijay, speaking at the Global Fintech Fest 2026 on Thursday, said the authority is working on proof-of-concepts (PoCs), including one in the Middle East, to test the interoperability of Aadhaar infrastructure beyond India. Vijay said the focus now is on making Aadhaar international and improving its interoperability with systems in other countries. The legal framework is also being developed in that direction, with UIDAI working on policies that could allow OCIs to benefit from the Aadhaar ecosystem and potentially help bring more investment into India.“I think for Aadhaar, the focus now is making Aadhaar international. We really want to work on the interoperability part of it -- how to make it more possible. So already some PoCs (proof of concept) are happening. “Our legal framework is also going (in that direction) to make Aadhaar international. We are working on policies to make it (available) for overseas citizens of India (OCIs) so that it brings in more investment,” he said.The move comes as increasing numbers of Indians live, study and work overseas while continuing to maintain financial and other links with India. Vijay said UIDAI needs to build a security layer, backed by both technology and policy, to enable overseas Indians to update details such as bank accounts and addresses and continue accessing services seamlessly. UIDAI is currently testing these use cases through PoCs and plans to consider a wider rollout once the technology and processes are sufficiently tested. The framework could also help NRIs and OCIs access services more easily and potentially facilitate greater investment into India.