UIDAI launches SITAA to boost Aadhaar-linked innovation and identity-tech startups in India

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has launched the Scheme for Innovation and Technology Association with Aadhaar (SITAA), a new initiative to foster innovation and collaboration across India’s digital identity landscape.

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The programme is designed to strengthen the country’s identity-tech ecosystem by enabling startups, academic institutions, and industry players to co-develop secure, scalable, and globally benchmarked solutions for Aadhaar.

Through SITAA, UIDAI aims to promote indigenization and future-ready technology in areas such as biometric devices, authentication frameworks, artificial intelligence, and data privacy. The initiative also seeks to reinforce public trust in digital identity systems and position India as a leader in secure identity innovation.

To support the programme, the MeitY Startup Hub (MSH) and NASSCOM have signed memorandums of understanding with UIDAI as strategic partners. MSH will offer technical mentoring, incubation, and accelerator support, while NASSCOM will provide industry linkages and global outreach.

Applications for the SITAA pilot challenges are open until 15 November 2025.

The pilot will begin with three key innovation challenges:

1. Face Liveness Detection: Startups are invited to build software development kits (SDKs) capable of detecting spoofing attempts such as deepfakes, masks, morphs, and photos. The solutions must ensure robustness across devices, demographics, and lighting conditions, support both edge and server deployments, and prioritise user convenience through passive-first detection.

2. Presentation Attack Detection: Academic and research institutions are encouraged to design AI- and ML-based systems that identify presentation attacks including print, replay, and adversarial manipulations in real or near-real time. The systems must be privacy-compliant, interoperable with Aadhaar APIs, and consistent with the provisions of the Aadhaar Act.

3. Contactless Fingerprint Authentication: Innovators are invited to develop SDKs that use standard smartphone cameras or low-cost imaging devices for fingerprint authentication. The solutions should include real-time capture guidance, liveness detection, AFIS-compliant templates, and efficient performance on mobile or edge devices.

UIDAI said the programme underlines India’s commitment to building a secure, inclusive, and self-reliant digital identity framework, aligned with national priorities such as Digital Public Infrastructure and Atmanirbhar Bharat.