By Salonee Kulkarni
A people-friendly mascot has been launched by the Unique Identification Authority of India to assist citizens with a simplified version of communication to understand Aadhaar services better and address concerns and queries through the mascot. The UIDAI announced the service in an official statement on January 8, 2026.
The MyGov platform held a national design and name competition to design the mascot. The entries for the competition were open till the 31st of October. Many individuals entered the contest. According to data, around 875 entries were reported for the contest.
The mascot was unveiled on 8th January, named Udai, designed and created by Arun Gokul from Kerala’s Thrissur. He secured the first prize in the design competition. Riya Jain named the mascot Udai and won the first prize in the mascot name competition.
The mascot is equipped with technological expertise related to communication, such as authentication, updates, offline verification, selective sharing of information, new technology adoption and responsible usage.
The winners were felicitated at Thiruvananthapuram by the chairman of UIDAI, Neelkanth Mishra. He further added the benefits of the mascot in ensuring smoother functioning of communication and assisting the billion residents of India in understanding the Aadhaar system. The objective of UIDAI is to make communication through the mascot inclusive and simple to understand.
The CEO of UIDAI stated that the purpose of the competition scheduled last year was to ensure active participation and trust. The open national competition fosters the core principle of the exchange of trust and participation to build something inclusive for the greater good of society, which in this case is communication.
This opportunity harnesses the capability of youth to think independently and creatively and be an equal participant in the innovation that shapes the identity of billions through inclusive and accessible communication.
CEO Bhavesh Kumar, in a statement, addressed how Aadhaar has given identity to everyone, but it lacks one itself in terms of brand personalisation, brand recall, and identification. The brand’s relatability and recognition significantly increase when a mascot represents the brand.
In a digital ecosystem, the mascot ensures the dissemination of information through relatability and friendly design. The mascot will be integrated into all Aadhaar platforms, including the app and the portal. The app is currently in the testing phase, scheduled to be launched on January 28, which is also celebrated as UIDAI Day