Tihar jail inmates may soon be given Unique Identification Numbers so that they can have access to the benefits of Aadhaar scheme once they walk free.

Tihar authorities have decided to ask Aadhaar officials to enrol the prisoners inside the jail premises.

"If every resident of India is entitled to the number then why not the inmates. There is a talk going on in this regard with the officials of the Deputy Commissioner of West," said R N Sharma, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Tihar Prisons.

"Since all inmates cannot make it to the enrolment centre, we have decided to request the sub-divisional magistrate of Rajouri Garden area to get the machines installed inside the jail premises so that photos and biometric scanning of fingerprints and iris are collected."

Those interested to enrol themselves will have to produce an identity proof.

"Their temporary address will be the jail address and their permanent one will be the one mentioned in the jail records," Sharma said.