New Delhi, Dec 5 (IANS): The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Thursday said it has issued 51 crore Aadhaar numbers and is in the process of completing its mandate of covering 60 crore people by the end of the current fiscal.

"With generation of about 11 lakh Aadhaar numbers every day, the flagship programme appears all set to complete its mandate of covering 60 crore population in the next few months," the UIDAI said in a statement.

Since its establishment as an 'attached office' of the Planning Commission in 2009, UIDAI issued eight crore Aadhaar numbers till November 2011, another 15 crore in the next one year and a further 28 crore unique identity numbers in the past 12 months.

"Eleven states and union territories now have Aadhaar saturation levels of 75 percent or above, with several of them - such as Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Tripura, Delhi and Chandigarh - at levels above 90 percent," the statement said.

Currently the Aadhaar number, which is entirely voluntary, is used as proof of identity, residence for several programs and schemes run by the central and state governments.

The identity number has also led to financial inclusion as various financial regulatory institutions such as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) validating the unique number as a customer data base.