India, June 27 -- The Assam government is likely to grant district deputy commissioners (DCs) the authority to issue Aadhaar cards to adult applicants, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday.

Aiming to tighten the verification process and ensure better scrutiny of identity credentials, Sarma said the plan was "informally discussed" during a cabinet meeting on Friday.

He added that a similar plan was being considered regarding the issue of birth certificates to people who apply after several years.

"Since most eligible people in Assam have already been issued Aadhaar cards over the past years, the main category of fresh applicants should naturally be only children. We are now planning to approve a measure in the next cabinet ...