AADHAR is primarily a government programme launched in India with which of the following main objectives?

Introduction / Context:
Aadhaar, often written as Aadhar, is one of the most widely known government programmes in contemporary India. Implemented by the Unique Identification Authority of India, it aims to assign a unique identification number to each resident. This number is used to authenticate identity and streamline the delivery of various government services and subsidies. The question asks you to identify the main objective of the Aadhaar programme from among several social welfare related descriptions.

Given Data / Assumptions:
- The options mention support for senior citizens, nutrition for adolescent women, training for social defence, providing identity to residents and guaranteeing rural employment.
- Many of these describe different government schemes, such as pension schemes, nutrition missions or employment guarantee programmes.
- We assume familiarity with the fact that Aadhaar is associated with identity and authentication rather than with a particular income support or nutrition programme.

Concept / Approach:
Aadhaar is a technological and administrative initiative designed to provide a single, verifiable identity number to each resident of India. The idea is that by linking this number with biometric and demographic information, duplication and fraud in benefit programmes can be reduced, and service delivery can become more efficient. Although Aadhaar is often used in connection with welfare schemes, its core objective is not to provide a specific benefit like pensions or food, but to create a reliable identity platform on which such schemes can be built.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Read the options carefully and identify the one that focuses on identity rather than on a particular social benefit.Step 2: Notice that option D explicitly mentions providing a unique identity number to residents of India.Step 3: Recall that Aadhaar is administered by the Unique Identification Authority of India, whose mandate is identity management, not direct welfare distribution.Step 4: Recognise that other options describe objectives of different schemes, such as old age pensions, nutrition, social defence training or rural employment.Step 5: Select option D as the correct answer.

Verification / Alternative check:
You can verify by recalling how Aadhaar is used in daily life: for opening bank accounts, receiving subsidies, verifying mobile connections and authenticating identity at various points of service. The government's descriptions emphasise that Aadhaar is a proof of identity and address, not a direct entitlement to a specific monetary or nutritional benefit. By contrast, social security or employment related schemes have different names and agencies. This clear separation confirms that providing a unique identity number is the primary objective of Aadhaar.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Helping senior citizens with pensions (option A) is the purpose of pension and social security schemes, not Aadhaar itself. Providing nutritional support to adolescent women (option B) relates to programmes under the Ministry of Women and Child Development and similar bodies, not to the core Aadhaar project. Training people for social defence (option C) may describe certain community policing or civic training initiatives, but again is unrelated to identity numbers. Guaranteeing wage employment in rural areas (option E) is the objective of schemes such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, not of Aadhaar.

Common Pitfalls:
Some candidates mistakenly choose an option describing a popular welfare programme because they associate Aadhaar with subsidy delivery and welfare benefits. However, Aadhaar is an enabling infrastructure rather than a welfare scheme by itself. Another pitfall is to focus only on the word programme and assume that it must necessarily relate to a specific social sector like health or nutrition. Remembering that Aadhaar is fundamentally about identity and authentication helps to avoid this confusion.

Final Answer:
To provide a unique identity number to residents of India is the primary objective of the government programme known as Aadhaar or Aadhar.