What is UAN and how its used please explain

Hi, What is UAN, and how it is used please explain

Gopal.Kovvali: No access to Google I bet? UAN is the 1 single number allocated to PF subscribers in India. This number will remain constant from the date of registration of an employee at the 1st job where employee is offered or governed by PF and will remain constant if employee changes jobs, is transferred from jurisdiction to another.

Dear Gopal.Kovvali, I just add the full form of UN here. UAN is unique account number.

J Anil:
Is UAN mandatory? Yes, 1 for every employee as part of the P.F
Can we not have new UAN as we change the oragnization - That's moot! The earlier P.F account number was linked to an employee by organization and by location and has become cumbersome to maintain. The amount of manpower required to maintain the P.F system , keep it running is mammoth ! Besides other problems as well.
With the UAN, the employee has 1 number (like the PAN card) which follows him/her everywhere during the course of their professional career, despite job changes, location changes, etc and allows the P.F organization to ensure speedier transactions.
Why would you need a new number everytime you change an employer?