In order to make it convenient for users to get their mobile sim card linked to aadhaar from anywhere and everywhere without even visiting their outlets, the telecom operators such as Airtel, Vodadone, Idea Cellular and Jio have been instructed by the UIDAI to connect 12-digit identification number via OTP (one time password) received on their mobile phones. The deadline for linking Aadhaar wil mobile SIM card is February 6, 2018.
The facility will be rolled out from December 1, which means only 11 days are left now.
Last week, the UIDAI approved the telecom operators' blueprint presented by telcos to operationalise the OTP based sim reverification of existing subscribers from December 1.
"Their (telecom operators') plans have been approved... They have come and we have told them they will implement (the process) from December 1," UIDAI CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey had told PTI last week.
अब आप आधार OTP प्रमाणीकरण का उपयोग कर, अपने मोबाइल सिम को कहीं से भी सत्यापित कर सकते हैं।#VerifyWithAadhaar
While the authentication of mobile phone number with Aadhaar, a process called re-verification, by visiting stores of telecom firms will continue, the government has ordered the companies to carry out the exercise at the doorsteps of the disabled, chronically ill and senior citizens.
He said the new methods would also "help achieve the (re-verification) task in the given timeframe (February 6 deadline) and make the whole system more secure as it will prevent misuse of mobile number by unscrupulous elements".
The Indian government is reportedly on a mission to link 1 billion Aadhaar numbers with 1 billion bank accounts and 1 billion mobile numbers. The ambitious project is being termed "1 plus 1 plus 1" and to achieve the same, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) announced new, more convenient ways of linking Aadhaar numbers with mobile SIM cards.
While mobile users can also head to their respective telecom provider’s store for re-verifying their SIM connections and link them to their Aadhaar numbers, major operators like Reliance Jio, Airtel, Vodafone and Idea will be rolling out OTP-based verification for subscribers starting December 1.
The deadline for linking Aadhaar numbers with mobile SIM cards is currently set for February 6, 2018. However, it could be extended further given that the deadline for linking bank accounts with Aadhaar has also been extended till March, 2018.
“The steps include one where subscribers can go to the mobile phone company’s portal and give their mobile number and Aadhaar number and then the OTP will come on the registered mobile number,” UIDAI CEO, Ajay Bhushan Pandey told ET.
The Department of Telecom (DoT) has also introduced app-based and IVRS-based Aadhaar-mobile linking methods. The same will also be rolled out starting December 1. However, the DoT has also said that mobile numbers not linked with Aadhaar will not be disconnected and no final decision on the same has been made yet.
DoT Secretary Aruna Sundararajan has reportedly said, “The Department of Telecom is waiting for the Supreme Court verdict on Aadhaar linking to decide on the action against those who do not want to link their mobile number with Aadhaar.”
The Supreme Court is currently in the process of hearing several petitions challenging the government’s imposition of mobile-Aadhaar linking. Still, telecom operators are urging users to link their mobile SIMs with their Aadhaar numbers citing government directives.
Whether linking of Aadhaar with mobile phones is mandatory or not is still questionable and a final decision will only be made by the DoT keeping the Supreme Court’s decision in mind. The BJP-led government has till the end of November to explain why Aadhaar linking is mandatory for mobile numbers.
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