Link Your Aadhaar To SIM From Home. Details Here

According to a government directive, mobile users have to link their Aadhaar card with their SIM by February 6, 2018. According to the UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India), the issuer of the 12-digit personal identification number and Aadhaar card, from December 1, 2017, Aadhaar card holders can link their UID with mobile number or SIM from the comfort of their home. "No need to give finger prints to local SIM card retailer for your mobile phone verification... From December 1, 2017, you can do it from comfort of your home through OTP received on mobile number registered with Aadhaar," said the UIDAI.

For the ease of mobile phone subscribers, the government had introduced three new methods to link the SIM with Aadhaar. These new methods are: OTP-or One-Time Password-based linking, app-based linking and Aadhaar linking via an IVRS facility.

OTP or One-Time Pin is a mode of authentication offered by the UIDAI. Under one-time PIN-based authentication, an OTP with a limited period validity is sent to the mobile number and/ or e-mail address of the Aadhaar number holder registered with Aadhaar. "The Aadhaar number holder shall provide this OTP along with his Aadhaar number during authentication and the same shall be matched with the OTP generated by the Authority," according to the UIDAI website.

It has now become mandatory to link one's bank account and insurance policies with Aadhaar also, and the deadline to do so is December 31, 2017.

However NRIs (Non Resident Indians) and PIOs (Person of Indian Origin) are not required to link bank accounts and other services with Aadhaar, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) said on Friday, while instructing various implementation agencies to work out a mechanism to verify the status of such individuals.

• In a move to simplify the process of linking mobile phone number with Aadhaar, the government announced three measures which will let people complete the process from the comfort of home. These include verification via OTP (one time password), Aadhaar app, as well as IVRS facility. Of course, people can continue to visit mobile stores to register biometrics and complete the process.

Meanwhile, the government has ordered telecom companies to complete re-verification at the doorsteps of the disabled, chronically ill and senior citizens. For such cases, telecom operators have been asked to set-up an online mechanism for people to request for doorstep verification.

The deadline for authentication of mobile phone number with Aadhaar (a process called re-verification) is February 6, 2018. Let us take a look, in detail, various ways by which people can link their mobile number to Aadhaar:

1. One-Time Password (OTP)

The government has directed operators to facilitate request for OTP on user’s mobile number that is already registered with Aadhaar database. The method can be used for re-verification of other mobile numbers that subscriber may be using as well. OTP mode will help e-verify cell phone numbers via websites or mobile apps.

2.Agent-assisted authentication

The process has been made more secure as telecom operators have now been asked not to reveal full e-KYC details of subscribers to agents, which was not the case previously. Agent-authentication assistant can be sought for SIM re-verification as well as issuance. Additionally, data will no longer be be stored on the agent’s device.

3.Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS)

Interactive Voice Response System can be used as verification as well, though this will be done via specially designed apps.

Finally, telecom operators have been directed by the government to deploy iris scanning devices at service points. This will those (especially senior citizens, disabled) who have difficulties verifying their identity via fingerprint-based Aadhaar authentication.

Apart from re-verification of existing prepaid and post-paid mobile numbers, getting an new mobile connection also requires Aadhaar-based e-KYC now. The government hopes to complete the re-verification process by early next year.