Government asks telcos to stop using Aadhaar eKYC for verifying users

Agencies
October 28, 2018

New Delhi, Oct 28: The government Friday ordered telecom companies to stop using Aadhaar for electronic verification of existing mobile phone customers as well as for issuing new connections to comply with a recent Supreme Court order. The apex court had last month in a landmark verdict restricted the use of Aadhaar by private entities in the absence of a legal provision.

To comply with the order, the Department of Telecom (DoT) Friday issued detailed instructions to telecom companies on stopping the use of Aadhaar-based electronic-know your customer (e-KYC) and report compliance by November 5. Aadhaar e-KYC cannot be used for verifying existing customers as well as giving new SIM connections, the DoT said in a three-page circular.

Also, it permitted the use of physical Aadhaar card for giving new connections, provided the customer voluntarily offers it. "In compliance to the judgement of the Supreme Court, all licensees are to discontinue the use of Aadhaar eKYC service of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) both for verification as well as for issuing new mobile connections," the Telecom Department said in the circular.

All telecom service providers shall ensure its implementation across the country in a time-bound manner and compliance in this regard is required to be submitted by November 5, 2018, it said. The DoT noted that the industry had suggested an alternate digital process for KYC of mobile subscribers which entails Customer Acquisition Forms to be embedded with live photo of the subscriber and scanned images of proof of identity and proof of address, thereby digitising the end-to-end process for onboarding of new mobile subscribers and making it paperless.

Accordingly, all telecom service providers have been asked by DoT to ensure the readiness of their systems and offer the proof of concept of the proposed digital process by November 5 for approval. "Consequently, instructions issued including....dated 16.08.2016 and subsequent follow-up orders related to Aadhaar based eKYC process shall stand withdrawn. Meanwhile, this process can be implemented provisionally by all telecom service providers. Any modification which may be required in this process by the Government shall be carried out within a period of 30 days," it said.

The Telecom Department said the operators can use physical Aadhaar card in offline mode for giving new connections if the customer gives it voluntarily.

"The licensees may accept the copy of physical Aadhaar or eAadhaar letter having masked or unmasked Aadhaar number (As downloaded from UIDAI website) as proof of identity or proof of address document, if offered voluntarily by the subscriber, as per the procedure prescribed for issuance of new mobile connections...," it said.

The DoT said its previous instructions on permitting use of eAadhaar as proof of identity or address subject to online verification from UIDAI also "stands withdrawn". In addition, the DoT said, "the licensee shall also delete the column of writing Aadhaar number (which was an optional entry) on customer acquisition forms for issuing the new mobile connections."

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News Network
June 10,2020

Patna, Jun 10: A man in Bihar has willed half his property to two elephants after one of them foiled an attempt on his life by a pistol-totting criminal.

Akhtar Imam, chief manager of the Asian Elephant Rehabilitation and Wildlife Animal Trust (AERAWAT), said he has been looking after elephants since the age of 12.

"Once, there was an attempt of murder made against me. At that time the elephants saved me. When some miscreants armed with pistols tried to enter my room my elephant started trumpeting. It woke me up and I was able to shout and raise an alarm due to which the miscreants ran away," Imam said.

Imam says the two elephants, named Moti and Rani are like family for him and he cannot live without them.

However, the man claims that he fears threats to his life from his family members after he transferred his land to his two elephants. Imam's wife and sons have been living away from him for the last 10 years due to some dispute in the family.

He recounted that his son had allegedly filed a wrong case against him and also got him locked up. He eventually was let away after the charges levelled against him were proven wrong.

Imam said that his son Meraj had tried to sell the elephant to smugglers but was fortunately caught.

Imam says he has willed half of his property to his wife and his share of property worth Rs 5 crore to elephants said that if the jumbos die then the money would go to AERAWAT organisation.

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News Network
April 21,2020

New Delhi, Apr 21: Tablighi Jamaat leader Maulana Saad Kandhalvi, who has been booked by the Delhi Police for holding a religious congregation here during the lockdown, on Monday urged the followers of the organisation to pray at home in the month of Ramzan.

"I request all, both in India and abroad, to strictly follow the guidelines and instructions of the local or national governments and till the time restrictions are in place and please observe prayers at home. And even in this, we should not invite people from outside," he said in a statement.

Ramzan begins later this week.

While addressing an online briefing on Sunday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal cited the Tablighi Jamaat congregation last month, a major hotspot, and the large inflow of travellers from other countries to Delhi as the reasons for the spread of the virus, and said the city was "fighting a difficult battle".

The Delhi Police crime branch, had on March 31, lodged an FIR against seven people, including the cleric, on a complaint by the Station House Officer of Nizamuddin police station for holding the congregation in alleged violation of the orders against large gatherings to contain the spread of coronavirus.

Later, the Indian Penal Code Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) was added to the FIR.

The cleric is wanted by the Delhi Police and he responded twice to them. He is currently under home quarantine.

In an audio message released earlier this month, Kandhalvi had said he was exercising self-quarantine after several hundreds who visited the congregation at Nizamudddin Markaz tested positive for coronavirus.

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News Network
January 15,2020

New Delhi, Jan 15: The Delhi government Wednesday told the high court that execution of the death row convicts in the Nirbhaya gangrape and murder case will not take place on January 22 as a mercy plea has been filed by one of them.

The four convicts -- Vinay Sharma (26), Mukesh Kumar (32), Akshay Kumar Singh (31) and Pawan Gupta (25) -- are to be hanged on January 22 at 7 am in Tihar jail. A Delhi court had issued their death warrants on January 7.

Justices Manmohan and Sangita Dhingra Sehgal were told by the Delhi government and the Centre that the petition filed by convict Mukesh, challenging his death warrant, was premature.

The Delhi government and the prison authorities informed the court that under the rules, it will have to wait for the mercy plea to be decided before executing the death warrant.

They also said that none of the four convicts can be executed on January 22 unless the present mercy plea is decided.

The Supreme Court had on Tuesday dismissed the curative pleas of Mukesh and Vinay.

The mercy plea hearing began Wednesday morning and will continue in the afternoon.

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