New Delhi, Sept 12: The government is moving ahead with linking Aadhaar with mobile SIM cards and all unlinked phones will be deactivated after February 2018, said informed sources.
The sources said Aadhaar mobile linkage is being done as per the orders of Supreme Court passed in February this year in Lokniti foundation case and all SIM cards have to be verified with Aadhaar within a year from the date of judgement, with all unlinked phones to be deactivated after February next year, so criminals, fraudsters and terrorists cannot use the issued SIMs.
The sources said that biometrics cannot be stored by the mobile operators nor they have access to any of the other personal data.
They said biometrics collected should be encrypted by telecom company and sent to UIDAI at that moment itself and any storage of biometric by a service provider is a criminal offence punishable with up to three years of imprisonment under the Aadhaar Act 2016.
The Central government had told the Supreme Court in February that it would put in place, within a year, an effective mechanism for the verification of pre-paid mobile users who constitute 90 per cent of the total subscribers.
Asking the government to put in place the mechanism for the verification of existing pre-paid mobile connection holders "as early as possible", the court disposed of the petition by Lokniti Foundation seeking the scrutiny of the subscribers so that those having pre-paid mobile connections on fake identities are weeded out.
Here's how you can link phone number with Aadhaar.
Reportedly, if the customer has opted for 'eKYC'- Aadhaar based activation- by providing the biometrics while applying for mobile connection, he/she need not to undergo the Aadhaar-SIM linking process again. Subscribers who haven't opted for 'eKYC' , need to visit their nearest company outlet and go through certain steps to complete the compulsory E-KYC process.
*eKYC is an online way of providing information according to Know Your Customer norms.
Below is the procedure for Airtel Aadhaar-SIM linking.
• Bharti Airtel is endorsing ways to achieve Aadhaar-SIM linking to its pre-paid and post-paid subscribers.
• While the customers with postpaid connections require to visit nearest Airtel store to complete biometric verification, prepaid subscribers can do so by visiting their nearest retail store.
• The company mentioned the last date for the same is Feburary 6, 2018 on its official website.
• Aadhaar number/card and mobile are the only documents required for the process.
• Customers will have go through complete biometric verification.
• Subscribers will receive an OTP as verification code to complete the process.
Know the steps for Idea Aadhaar-SIM linking as prescribed by the company on its mobile app.
• Visit the nearest Idea centre with your mobile number and Aadhaar number.
• The Idea store executive will provide a four-digit verification code on your mobile from the re-verification application.
• You will then provide the verification code to the Idea store executive and provide your biometrics.
• You will receive a confirmation SMS after 24 hours, reply 'Y' to complete the EKYC process.
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