Now, apply for mobile connections with Aadhaar card

In order to cut down bulky paperwork, the government has allowed Aadhaar card and fingerprint at the point of sale for applying, validating and activating prepaid and postpaid mobile connections. Under e-KYC guidelines issued on Tuesday, a customer through his/her Aadhaar number and biometrics will online authorise UIDAI to provide demographic details such as name, address, date of birth and gender along with the digitallysigned photograph to the telco.

The move is intended to cut down time for SIM activation as KYC is verified instantly. "In e-KYC, digitally-signed electronic KYC data provided by UIDAI is machine readable making it possible for licensees to directly store it as customer record in their database for the purpose of issuing a mobile connection," a department of telecom notification said.

Cellular Operators Association of India director general Rajan Mathews said that the move will help all stakeholders as it simplifies activation, eases verification process and enhances security. "Earlier, the entire verification process would last 8-10 hours and it will now be greatly reduced," he said.

"Bharti Airtel plans to start rolling out Aadhaar-based e-KYC solutions this week," managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (India and South Asia) Gopal Vittal said. "Customers will soon be able to walk in with their Aadhaar card in any of the Vodafone stores and walk out connected within minutes," the company said.

"For the consumer, instant activation means better experience and security of personal confidential information. For Vodafone, it will improve quality of sales as well as regulatory compliance. For the regulator, it not only means a green initiative, but hassle-free governance and accurate audit results," said Sunil Sood, MD and CEO, Vodafone India.

(In association with Mail Today Bureau)