Aadhaar to activate SIM cards

Forget the bulky paperwork, you can now apply, validate and activate new pre-paid and post-paid mobile connections using your Aadhaar card and fingerprint at the point of sale.

The government on Tuesday issued e-KYC guidelines to make the online process of application and authentication faster and simpler for subscribers.

In contrast to the existing document-based process, the move is intended to cut down time for SIM activation as KYC is verified instantly.

In e-KYC, a customer through 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 digitally-signed photograph, to the mobile operator.

“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 DoT notification said.

COAI Director General Rajan Mathews felt that the move will be helpful for all stakeholders as it simplifies activation, eases the verification process and enhances security.

“Earlier, the entire verification process would last 8-10 hours and it will now be greatly reduced,” he hoped.

Airtel plans to start rolling out Aadhaar-based e-KYC solutions from this week.