Linking Aadhaar to Mobile through OTP from 1 Jan: Dept of Telecom

Department of Telecommunication extends date for linking Aadhaar to mobile number linking via OTP.

There’s good news for telecom operators and subscribers in the country. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has extended the date to link Aadhaar to mobile number to 1 January from the previous deadline of 1 December.

This will now enable telecom subscribers to 're-verify' their SIM cards through a one-time-password (OTP).

DoT had earlier set 1 December as the deadline to link Aadhaar via the OTP, but the Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI) had written to the UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) and the DoT on 20 November to extend the deadline as meeting the same was not possible due to logistical difficulties.

It was on 2 November that all telecom operators were given till 1 December to implement an SMS-based system to allow users to link their mobile numbers with the Aadhaar.

COAI had requested an extension till the second week of January as they said it would take at least six weeks to arrange the logistics and put the mechanism in place.

Now that the date has been set for 1 January, all mobile phone users will be able to link their mobile numbers with their Aadhaar using the OTP.

DoT has also released the procedure for non-resident Indians (NRI), physically-challenged persons, and senior citizens to verify their mobile number through Aadhaar.

Currently, there are messages being circulated to subscribers to visit their stores with their Aadhaar card and phone number details for the verification to be carried out.

Also Read: Linking Aadhaar To Mobile Numbers ‘Environment Friendly’: TRAI

We are gratified that the DoT has granted us time until January 1 to implement the alternative means of verifying mobile connections with customer’s Aadhaar numbers. We believe the alternative methods make it easier for customers to complete the re-verification by 6 February 2018.

Rajan S Mathews, director general, COAI 

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