No Aadhaar, No SIM card?

The Union government is said to have asked telecom companies to link customers' SIM card with their Aadhaar numbers. According to a news channel's report, the government has already issued notices to telecom companies asking them to link customer database, SIM number with subscribers' Aadhaar card.

[Your PAN card will be invalid if not linked to Aadhaar]

The move has sparked off speculations of whether the government will make Aadhaar mandatory to purchase SIMs once the linking of present numbers are complete. The move comes on the heels of Aadhaar being made mandatory to file income tax returns. The report also suggested that the ministry has given telecom companies a year's time to complete the process.

The report suggests that all existing customers will have to be re-verified by the telecom companies using Aadhaar numbers. Customers, both pre-paid and post-paid SIM holders may have to fill in verification under Aadhaar card E-KYC process.

The process is expected to be digital with mobile verification through SMSes much like OTP process. The move is another attempt by the government to make Aadhaar the single-point identity-cum-verification document.

OneIndia News