NEW DELHI: On September 25, the Supreme Court of India, while giving the landmark Aadhaar judgement, said that the 12-digit number cannot be made mandatory for opening a bank account or getting a mobile connection. Subsequently, it was expected that the much-needed exercise to verify the consumer (e-KYC) for getting a sim card will done just as it was done before Aadhaar became the de facto identity proof.
As almost a month has passed amidst confusion, with some reports even claiming that the 50 crore connections made via Aadhaar could be disconnected (though UIDAI and DoT denied it), no clear directions have been issued either by telecom commission or regulator Trai on the use of Aadhaar in the eKYC process.
While retail outlets of TSPs in cities are giving an option of activating sim cards through other identity proofs, in villages, Aadhaar continues to be the only option. “Getting a sim connection by Aadhaar is easy and hassle-free. Connection can be activated in five minutes, whereas activation by other ID proof will take anywhere between 24-72 hours. You will also have to bring two photographs and fill a lengthy form,” said a South Delhi-based Vodafone sales representative.
Representative of other players (Reliance Jio, Airtel and Idea) concur. They say Aadhaar is optional, but is the most sought-after document. “About 99 per cent of new connections post the SC verdict is taken by producing Aadhaar,” said a Jio representative.
In hinterland, where Aadhaar has become a part of people’s daily live, getting a sim card without it is impossible, said multiple agents. In Bastar, the border area of Chhattisgarh and Odisha, where getting government benefits without Aadhaar is an uphill task, sim card is sold only when the buyer has produced his/her 12-digit number.
“We have been asked to take only Aadhaar for sim card verification,” said Parshuram Das from Bastar who mainly deals in Airtel connections.Md Imran, a sim-card seller of multiple TSPs in Dhanbad said that other sellers in the area haven’t been given the documents to carry our e-KYC process via any other ID cards.