In a move to make SIM distribution safer and more organised, the government wants telcos to register any party that's giving out SIM cards to customers. The deadline to do so has been extended by two months for the telcos - until March 31, 2025. SIM cards are at the root of many cyber crimes in India. Getting access to SIM for fraudulent purposes has been quite easy for the longest time in India. However, the government now wants to tighten the rules around SIM issuing. Further, any person who has more than 9 SIMs will see their SIM cards getting deactivated.
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According to an ET report, telcos have until March 31, 2025, to register their agents, franchisees, and distributors of SIM cards. Telcos now need to verify the parties involved in SIM card distribution. This adds a layer of transparency and security for issuing SIMs in India. The telcos should have ideally registered all the SIM card dealers in India by now. However, since that didn't happen, the government has given two more months to them for registering these dealers.
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What's worth noting here is that the private telcos have already done their job. All the SIM distributors of Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea, and Bharti Airtel are registered. However, the SIM dealers of the BSNL (Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited) are yet to be registered. From April 1, 2025, only registered SIM card distributors will be authorised to hand out SIMs to the customers.
The government has added multiple layers of security for acquiring SIM cards in India. It is now not just the customer that has to do KYC for getting a SIM, but also the distributors that need to be verified. These measures will help contribute to the fight against cyber crime in the country.
