Aadhaar body, UIDAI has asked telecom service providers in the country to prepare a plan in the next 15 days on how to stop using the 12-digit Aadhaar-based eKYC authentication. This move comes a week after the Supreme Court decision which imposed curbs on the use of Aadhaar as a mandate by private firms including banks and telcos. UIDAI has already issued a circular on the same to telcos including Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea, BSNL and others.
The communication, seen by PTI, says: "...all TSPs are called upon to immediately take actions in order to comply with the judgement dated 26.09.2018. In this regard, TSPs are hereby directed to submit by 15th October 2018 an action plan/exit plan to the authority for closure of use of Aadhaar based authentication systems..."
Supreme Court Laid Down Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act
The Supreme Court, last week, struck down Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act, which allowed private companies to use the 12-digit biometric ID-based eKYC. Following this, private companies like telecom operators will not be able to use this instantaneous and inexpensive Aadhaar eKYC route.
This would mean that the industry will have to revert to alternates like legacy paper-based technique (collect physical paper forms with signature, photographs, ship to verification centre and call up the customer to cross-verify submitted details). The turn around times in this route is between 24-36 hours.
When contacted, UIDAI CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey said: "In order to ensure smooth discontinuation...there are certain requirements which are there under the Aadhaar regulations...so the companies are in the best position to know what exactly is needed and they can submit their plan by October 15. If any additional requirements are to be done from the UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India ) side, we will tell them after receipt of their plan."
eKYC is the Only Fastest Way to Activate a New Mobile Connection
After the rollout of eKYC, it became easy for the telcos to offer instant activation of a new mobile connection. With the help of eKYC, telcos were able to activate a new mobile connection in less than an hour, as opposed to other identification proofs, which might take up to 24 hours to activate a mobile connection.
