Alert! 50 crore mobile SIM cards procured on the basis of Aadhaar could be disconnected

The SIM cards of almost half of India’s phone population who procured them on the basis of Aadhar verification and not backed up by any fresh identification could be disconnected. This development will bring a fresh KYC headache for over 50 crore mobile connections.

The issue has emerged after the Supreme Court’s judgement on Aadhaar where the court stopped private companies from using an individual’s unique ID for authentication purposes.

The issue is now under discussion at the highest levels in the government since it can have left the large-scale impact on citizens if such huge number of SIM cards are disconnected. As per officials, the government will provide sufficient time to complete fresh KYC.

In order to discuss a way out and an alternative, telecom secretary Aruna Sundararajan met mobile companies. The telecom department is also having discussions with the Unique Identification Authority of India over the issue.

According to Sundararajan, the government is concerned in this regard and is looking to devise a way out at the earliest. She said that the government wants to ensure that ‘customers are not inconvenienced’.

She was quoted by The Times of India as saying “We want to ensure that it is a smooth transition with little problems for subscribers”.

A bulk of mobile users procured their SIM card on the basis of Aadhaar card. One of largest mobile network JIO also gave SIM card with the authentication of Aadhaar card.