COAI hails SC ruling on Aadhaar-SIM card linkage, says extension till 31 March a relief for consumers, telecom industry

New Delhi: The extension of deadline for linking Aadhaar with mobile connections to 31 March, 2018, provides an immediate relief to both telecom operators and consumers, industry body COAI said on Friday. “We are pleased that the timeline has been extended. We were facing challenges in complying with the earlier deadline given the volume (of telecom subscribers),” COAI Director General Rajan Mathews told PTI. [caption id=“attachment_4259769” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image.[/caption] The extension will be “good news” also for consumers as it will provide them more time for compliance. The Supreme Court on Friday extended the deadline for linking of Aadhaar with various schemes and welfare measures, up to March 31 next year. The deadline of 6 February, 2018, for linking the biometric identifier with mobile connections also stands extended up to 31 March, 2018. Mathews said the Cellular Operators’ Association of India (COAI) will be in constant touch with the telecom department on nuances of compliance with the 31 March deadline.