TRAI moots Aadhaar-linked digital scrutiny for new mobile connections

Sector regulator TRAI has put forth recommendations to the Department of Telecom (DoT) to allow electronic KYC of Aadhaar as one of the valid documents for getting a new mobile connection. The Authority sent the recommendations around 15 days ago after taking on board the views of the Solicitor General and the Attorney General. “We have sent the recommendations in addition to others that electronic KYC of Aadhaar should be one of the valid documents for granting the mobile connection,” TRAI Chairman R S Sharma told PTI at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. After the government finalises the norms, it will enable instant identity verification using Aadhaar card biometrics data for a new mobile connection. When operators issue new connections using the Aadhaar card, it would speed up the verification process as everything will be done online. In order to simplify the electronic verification process through Aadhaar, Sebi has allowed mutual fund houses and market intermediaries to verify the credentials of their clients with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). Sharma said with digital authentication, the use of paper will be eliminated. Also, it will address the security concerns as it can be tracked who has taken the mobile connection. A lot of paperwork will be reduced as retailers selling SIM cards will be able to get customer profile and biometric authentication details online with the UIDAI server. UIDAI has already issued 97.93 crore Aadhaar numbers across the country. Sharma said that currently, the retailers give multiple SIM cards on documents submitted by a person, which the actual owner of the documents might not be aware of, creating a security issue. “Our concern is that even from security perspective, using the documents of one person, people can get many SIMs without his knowledge. This is problematic,” he said. PTI