New Delhi: The government has introduced three new methods to ease the process of linking the 12-digit Aadhaar identity number with individual mobile numbers.


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The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has introduced the three new rules - through one-time password, App based and the interactive voice response (IVRS) facility, to link the Aadhaar with the mobile number.


With this, the subscribers can now link their registered mobile numbers to Aadhaar without visiting the telecom service providers' stores.


For the ease of senior citizens and the people with disability and chronic illness, DoT has also recommended for the re-verification at subscribers' doorstep.


According to the new guidelines, the telecom operators should provide an online mechanism for people to request such service and based on availability schedule the visit and complete the process.


It has also enabled Aadhaar OTP (One time password) based authentication for re-verification of the existing mobile users. Telecom service providers have been instructed to initiate a scheme to use OTP based re-verification of mobile subscribers using SMS or IVRS or on their mobile app.


In case of agent-assisted biometric authentication for SIM re-verification or issuance, telcos have been asked to ensure that full e-KYC details of subscribers are not made visible to the agent.


Aadhaar-based e-KYC is essential for subscribers going for new SIMs. Further, the government has asked mobile operators to re-verify existing prepaid and postpaid customers, with the help of the 12-digit unique identity number. The re-verification exercise is scheduled to be completed by early 2018.


With Agency Inputs