Telcos get 15 days to submit Plan B on authentication without Aadhaar

WE WILL WAIT FOR THE DOT TO TELL US WHAT’S THE BEST WAY FORWARD, SAYS DG OF CELLULAR OPERATORS ASSOCIATION OF INDIA

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) asked telecom companies on Monday to submit within the next 15 days a plan to stop using Aadhaar for customer authentication, days after the Supreme Court said private entities could not demand from citizens the 12-digit unique ID number.

A circular to this effect has been issued to telecom service providers (TSPs), including Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea, among others.

“All TSPs are called upon to immediately take actions in order to comply with the judgement...” said the circular, giving time till October 15 to detail how Aadhaar-based authentication will be stopped. TSPs relied on the UIDAI database for e-KYC.

An official for a body that represents operators said they might not take any action for now since such directives need to come from the telecom department. “We get our orders from DoT. We will wait for the DoT to tell us what’s the best way forward,” said Rajan Mathews, director general of Cellular Operators Association of India.

According to an industry expert, who spoke requesting anonymity, the move will force private companies to move an offline authentication model, which would be both more expensive and time consuming “It could increase the cost of authentication from ₹15 per person now to ₹100 per person,” the person told Mint.

“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,” UIDAI chief executive officer Ajay Bhushan Pandey told PTI.

Other than telcos, fintech companies and payment banks have been severely impacted with the SC’s judgment.