Feb 2018 deadline for Aadhaar, SIM linkage

new delhi — The government is moving ahead with linking Aadhaar with mobile SIM cards and all unlinked phones will be deactivated after February 2018, said informed sources.

The sources said the Aadhaar mobile linkage is being done as per the orders of the Supreme Court in February this year in the Lokniti Foundation case. All SIM cards have to be verified with Aadhaar within a year from the date of judgement, with all unlinked phones to be deactivated after February next year. This is being done so that criminals, fraudsters and terrorists cannot use the issued SIMs.

The sources said mobile operators cannot store biometric data nor do they have access to other personal data. They said the biometrics collected should be encrypted by the telecom company and sent to the Unique Identification Authority of India and any storage of biometric data by a service provider is a criminal offence punishable with up to three years of imprisonment under the Aadhaar Act 2016.

The central government had told the Supreme Court in February that it would put in place, within a year, an effective mechanism for the verification of pre-paid mobile users who constitute 90 per cent of the total subscribers.

Asking the government to put in place a mechanism for the verification of existing prepaid mobile connection holders “as early as possible”, the court disposed of the petition by Lokniti Foundation seeking the scrutiny of subscribers so that those having pre-paid mobile connections on fake identities are weeded out.