The Department of Telecommunications in a recent notification said that after the successful completion of a proof of concept study to use Aadhaar e-KYC service, it has decided to launch the e-KYC service across India.
This means that customers can now get an instant mobile connection which can be activated immediately. DoT said that customers can authorize UIDAI and authenticate themselves using Aadhaar authentication. Using this approach, customers can provide their demographic data (name, address, date of birth and gender) along with the digital photograph. As the UIDAI data is machine readable, this can be stored as a customer record in the databases of mobile service providers.
Some of the major telecom operators have welcomed the Government’s decision as it can lead to faster connections.
Sunil Sood, MD & CEO, Vodafone India, said, “This is an important step forward in the progress towards a Digital India. The advantage of the e-KYC solution is manifold with all stakeholders – customers, operators and regulator benefitting from it. For the consumer instant activation means a better experience and security of his personal confidential information. For Vodafone it will improve quality of sales as well as regulatory compliance. For the regulator it not only means a green initiative but also hassle free governance and accurate audit results.”
Vodafone had partnered with the Department of Telecom (DoT) to pilot the AADHAR based e-KYC solutions in and test it successfully in two circles.