Telecom companies to delete customers’ Aadhaar data if given alternate ID proof: COAI

Customers who want to get their Aadhaar data erased will need to call their operators to check where they need to go with the deletion request.
Telecom companies to delete customers’ Aadhaar data if given alternate ID proof: COAI
Telecom companies to delete customers’ Aadhaar data if given alternate ID proof: COAI
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With the Supreme Court striking down the use of Aadhaar, Telecom companies will now have to go back to other methods of ID proof while issuing ID proofs. And with Aadhaar not being compulsory anymore, many customers could want their Aadhaar details be delinked from the telecom company’s database.

A PTI report states that COAI Director General Rajan S Mathews has also said that Telecom players have clarified with the Telecom department that customers wanting to have their Aadhaar details deleted should be allowed to do against valid ID and address proof.

The difficulty is the Department of Telecommunications is yet to come out with a detailed plan of action to be followed by the telecom service providers on the revised KYC norms in the absence of Aadhaar. From the operators’ side, the Cellular Operators Association of India has asked for some time to be provided for the transition and not to insist on the service to the customer to be interrupted due to the withdrawal of the KYC.

If the companies revert to the old practice, then there are a few documents to verify the customers’ identity and address proof. These are passport, PAN Card, driving licence and voter ID cards. Aadhaar can also be added to this but the practice of biometric verification through the UIDAI site need not be resorted to.

Both the government and the telecom operators have assured the subscribers that there will be no disruption in the service they are enjoying even as the alternate arrangements are being put in place. The COAI has already had a meeting with the officials at the DoT.

It is learnt that one alternative being proposed involves an app that can be used to click a picture of the subscriber and accompanied by one of the KYC documents which could then be captured in the database of the operator.

But whatever solution the government wants to put in place, it must do it without much loss of time.

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