A Mobile app may soon replace Aadhaar for instant SIM verification

The proposed app will generate OTP after receiving pictures of the applicant and documents

As Supreme Court has prohibited use of Aadhaar as a medium for instant verification of sim cards, authorities have proposed a mobile application to meet the purpose.

According to a joint statement released by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the application would require photographing of customer and their identifaction documents to generate an one-time password.

This OTP will be used by the SIM card agent for instant verification.

"In the proposed process, a live photograph of a person with latitude, longitude, and time stamp will be captured, along with the photograph in the person's ID, such as Aadhaar card, voter ID, etc. The SIM card agent will be authenticated via an OTP and the SIM card will be issued," the statement said.

The DoT and UIDAI, in the statement, also dismissed reports claiming that over 500 million mobile numbers connected with Aadhaar are at risk of disconnection while labelling them "untrue and imaginary."

"People should not believe in such rumours. The court has also not asked to delete all the eKYC data of telecom customers after six months. The apex court has asked that UIDAI should not keep authentication log for more than six months," it added.

DoT and UIDAI also stated that the restriction for keeping authentication log beyond six months has been levied on the UIDAI and not on the telecom companies. "Therefore, there is no need for telecom companies or Authentication User Agencies (AUAs) to delete the authentication logs at their end.