Tourist, NRI visiting India? You may soon be able to verify SIM with passport

The govt will soon put in place a mechanism for authentication of cellphone subscribers who do not have Aadhaar numbers

The Telecom Department and Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) are in discussions to put in place a method for mobile number verification of NRIs and foreign tourists who are not eligible for Aadhaar.

A decision on evolving SIM verification method for these NRIs and foreign tourists is expected to be taken in 2-3 weeks, Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan said.

The SIM card verification process through Aadhaar-based authentication has been simplified this week with the government allowing OTP and other modes to complete the process of linking mobile numbers with Aadhaar.

Telecom operators have been asked to submit to UIDAI,