Here is the steps to link Aadhaar with mobile without visiting the store

Linking Aadhaar with mobile is a cumbersome process as you have to visit the store. However there is good news as the Department of Telecommunications introduced three new methods to link Aadhaar with mobile.

The are OTP based, App based and the IVRS facility. These new methods will help subscribers to get their mobile number linked to Aadhaar without visiting the stores.To make the re-verification process easier for senior citizens and the people with disability and chronic illness, the DoT has recommended the telecom companies to complete the verification process at subscribers' doorstep.

It has asked the telecom companies to provide an online mechanism for people to request such service and based on availability schedule the visit and complete the process. Communication Minister for State Manoj Sinha said: "The Aadhaar number system was designed to allow all residents of the country access to critical government services and important information that they may need from time to time. Mobile penetration is increasing rapidly in the country and the subscribers need to be provided with the ease of linking of the Aadhaar number with the mobile number."

This year in August, the DoT had given instructions to the telecom service providers to provide iris or fingerprint based authentication of Aadhaar. "The new regulations have specified that the telecom service providers must deploy iris readers for this purpose within a reasonable geographical area," the department said. Nearly 50 crore mobile numbers are already registered in Aadhaar database, and the OTP can be leveraged for re-verification in all of these cases, the person in the know added. In case of agent-assisted biometric authentication for SIM re-verification or issuance, telcos have been asked to ensure that full e-KYC details of subscribers are not made visible to the agent. Nor should data be stored on the agent's device, the official said.

In the current dispensation, e-KYC data of the subscriber including photograph is visible to the agent of the telecom operator. The slew of measures being undertaken are aimed at improving ease of re-verification and its success rate, the official added. The official pointed out that some residents, especially senior citizens, found it difficult to verify their identity using fingerprint-based Aadhaar authentication.

Also, there were cases where residents - those bed ridden, ill or physically challenged - were unable to visit the service points of telecom service providers. Telecom operators have also been directed to deploy iris devices at "appropriate number of service points" so subscribers have access to iris authentication "within a reasonable geographical distance". This will be useful for people who face problem with fingerprint authentication, owing to poor fingerprint quality, disability or old age, the official explained.

Aadhaar-based e-KYC is essential for subscribers going for new SIMs. Further, the government has asked mobile operators to re-verify existing prepaid and postpaid customers, with the help of the 12-digit unique identity number. The re-verification exercise is scheduled to be completed by early 2018. The Indian telecom market with subscriber base of over a billion is second-largest in the world after China.