In a joint statement DoT and UIDAI have clarified that the SC judgment on Aadhaar which barred private companies from using the individual’s unique ID for authentication purposes, does not call upon telecom companies to destroy pre-existing eKYC data within six months.

This clarification issued today is welcome as it was being feared that over 50 crore mobile connections or almost half of India’s phone population faced disconnection if SIM cards procured on the basis of Aadhaar Verification were not backed up by a fresh authentication.

Today’s clarification comes more than three weeks after the SC judgment on Aadhaar. The question of services that had until then relied on Aadhaar KYC for getting customers on board had been hanging fire since then, leading to anxiety both among telecom companies and customers.

Going forward customers who want their Aadhaar eKYC replaced by another KYC, can pursue this option with their service provider. But to reiterate, in the interim no phone numbers should be disconnected. And customers not wishing to go through reverification should not be harassed.

Read Also: Banks move RBI for Aadhaar use as UIDAI bars fintechs

Read Also: Government says no threat of discontinuation of mobile numbers issued using Aadhaar