No Mobile Phone Number Faces Deactivation Threat: DoT

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The Supreme Court has not asked telecom operators to delete all the eKYC data of customers but asked the UIDAI to not keep authentication log after six months

In the wake of news reports doing round stating that 50 crore mobile numbers are at the risk of deactivation, the Department of Telecommunications (DOT) and Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) issued a joint statement on Thursday. The joint statement said that these news reports are imaginary and false.

Some news reports try to create unnecessary concerns among subscribers by claiming that there is a prospect of deactivation of SIM cards that were procured through Aadhaar number and are not backed up by a new identification”.

“The Supreme Court in its judgement in Aadhaar case has nowhere directed that the mobile number which has been issued through Aadhaar eKYC has to be disconnected. Therefore, there is absolutely no reason for panic or fear at all. People should not believe in such rumours,” the joint statement clarified.

No restriction on operators to delete log

The statement further said that the Court has not asked the telecom operators to delete all the eKYC data of customers after six months. However, the apex court asked the UIDAI to not keep authentication log after six months. The order of the Court put restriction on the UIDAI and not on telecom operators. Thus, the telecom companies are not required to delete authentication logs.

In the light of Supreme Court verdict, if a consumer wants to get his/her Aadhaar eKYC changed by the new KYC, that person may request the telecom service provider to delink his/her Aadhaar number by filing new OVDs as per the previous circulars of DoT on mobile KYC.

The statement further clarified that the apex court has only prohibited the issuance of new SIM cards by way of authentication process by Aadhaar eKYC due to lack of a law.

The DoT and UIDAI are in a process of creating a fully hassle-free and digital process for issuance of fresh SIM cards that will be in compliance with the Supreme Court order regarding the Aadhaar.