After Vodafone, telecom service provider Airtel intends to use Aadhaar (unique identity number) for providing mobile phone connections. There are nearly 21 crore people with Aadhaar numbers in the country.
The Director General and Mission Director of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) R.S Sharma told Business Line that, “We have discussed this issue with Airtel. They are most likely to start the project in Delhi.”
Airtel official confirmed that a proposal was sent. “Now, the Department of Telecommunication is studying whether Aadhaar can be used for address verification or not. Once satisfied, it will issue a notification facilitating operators to use it.”
Vodafone is already accepting Aadhaar cards in Andhra Pradesh. It has deployed Aadhaar-enabled KYC (Know Your Customer) services at two stores, one each in Hyderabad and Vijaywada and accept it as proof of identity before issuing a new SIM card.
There are special computers in the stores on which Aadhaar-enabled CAF (customer acquisition form) applications have been uploaded. These are connected to biometric devices. To establish one’s identity, an Aadhaar-letter holder is expected to provide biometric proof along with demographic information at the time of subscriber verification. A new SIM card is issued only after successful Aadhaar authentication.
2 years of Aadhaar
The 12-digit unique identity number will mark two years of its existence with the launch of Aadhaar-enabled service delivery by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Rajasthan on Saturday. The UIDAI has generated 21 crore numbers since the issuance of the first number on September 29, 2010. The total enrolment has touched 24 crore.
“At present, every fifth citizen has a unique ID number. We aim to reach every third citizen by 2013 and every second citizen by 2014,” UIDAI Chairman Nandan Nilekani said at a press conference. The authority has been mandated to enrol 60 crore people by 2014.
The Aadhaar-enabled payment system will immediately start in 20 districts where 80 per cent or more population has been covered. The plan is to achieve the same level of enrolment in 31 districts by December 31. The Government intends to use this system to make payments for pensions, MGNREGA, public distribution system, scholarships etc.
“The Ministry concerned can tell you how much saving is being achieved, but we believe there is considerable saving in schemes where the Aadhaar-enabled system has been used,” Nilekani said. He said that LPG was a very good candidate for such a mechanism, as a significant number of 14 crore connections had been covered.