Aadhaar-Mobile linking: Use OTP from December 1

You no longer have to visit the store of your telecom provider to link your 12-digit Aadhaar with mobile SIM. From December 1, you can do it with one time password (OTP) received on your phone. This was announced by UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) on microblogging site Twitter.

"No need to give finger prints to local SIM card retailer for your mobile phone verification. From December 1, 2017, you can do it from comfort of your home through OTP received on mobile number registered with Aadhaar," said the UIDAI, the issuer of the 12-digit personal identification number or Aadhaar number.

The Department of Telecom has introduced three new methods to link the registered mobile number with Aadhaar - OTP based, app-based and IVRS facility. Subscribers can verify or re-verify their mobile numbers from anywhere in the country irrespective of which service area their mobile connection belongs to.

For senior citizens telecom operators have been directed to offer verification facility to subscribers at their doorsteps for the convenience of those with disability, illness or old age. They are further directed to build an online mechanism - which can be through the website or any other means - to request such service.

Here's how you can link Aadhaar and mobile number using a one-time password

You need to message Aadhaar number from their registered mobile numbers at a number provided by their service providers.

The service providers will then do a demographic verification of the number.

After the verification process, the service provider will send OTP request to UIDAI.

UIDAI will send the OTP on the mobile number.

The user will send this OTP to the registered mobile number

The e-KYC verification process gets complete with this.

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.