DoT issues order enabling people to obtain new mobile sim from home using Aadhaar

Easing the process of obtaining a new mobile connection for users, the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) on Tuesday has issued an order stating that a person can now easily apply for a new mobile connection from the comfort of their homes by using the Aadhaar or any eligible document available in Digilocker. Other than that anyone willing to change their connection from postpaid to prepaid or vice versa can also do this in the same manner. 

As per the announcement made by the telecommunication division on Tuesday, this move has been approved the part of the telecom reforms by the Cabinet on September 15. As per the new rules, customers can apply for new mobile connections through Aadhaar based e-KYC services by paying only Re 1. Meanwhile, the Indian Telegraph Act 1985 has been already amended by the Central Government by introducing the Aadhaar based e-KYC process for issuing new connections. 

Announcing the same, the new order states that the telecom service providers shall implement a process for issuing new mobile connections using Aadhaar based e-KYC. However, the earlier process of obtaining mobile connections will still exist along with the new rules and shall be applicable to all the local, outstation, and bulk customers. 

How to obtain a new mobile connection?

Thereafter, as per the new rules issued by the DoT, anyone willing to obtain a new mobile connection from the comfort of their homes only needs to register through the application using their mobile numbers and the number will be later verified using a one-time password. After this, a person can apply for a new sim using the documents verified by UIDAI or Digilocker. 

The DoT has also mentioned that the application process is limited to only one mobile connection per day.  

Similarly, the conversion of postpaid to prepaid or prepaid to postpaid can be also done using this OTP-based process. However, this service will not be available for the people living in Jammu and Kashmir.

Furthermore, it also says that the customer may also face disturbance during the conversion process and will also allow customers to switch back to their prepaid or postpaid connection after 90 days of the previous conversion. 

Keeping in mind the COVID-19 situation and the customer's consent, the DoT has provided these new services for customers. 

(With PTI inputs, Image: Pixabay/PTI)