(ET)
A bulk of India’s 1.1 billion telecom subscribers will soon have to go through a fresh verification exercise based on their Aadhaar identification, following an order of the Supreme Court last month.
The industry estimates the process could cost at least Rs 1,000 crore at a time when companies are burdened with debt and fighting a tariff war. “All licensees shall intimate their existing subscribers through advertisement in print/electronic media as well as SMS about the orders of the Supreme Court for re-verification activity and shall upload the complete details of this activity on their website,” said a notice issued by department of telecommunications on Thursday.
The notice comes within a month of the top court order making it mandatory for telecom subscribers to be re-verified via Aadhaar cards in a push to root out those who have used fraudulent means to get connections. SC passed the order on February 6, providing a deadline of exactly one year — February 6, 2018 — for compliance.
