How to link Aadhaar and mobile number, a quick glance

While the government has been steadfast on making the 12-digit unique identity number mandatory for all the utility services and government-run welfare schemes, the inflow of petitions from across the country have kept supreme court skeptical for quite some time. Clearly, the government wants to route subsidy to the right hands and curb corruption that prevents subsidy from reaching the needy.

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Better than late than never, the supreme court after thorough scrutiny of Aadhaar card and its benefits has come to a conclusion of making Aadhaar card linking to the mobile number, PAN, insurance and mutual fund mandatory. Much of the early Aadhaar card usage was restricted to government's subsidy schemes. But with the government's decision to link Aadhaar with mobile numbers, the department of telecommunications (DoT) has instructed telecom operators to help their customers complete the linking process. The telecom service providers are given a timeline to verify all their new as well as existing customers via Aadhaar’s eKYC (Know your customer) process.

To that end, the telecom operators are sending SMS notifications to their existing customers, mentioning the last date to link their Aadhaar and mobile number—a process if not completed would result in discontinuation of mobile services. The declared deadline as of now is 6 February 2018. The network services providers have also uploaded the procedure on their respective websites and have publicized through electronic and print media for the customer's benefit. To help you have a deep insight on how to link Aadhaar to mobile via online and offline, we have clubbed all the pivotal information together. The step-by-step procedure to link Aadhaar to mobile number is mentioned below that will help you complete the process with minimal effort.

Follow 7 Steps to Link Aadhaar with Mobile Number for the First Time

Step 1: You can download the Aadhaar update form from the UIDAI’s website, that is uidai.gov.in or else visit the nearest Aadhaar enrollment center and request for the correction form.

Step 2: Enter the details like Aadhaar number, guardian/spouse/ parent name, street, landmark, area, district, post office, state, pin code etc.

Step 3: Sign the duly completed form.

Step 4: Don’t forget to mark the form as mobile number update request. Submit the form to the official at the mobile operator contact center.

Step 5: You should also submit a photocopy of Aadhaar Card and ID proof, which can be a passport, PAN card, Voter ID, voter license etc.

Step 6: The officer at the enrollment center will then verify your biometrics and the thumb impression.

Step 7: On completing the verification process, you will receive an acknowledgment receipt.

Although the UIDAI helpline mentions that the linking process will take nearly 7-10 days, the process, in general, gets over in only 2-3 working days.

While the Aadhaar and SIM linking is a simple and convenient process, today’s tech-savvy subscribers prefer online linking process over offline. And, so both new and existing subscribers constantly look for the ways on how to link Aadhaar and mobile number online. Understanding the rising demand, the government has come up with a slew of interesting and easy ways that will help existing subscribers complete the SIM-Aadhaar mapping online. These cover verification through one-time password (OTP), IVRS facility and via Aadhaar app at the subscriber’s doorsteps.

Updating the New Mobile number

Updating the phone number in the Aadhaar database is simple as the process is mostly online. For updating mobile number, the first prerequisite is the Aadhaar-mobile linking. And, the second criteria is that the number should be functional so that when an OTP is sent out on old number, the customer can use it to update the Aadhaar database with the new number. So for mapping the new mobile number to Aadhaar card, it is mandatory to have the old number operational.

Step-by-Step guide to update a new mobile number

Visit the UIDAI website, which is uidai.gov.in.

Under the Aadhaar update category, select “Aadhaar update request (online)”.

The page gets redirected to a new page named Aadhaar self-service update portal.

Click on the “Proceed” link towards the end of the page.

Enter the Aadhaar number and text verification code in the box given below.

Click on “Send OTP”.

An OTP will be generated that you will receive on the existing mobile phone.

Enter the OTP and click on “Submit”.

Select “mobile number” under select field category.

Enter the new number that you want to link to your Aadhaar number and click on “Submit”.

New users may not be aware that a fee is levied to update the details in Aadhaar card, which may include demographic or biometric information. For each update, the cardholder needs to pay minimal fees of Rs. 25 to the service provider.

Today, in every arena Aadhaar card is useful and is slated to become mandatory for many other services. For a new SIM subscriber, it is mandatory to submit the application form along with Aadhaar number to complete the Aadhaar based eKYC in the beginning. This will reduce the documentation hassles during Aadhaar-mobile linking. The government is doing all these just to help citizens.