The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has removed Aadhaar number as one of the parameters required to be included by telecom companies in their databases of mobile subscribers, reported The Indian Express.

According to the report, the decision will lead to the use of virtual ID that can be used in place of Aadhaar card in the e-KYC process for purchasing or re-verification of SIM.

“In order to further strengthen privacy and security of Aadhaar number holder at the time of authentication, UIDAI … has proposed to introduce some changes in Aadhaar ecosystem,” said the DoT circular, as mentioned in the report.

The circular also asked telecom firms to ensure that the Aadhaar number or virtual ID of the user is displayed while conducting authentication in masked form, the report said. They, in addition should also ensure that the Aadhaar number or the virtual ID is not stored anywhere in the systems, the report added.

The development comes after Supreme Court ruled that Aadhaar linking to services can’t be made mandatory till it decides on whether the process is a violation of the right to privacy, the report said.

First Published:Jun 13, 2018 10:51 AM IST