Central government has issued a statement regarding the oft debated topic of Aadhaar being mandated for providing SIM cards. Asking Telecom players to issue SIM cards, even in the absence of Aadhaar cards, Center said that any authorized IDs can be used for the purpose. In issuing the statement, Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan said that any of the following IDs can be used for the purpose – Driving License, Passport, Voters ID, PAN Card.
Earlier, the Supreme Court too had issued a similar statement asking Telecom companies to distribute SIM, even in the absence of Aadhaar card. A petition is on progress in SC, urging TRAI to pull up telecom service providers from its Aadhaar plans.
