Telcos demand Aadhaar-based e-KYC for verification charges to be reduced to 70-80 paise

Financial Express

October 08, 2020

Mobile operators have demanded that charges for Aadhaar-based e-KYC for verification of mobile subscribers be reduced to 70-80 paise per activation from the current Rs 41, which they feel is exorbitantly high.


The telcos have highlighted that as per the current rules, government entities as well as banks are exempt from authentication charges, but telecom service providers (TSPs) are being burdened with high charges despite the industry being the largest user of the Aadhaar database.


The plan was to have a Rs 25,000-crore fund, with contribution of both the government and other investors.SWAMIH fund: Sanctions cross Rs 12,000 crore, to help complete 81,300 houses“With the family voting unanimously to reject appointment to the AIL board, we have seemingly reached the end of the road for an amicable settlement,” she said in a statement.Legal recourse: Valli slaps legal notice on Murugappa group


The department of telecommunications (DoT) restored Aadhaar-based electronic verification of telecom subscribers on September 29. The use of Aadhaar was stopped in October 2018 following the Supreme Court order, which had restricted the use of the unique number by private entities in the absence of a legal provision. In order to allow use of Aadhaar by private entities like banks and telecom operators on voluntary basis, the government in July 2019 had passed the Aadhaar Amendment Bill.


But the telecom industry is of the view that the high charges of authentication would be a dampener as other modes of verifying customers are much cheaper.


The Aadhaar (pricing of Aadhaar authentication services) regulations 2019, prescribes an authentication charge of `20 for each electronic know your customer (e-KYC) transaction and 50 paise each for yes/no authentic transaction from requesting entities. As per the instructions of DoT for issuing a connection, TSPs are required to carry out online authentication of the subscriber as well as the point of sale (PoS) agent. “Evidently, this takes the cost of each SIM activation to Rs 41, which is exorbitantly high compared with the cost of each digital KYC activation, which is available at literally no cost to TSPs,” the Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) said in a letter to Pankaj Kumar, CEO, UIDAI. A similar letter was also sent to the DoT.


The letter further said no authentication charges were levied earlier on TSPs for online authentication done via the Aadhaar-based e-KYC process, which was the primary reason behind Aadhaar becoming the primary mode of on-boarding subscribers.


“Due to the nil transaction charges, the government and TSPs were able to ensure on-boarding of subscribers in a robust and secured way,” the letter said. However, later, the Aadhaar regulations 2019 put in the charges for authentication of telecom subscribers while barring government entities and banks. The industry body said the TSPs have met both the DoT as well as UIDAI officials several times and an assurance was also given that withdrawal of charges would be considered.


“We request you to kindly review and amend the Aadhaar (pricing of Aadhaar authentication services) regulations 2019 for the telecom sector,” COAI DG SP Kochhar said in the letter.

https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/telcos-demand-aadhaar-based-e-kyc-for-verification-of-mobile-subscribers-be-reduced-to-70-80-paise/2100396/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

ED tracks Swiss Bank A/Cs of Agusta scamster

The Poineer February 10,2019 Rakesh K Singh The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has tracked a dozen Swiss bank accounts in the name of Rajiv Saxena, who is key accused in the Rs 3,600 crore AgustaWestland VVIP chopper scam. The ED has also found out accounts held by  his family members and associates where the kickbacks in the now scrapped deal were allegedly parked. Two bank accounts are in the name of Rajiv Saxena’s  associates Pankaj Jain and Sumita Jain who are also the authorised signatories. The  third is in the name of another associate Ajit Singh Bubber, but Rajiv and his family members are authorised signatories. The remaining nine accounts are largely owned and operated by Rajiv, his family members and associates. Rajiv Saxena was deported by the UAE authorities on January 30 and the ED formally arrested him the next day and a court later granted his remand to the agency. He is currently undergoing custodial interrogation by the ED. The agency had in 2017 arrested his
Read more

J&K Cricket Board Scam: Chargesheet Filed Against Farooq Abdullah, 3 Others By CBI

OUTLOOK July 16, 2018 The agency has levelled charges of criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust under the Ranbir Penal Code against Abdullah and three others. The CBI on Monday filed a chargesheet against former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah and three others in a special court in Srinagar in connection with alleged irregularities and misappropriation of funds in the Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association. After the fall of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the BJP government, this is the biggest development that has taken place in the state. The National Conference has not reacted to the chargesheet so far. The agency has levelled charges of criminal conspiracy and criminal breach of trust under the Ranbir Penal Code against Abdullah, the then president of JKCA, Md Saleem Khan - the then general secretary, Ahsan Ahmad Mirza - the then treasuer and Bashir Ahmad Misgar, an executive in the J&K Bank. The BCCI gave Rs 112 crore t
Read more

As financial insecurity rises in urban India, so does investment in insurance

Image
Scroll.in March 13, 2020 Urban Indians are becoming less confident about their financial security. Up to 58% of them fret over financial independence post retirement, which is a 4% increase from last year. An equal share of urban Indians worry about meeting their daily medical expenses and sustaining their current lifestyle once they stop working. The findings are part of a survey published by Delhi-based Max Life Insurance in association with London-based consultancy Kantar. The firms surveyed 7,014 respondents in 25 cities, including six metros, nine tier-1 cities, and 10 tier-2 cities, between December 2019 and January 2020. Source: Max Life Insurance via Quartz The trends Source: Max Life Insurance via Quartz Source: Max Life Insurance via Quartz Source: Max Life Insurance via Quartz A significant share of urban Indians also say their families will have no financial support in the event of the breadwinner’s death. In such a scenario, around 57% believe the family sav
Read more