The India government has asked telecom operators to make changes in their systems and networks to enable use of Virtual IDs as a replacement of Aadhaar number and migrate to the limited KYC mechanism for mobile subscribers.

The implementation of the new Virtual ID system, which will be on from July 1, will enable users to quote Virtual IDs instead of their Aadhaar number, PTI reported.

The Virtual ID system — a 16-digit number mapped to a person’s Aadhaar number — is scheduled to be operational from next month. It aims to strengthen the privacy and security of Aadhaar data amid heightened concerns around the collection and storage of personal and demographic information of individuals.

“All telecom operators shall implement the changes proposed by UIDAI regarding use of Virtual ID as an alternative of Aadhaar number, UID tokens and limited KYC concept in their system and networks for issuing new mobile connection to subscribers and re-verification of existing mobile subscribers,” a notification by the Department of Telecom (DoT) has said.

Telecom operators need to give the option to mobile subscribers of feeding either Aadhaar number or Virtual ID as per the individual’s choice but the operators will be required to display the numbers in masked form at the point of sale terminal and ensure that none of these numbers are stored in their own system or database.

Mobile service providers should follow the eKYC process as per the existing instructions for new acquisition or re-verification. After successful authentication of the subscribers, they can use a UID (Unique ID) token to ascertain the uniqueness of the subscribers and store the same along with other fields in the subscribers’ database.

Mobile operators will to make necessary changes in their systems to replace the Aadhaar numbers of existing subscribers within the database with UID tokens.

GSM operator’s industry body COAI said telecom operator companies are making best efforts to ensure the necessary updates in their IT systems to implement the suggested changes by July 1, 2018.

“This step will provide convenience to the subscribers to get an authentic verification conducted without having the fear of giving their Aadhaar number,” Rajan S Mathews, director general of Cellular Operators’ Association of India said.