Aadhaar Number Linking Via IVRS: How Airtel, Vodafone, Idea Subscribers Can Do It

Have you linked your Aadhaar number with mobile SIM? Bharti Airtel, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular now offer a toll-free service - 14546 - that enables their customers to re-verify their Aadhaar number via an IVRS or Interactive Voice Response System. The UIDAI or Unique Identification Authority of India - the issuer of the 12-digit Aadhaar number - has issued directives for generating OTP either through the service provider's website or through the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) services to facilitate the Aadhaar linking with mobile phone number, the government has said on microblogging site Twitter.

The Supreme Court has set March 31, 2018 as the deadline for linking of Aadhaar with the mobile phone number (mobile SIM).

So if you are a customer of Vodafone, Idea or Airtel, you can dial 14546 and follow instructions to link your Aadhaar number with the mobile number from the comfort of your home, without having to visit a service centre or a retailer.

#DigitalIdentity service made easy | @UIDAI (Aadhaar) has issued directives for generating OTP either through the service provider's website or through the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) services to facilitate the linking, also known as re-verification. pic.twitter.com/RWuovxnOt3

— Digital India (@_DigitalIndia) January 2, 2018

Here's how to use the IVR system via toll-free service 14546 to link your Aadhaar with mobile SIM:

Once you dial the toll-free helpline 14546, the IVR system first mentions the March 31, 2018, deadline to link Aadhaar with mobile number. It then goes on to ask the caller whether he or she an Indian citizen or an NRI.

The caller is to provide response 1 in case of Indian citizen. NRIs can proceed by taking the other option. NRIs/OCIs are not eligible to enrol for Aadhaar and hence fully exempted from any Aadhaar verification of bank accounts/mobile SIM or other services, the UIDAI has said.

After this step, the caller is asked to enter his or her 12-digit Aadhaar number.

The IVRS then repeats the number entered and asks the caller to confirm by pressing response 1.

An OTP or One-Time PIN is sent to the registered mobile number.

The telecom operator pulls the customer details such as name, photo and date of birth from the UIDAI database.

The caller is asked to enter the OTP in the next step.

The caller is asked to press 1 to complete the Aadhaar-mobile number re-verification process.

At the end of the call, the caller is informed that the Aadhaar re-verification process will take 48 hours to complete.