All SIM cards without Aadhaar linkage will be deactivated after Feb 2018

If in case you forgot to link your SIM Cards with Aadhaar, then please do it before February 2018, as the Government is planning to deactivate the unlinked SIM cards from next year.

"The Government is moving ahead with linking Aadhaar with mobile SIM cards and all unlinked phones will be deactivated after February 2018," PTI reported.

The report further said, "Telecom operators are not supposed to store the biometrics or any other personal data of the subscriber."

"Biometrics collected should be encrypted by the telecom company and sent to UIDAI at that moment itself and any storage of biometric by a service provider is a criminal offense punishable with up to three years of imprisonment under the Aadhaar Act 2016," report added.

The Supreme Court has also asked Central government to link all mobile numbers to Aadhaar within a period of one year. The Apex Court urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government to frame policies regarding rules and regulations to ensure the fact that the SIMs (Subscriber Identification Module) is not misused by anyone.

The Apex court has said that its mandatory for all mobile subscribers including pre-paid SIM card users to link their SIM cards to Aadhaar cards. The Court asked the Centre to devise a plan for pre-paid SIM card users so that each person will have to fill and deposit a form whenever he or she recharges.

To recall, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has also said in the Lok Sabha, "Aadhaar may become the only card required to identify a person, replacing Voter ID and PAN,

The unique identification number Aadhaar may become the single identity card in future, he added.

In fact, the Government has made Aadhaar compulsory for many things like for opening a bank account, to get a PAN card, to file IT returns, in transactions over Rs 50,000 and to get subsidies from Government on LPG and fertilizers.