India’s mobile network operator BSNL has announced that it will roll out an Aadhaar-based mobile phone that allows users to register their contact details, and has asked its users to “immediately” switch to this option if they wish to buy a new phone.
The move comes just days after BSNl announced that Aadhaar-backed mobile phones were the “best to buy” in India.
The new option will be available for sale starting March 3, and the company said that it has already received over 2,000 applications for the new option, which can be purchased with a monthly subscription fee of Rs. 25.
BSNLP is aiming to launch this option by March 31, according to the announcement.
The BSNLU’s statement said that the new service will be “more affordable” and that BSNPL will be the first operator to offer it.
While the BSNLI does not specify a specific price tag for this service, it says that it plans to make it available at Rs. 20 per month.
B.K. Bharti, the telecoms minister, who is also the president of the B.R. Ambedkar Trust, which is working with BSNIL, said in his statement that the government is committed to “developing a transparent and inclusive mobile phone system” and “increasing the adoption of mobile phones and mobile Internet in India.”
The government has promised to create a new mobile network by 2022.
BSP has also said that Aadhaar and mobile phone registration is “a crucial part of the Aadhaar system.”
In August, BSP had said that its network will soon be available to buy and sell mobile phones through an app.
BUP is another operator that has been offering a similar service, but it was not clear whether it will follow BSNLR’s example.
According to the company’s statement, BUP will soon begin offering a mobile phone service to “customers who want to register for Aadhaar-related information and documents.”
The company has been providing a service to its users, including the Prime Minister’s Office, the government and state governments, to register and verify their Aadhaar numbers.
Bup is also an advisor to the Prime Ministry.
In the same month, the Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology, Ravi Shankar Prasad, announced the launch of a new government website that will provide “additional information about all the various schemes” and also offer users the ability to sign up for a “digital identity card.”
A similar website was launched in India last year.
“In the coming days, we will roll it out to our users,” said Prasads office.
The website will also provide information about the Aadhaar card and provide “digital signatures of individuals, companies, and organisations” who wish to register with the card.
In February, a similar website launched by the Prime Ministers Office, Ministry of Electronics and Industry, and Ministry of Women and Child Development.
According a report in Quartz, “the Aadhaar scheme is being rolled out with great enthusiasm by BUP and BUP-BJP, who are also working together to develop a government website to support digital identity card holders.
These initiatives mark a dramatic shift from the past, when governments were reluctant to provide access to biometric data to people seeking new jobs and financial inclusion.”
In addition, Bup has been working to roll out a website that provides users with the option to verify their biometric identity numbers, such as fingerprints and iris scans, by using a mobile app.