Changing the mobile number associated with your Aadhaar has always seemed like a small, but tiring task. For anyone who knows the process, they are familiar – physically locating the nearest enrolment centre, taking time off from work (for many), standing shoulder to shoulder with fellow citizens in long queues, filling out forms by hand and waiting on end for verification. For many people, particularly the elderly and those living in remote areas, this is more than an inconvenience. It sometimes hold their ability to access daily services they need to survive, these are some of them.
There’s about to be a lot more common sense. UIDAI, the government body in charge of Aadhaar has been preparing a big update which will allow you to change your Aadhaar-linked mobile number from wherever you’re sitting. No travel, no lines, no forms — just your phone and the Aadhaar App.
This coming feature is important because your phone number is essentially the master key to your digital identity. It’s used to receive OTPs for banking transactions, UPI payments, PAN verification, government benefits and income tax services even many private apps. If you go inactive, lose your number or change it to another, this can become an obstacle. Services can be unexpectedly difficult to access without an updated number.
The new system is designed to correct all of that by taking the process online — and making it just as secure. UIDAI will reportedly adopt a two-step verification for the same and only the Aadhaar holder can make such a change.
First and foremost is OTP verification. When you request an update, the app will send an OTP to either your current registered number or a new one you want to add. Entering in this OTP is a way of saying “yep, I have access to the phone number that I’m trying to register.”
The next layer is face identification. You will be asked to “scan your face” through the Aadhaar App with the front camera of your phone. It will later compare your live image with the photo available in Aadhaar database. If nothing has gone amiss, the system greenlights the update right then and there.
The two stages combined result in pain-free and easy use. No schlepping papers around or waiting in line — everything takes minutes to do on your phone.
This shift will particularly help those who struggle with the existing system. Many senior citizens tired of traveling, people in remote villages with few enrolment centres accessible to them and busy professionals juggling their work schedule as well anyone who simply desires a faster or smoother experience will benefit from this update.
The feature is not yet live, however. UIDAI sa >As of now, there is no official word on it and UIDAI has posted future “coming soon” message. When it will be there, the option may pop in Aadhaar App. To activate it, all you’ll need is a smartphone with a front-facing camera and steady internet connection.
In other words, Aadhaar is also learning to become more user-friendly and sensitive to how people lead their digital lives. Swapping your mobile number from the comfort of home may not seem like much, but for millions of people it will eliminate a major hassle and make essential services more accessible than at any time in history.
