Airtel Deposits ‘Interim Penalty’ Of Rs 2.5 Crore For Using Aadhaar Data Without Consent
Airtel has deposited an interim penalty of Rs 2.5 crore with UIDAI for using Aadhaar data without consent.
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Bharti Airtel Ltd. has deposited an interim penalty of Rs 2.5 crore with Unique Identification Authority of India for allegedly opening payments bank accounts of its mobile subscribers without their informed consent, according to sources.
The company is learnt to have given the assurance that it will return Rs 190 crore that had flown into the unsolicited payments bank accounts of 31 lakh mobile subscribers over the next 24 hours and will also inform the customers that their subsidy-linked account is being switched back to the originally-chosen account.
Airtel has deposited an interim penalty of Rs 2.5 crore “unconditionally” to UIDAI, a person familiar with the development told PTI.
Meanwhile, an e-mail query sent to Airtel with regard to deposit of Rs 2.5-crore interim penalty remained unanswered. Once the entire process is complete, Airtel will be required to report to the UIDAI with compliance and the authority will take "appropriate view" on the matter at that stage.
Airtel, yesterday, wrote to the National Payments Corporation of India promising to return Rs 190 crore (along with interest) to the consumer's original bank accounts that were linked to the Direct Benefit Transfer accounts.
The NPCI is an umbrella organisation for all retail payments in India.
Both Airtel and Airtel Payments bank came under fire after the the Sunil Mittal-led firm allegedly opened accounts of its mobile phone subscribers without seeking their “informed consent”, and LPG subsidy worth crores was deposited into these accounts.
The UIDAI, in a strong move late last week, temporarily barred the company from conducting Aadhaar-based SIM verification of mobile customers using e-KYC process, and e-KYC of payments bank clients.
Suspending the ‘e-KYC licence key’, the UIDAI also ordered PricewaterhouseCoopers to conduct an audit of Bharti Airtel and Airtel Payments Bank to ascertain if their systems and processes are in compliance with the Aadhaar Act.