Govt bans bulk sale of SIMcards; to verify dealers info

NEW DELHI: In a bid to check digital frauds, the government has made verification of dealers selling SIM cards mandatory and discontinued the provision of issuing bulk connections, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said Thursday.

Earlier, announcing the new measures, the minister had said that the government has made police verification of SIM card dealers mandatory. He later clarified that the verification of SIM card dealers will be carried out by the “licensee” or the respective telecom operator and said a penalty of Rs 10 lakh will be imposed on violators.

In a widespread crackdown against SIM card-related digital frauds, the minister said the government has disconnected 52 lakh mobile connections. While 67,000 dealers were blacklisted, 300 FIRs have been registered against SIM dealers since May 2023.

Further, he said WhatsApp on its own blocked around 66,000 accounts involved in fraudulent activities.

Vaishnaw said there are 10 lakh SIM card dealers and they will be given sufficient time for verification.

The minister said the Department has discontinued the provision of issuing bulk connections and instead, a new concept of business connection will be introduced.

“Besides, KYC of businesses, KYC of the person taking handover of SIM will also be done,” Vaishnaw said.

The new rule will be implemented from October 1 and dealers will be given six months’ time for compliance.

</text><text characterstyle="Subhead">FloodWatch app for updates

Amid a rise in flood-related incidents in the country, including loss of life and property, government launched an app to disseminate real-time information on flood situation in affected areas.

The ‘FloodWatch’ app, will collect data from 338 stations to send real-time updates across India, CWC chairperson Kushvinder Vohra said.