‘Aadhar’ number to be on call soon

Pretty soon, you may be able to get the details of how to get an Aadhar ID and its benefits on your mobile phone in your local language for free. The Unique ID Authority of India's (UIDAI) call centre services may start from 12 July and will act as a front-end for assigning of the unique identity number.

According to various reports, this prestigious project is likely to invite bids from top IT services firms, such as Wipro and TCS, apart from BPO vendors FirstSource, IBM, Aegis, Intelenet and Spanco.

The government has invited tenders from large domestic BPOs with a minimum turnover of Rs250 crore for the past three years and a minimum capacity of 2,500 seats. Aegis, FirstSource and IBM already handle the back-office operations of HDFC, ICICI and telecom companies such as Idea Cellular, Airtel and Vodafone.

The BPO will handle all queries from change of name and address to a 'forgot your Aadhaar number' service, and even look at queries like separate enclosures for burqa or purdah-bound women.

It is also expected to act as an interface between citizens, registrars, enrolling agencies and those needing to authenticate one's ID when one applies for a loan or a credit card.

Operating 8:00 am to 8:00 pm six days a week, including all festivals, customer care will be delivered through calls, e-mails, pull-and-push SMS, fax as well as through traditional means like written letters and postcards.