DoT halts Blinkit-Airtel SIM home delivery over KYC compliance concerns

Just days after Airtel announced home-delivering SIM cards within 10 minutes through Blinkit, the initiative has been temporarily halted, with concerns raised by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT).

In April 2025, Bharti Airtel partnered with quick-commerce platform Blinkit to offer rapid SIM card home delivery across 16 major Indian cities, including Pune, Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. Customers could receive a new SIM within 10 minutes for a nominal fee of Rs 49.

However, this service is reportedly suspended now following concerns from the DoT. The latter issued a directive emphasising strict adherence to existing Know Your Customer (KYC) norms, particularly the prescribed self-KYC procedures. While the service is on hold, it's not officially discontinued.

According to reports, the DoT questioned whether proper procedures were being followed and subsequently emailed telecom operators, reminding them to strictly comply with the established self-KYC guidelines. These norms, introduced by the DoT a few years ago, allow customers to apply for SIM cards online via an app or web portal and have them delivered to their homes. Activation requires digital verification of identity and address through DigiLocker or Aadhaar (UIDAI).

Telecom players like Reliance Jio, Airtel, and Vodafone have been offering such delivery services under this framework. Airtel also has an existing partnership with Amazon for SIM delivery.

For the Blinkit tie-up, Airtel had announced Aadhaar-based KYC authentication as the mode for activation. Customers could choose between prepaid, postpaid plans, or request number portability during the process.

“Blinkit handles the delivery, while Airtel enables customers to seamlessly complete KYC, activate their SIM, and choose their preferred mobile plan—all from the comfort of their home,” Blinkit CEO Albinder Dhindsa had said during the launch.