India, May 2 -- The recent partnership between Bharti Airtel and quick-commerce platform Blinkit, which promised SIM card delivery within a mere 10 minutes, has been paused following intervention from the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). The move came in less than a month after the service's much-touted launch on 15 April 2025.

The core of the regulatory concern lies with the Know Your Customer (KYC) process implemented as part of this express service. Initially, the collaboration aimed to change the way users obtain new mobile connections or port their existing numbers by offering rapid doorstep delivery in 16 major cities. The initial process allowed customers to receive the SIM first and then complete an Aadhaar-based self-KYC ...