The government has in principle agreed to extend deadline to 31 March. But no notification has yet come on this. So here's a reminder on the current deadlines

The government has submitted before the Supreme Court that it would extend the deadlines to link Aadhaar to various government services to 31 March, 2018. However, until now there has not been any notification on this.

In all probability, the government will wait until the 11th hour to notify the new deadline. This will the keep the citizens on tenterhooks and push them to comply fearing there may not be an extension.

Most of the personal finance experts have been advising their clients to link all key services to Aadhaar at the earliest. But the truth is the diktat by the government has become hugely controversial as there are many who think Aadhaar is an invasion of privacy.

It is to be remembered that the government is also pushing for the linking despite the fact the Supreme Court is hearing various cases against the government rule.

Ideally, the government should wait until the Supreme Court gives a final verdict on the cases pending before a constitution bench.

However, this seems unlikely given the tearing hurry with which the government is moving ahead enforcing the rule.

The Supreme Court has also not yet quickened its hearing of the cases.

In this context here are the various deadlines you need to comply with and go about linking Aadhaar, ie, if you really want to:

Aadhaar-PAN

Deadline: 31 December, 2017

An amendment of the the Finance Bill for 2017-18 has made Aadhaar mandatory for filing income tax returns. The reason cited for the move is that this will help check tax evasion through use of multiple PAN cards.

How to link:

Step 1: Keep Aadhaar and PAN numbers handy

Step 2: Register on the income-tax department's e-filing portal if you haven’t yet. If you are already registered at the portal, log in with your user ID, password, and date of birth

Step 3: A pop-up window will appear prompting you to link your PAN with Aadhaar card. If you have a pop-up blocker active, you will have to go to the “Profile Setting” on the dashboard’s menu bar to click on “Link Aadhar” option.

Step 4: You will have to add the necessary details like name, date of birth as per the PAN as well as your gender. If your data is different from that mentioned on PAN, the Aadhaar will not be linked. Next thing to do is, to enter your 12-digit Aadhaar number, then verify captcha and then click on “Link Aadhaar” button. Once your validation is successful, your Aadhaar will be successfully linked to your PAN.

Step 5: The last step is when a pop-up message is displayed stating that your Aadhaar has been successfully linked to your PAN card.

Aadhaar-mobile number

Deadline: 6 February, 2018

As the deadline draws near, the government has devised various ways to link your Aadhaar with SIM card. Consumers can do the linking visiting their outlets. The telecos were told to start an OTP (one time password) facility to facilitate linking from 1 December, 2017. Given the number of mobile phone subscribers in the country -- 118.3 crore as of 30 September 2017 -- the linking is going to be a Herculian task. If you have not checked out the OTP linking yet, here is another way to do it in three steps:

Step 1: Go to the nearest Aadhaar center and submit an Aadhaar update/correction form along with relevant documents. You can get this form at the centre itself or download it from the UIDAI website. Mention on the form that only your mobile number has been updated

Step 2: Once you do that, the agent collects your biometric data to verify the same at the center

Step 3: The agent will give you an acknowledgment slip. The details will be updated in a maximum of 10 days

For updating your new number

If you already have a SIM connected to Aadhaar, you can update a new mobile number online. For this, you don’t need to take the pain of visiting an Aadhaar center.

Step 1: Go to the UIDAI website

Step 2: Choose the “Update Aadhaar Details (Online)” option. Remember, the online option allows you to make demographic changes like, name, address, gender, date of birth, email and mobile number is changed or modified

Step 3: You will be redirected to the Aadhaar Self Service Update Portal. Enter your Aadhaar number and carry on with the authentication process via the OTP you get on your mobile. Also, do the necessary text verification by submitting the code mentioned on the page in the provided box

Step 4: You will enter the data updating request page. Under ‘Select field(s) to update’, select ‘Mobile Number’. Now enter your new mobile number that you want to record in the database and submit

Step 5: Once the new number gets updated, you will get the Aadhaar card Update Request Number, which can be further used to track the status of your request. You can check your status here

The third way to link your new mobile SIM with Aadhaar, you can read more about it here.

Aadhaar-bank accounts

Deadline: 31 December, 2017

One thing to keep in mind is that if you have more than one bank account, you need to link all of them to Aadhaar. If you have linked a few and not sure which one’s are yet to be linked, you can check the status at UIDAI website.

Here’s how you can do the linking:

There are more than one way you can do this. You can use net banking, ATM, phone, SMS or mobile banking or visiting a bank branch. There are a few things to keep in mind for each of them.

Net-banking: When you visit the bank website you will see the option to link Aadhaar to bank account on the home page itself. In fact, even after you login into the account, you will be able to link by giving the required details. It’s really that easy. Keep in mind though, that if you have multiple bank accounts with the same bank and even if you have a common login ID, you will have to link all accounts individually.

Phone banking: Some banks let you do the linking via phone. All you need to do is give the bank a missed call and you get a call in return. You will be told to feed in your details over the IVR machine. Remember, anyone asks you for your sensitive financial details like PIN, you are not supposed to share the same.

BHIM: You can also use the BHIM app to add your Aadhaar to the bank account. Check if your bank’s app allows you to do so in case you don’t want to use the BHIM app. Some banks let you do the linkage via SMS, but this facility is available only from the mobile which is registered with the bank.

Offline request: If you plan to ditch the online option and walk into a bank branch, the bank will take 3-4 working days to verify the details and complete the link.