While Bharti Airtel’s comment on Arora’s departure from the company did not mention the Aadhaar issue, Arora himself categorically denied any relation between the controversy and his quitting the company. While Bharti Airtel’s comment on Arora’s departure from the company did not mention the Aadhaar issue, Arora himself categorically denied any relation between the controversy and his quitting the company.

Airtel Payments Bank’s managing director and CEO Shashi Arora has stepped down from his position, and this move comes at a time when the payments bank and its parent firm Bharti Airtel are embroiled in a controversy over using the Aadhaar-eKYC based SIM verification process to open payments bank accounts of its subscribers without their ‘informed consent’.

While Bharti Airtel’s comment on Arora’s departure from the company did not mention the Aadhaar issue, Arora himself categorically denied any relation between the controversy and his quitting the company.

“I had quit a couple of weeks ago, and I am serving my notice period. I will be joining a firm in a very different space – neither banking nor telecom – and it is in Delhi-NCR itself. My last date here is January 31,” Arora told The Indian Express over the phone, adding that he had been working on moving to the new company for several past months. Arora was appointed as Airtel Payments Bank CEO in June last year, after Manish Khera stepped down from the post after serving as the CEO for a short period of two months.

The Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI) had barred Bharti Airtel and Airtel Payments Bank from conducting Aadhaar-based verification of customers using the eKYC process.

UIDAI on Thursday allowed Bharti Airtel to use Aadhaar for re-verification of its mobile customers till January 10 with stiff riders after it returned Rs 138-crore LPG subsidy remitted to the unsolicited payments bank accounts. It, however, maintained that Airtel Payments Bank eKYC licence will remain suspended till final enquiry and audit report.

The issue began back in September when certain beneficiaries of LPG subsidy received their money in Airtel Payments Bank accounts instead of their original bank accounts, following which UIDAI issued notice to the company seeking details of opening bank accounts using Aadhaar-based eKYC. Airtel responded to the notice from UIDAI, which the authority found to be unsatisfactory, and sent the company another notice.

Last week, based on its preliminary findings, had temporarily suspended Airtel’s eKYC licence key, effectively disallowing the company from conducting Aadhaar-based authentication in the interim, but on Thursday, the company was allowed to conduct Aadhaar-based re-verification of its mobile customers.

When reached out, a Bharti Airtel spokesperson said: “Shashi Arora has been associated with Airtel in senior leadership roles since 2006. He has been an asset for Airtel and over the years has contributed to the company’s growth story. Having led the operations in key telecom circles followed by building a strong DTH business, he has laid the foundation for Airtel’s payments bank operations. Shashi has decided to move on to pursue opportunities outside of Airtel. We wish Shashi the very best for his future endeavours”.

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