India caps individual SIM holdings at nine, new verification starts Aug. 24

The government has instructed telecom operators to prevent individuals from acquiring mobile connections beyond the nine-SIM cap, effective August 24. Under the new directive, companies must use a daily-downloaded image of each subscriber who has reached the limit, provided through the Digital Intelligence Platform, to identify and refuse additional requests. Until a fully real-time system is in place, any extra connection activated on a given day must be immediately suspended.

By November 30, operators are required to embed these checks into the enrolment process so that excess requests are blocked instantly. The nine-SIM ceiling is the standard across most of India, while Jammu and Kashmir, Assam and the North-East are limited to six. Licensed Service Areas will adjudicate any issues arising from the rollout, and the Department of Telecommunications has mandated that new connections be denied to those already at the maximum.