Outlook Money OLM December 2017 Issue | Page 22

News Roll Know Your Aadhaar linkage deadlines With the Supreme Court deliberating on whether Aadhaar should be made mandatory, some important deadlines to keep tab on E ven as the Supreme Court prepares to deliver its verdict on the mandatory Aadhaar seeding for various services, many have been getting frantic calls and messages from financial services and telecom companies urging them to complete the linking process. Be it banking, insurance, mutual funds, stocks or post office schemes —all regulated financial services are now under the Aadhaar ambit. This is in line with the central government’s decision to amend the Prevention of Money Laundering (maintenance of records) Act, 2005. The deadline for seeding Aadhaar with PAN was extended from August 31 to December 31. For telecom companies, the last date for the purpose is February 28, 2018. While banks had been exhorting their customers to comply with the rule for several weeks now, insurance companies have jumped on to the bandwagon after the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) clarified that Aadhaar linkage was mandatory for all insurance policies—existing and new. Many insurers have welcomed the move, pointing out Bharti-AXA launches Smart Super Health policy W ith rising medical costs and varied needs of customers, general insurance companies are introducing products with added features and more flexibility. Bharti AXA General Insurance has launched a new plan called the ‘Smart Super Health Policy’ that comes with some key features. 20 Outlook Money December 2017 www.outlookmoney.com The policy is designed to cater to a larger audience covering up to five family members, including the policyholder. It allows customers to modify their policy features later. For example if the policy is taken without maternity benefit, it can be bought later should the need arise. There is no capping on room rent in any of the plans