In 2009, I became extremely concerned with the concept of Unique Identity for various reasons. Connected with many like minded highly educated people who were all concerned.
On 18th May 2010, I started this Blog to capture anything and everything I came across on the topic. This blog with its million hits is a testament to my concerns about loss of privacy and fear of the ID being misused and possible Criminal activities it could lead to.
In 2017 the Supreme Court of India gave its verdict after one of the longest hearings on any issue. I did my bit and appealed to the Supreme Court Judges too through an On Line Petition.
In 2019 the Aadhaar Legislation has been revised and passed by the two houses of the Parliament of India making it Legal. I am no Legal Eagle so my Opinion carries no weight except with people opposed to the very concept.
In 2019, this Blog now just captures on a Daily Basis list of Articles Published on anything to do with Aadhaar as obtained from Daily Google Searches and nothing more. Cannot burn the midnight candle any longer.
"In Matters of Conscience, the Law of Majority has no place"- Mahatma Gandhi
Ram Krishnaswamy
Sydney, Australia.

Aadhaar

The UIDAI has taken two successive governments in India and the entire world for a ride. It identifies nothing. It is not unique. The entire UID data has never been verified and audited. The UID cannot be used for governance, financial databases or anything. It’s use is the biggest threat to national security since independence. – Anupam Saraph 2018

When I opposed Aadhaar in 2010 , I was called a BJP stooge. In 2016 I am still opposing Aadhaar for the same reasons and I am told I am a Congress die hard. No one wants to see why I oppose Aadhaar as it is too difficult. Plus Aadhaar is FREE so why not get one ? Ram Krishnaswamy

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.-Mahatma Gandhi

In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place.Mahatma Gandhi

“The invasion of privacy is of no consequence because privacy is not a fundamental right and has no meaning under Article 21. The right to privacy is not a guaranteed under the constitution, because privacy is not a fundamental right.” Article 21 of the Indian constitution refers to the right to life and liberty -Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi

“There is merit in the complaints. You are unwittingly allowing snooping, harassment and commercial exploitation. The information about an individual obtained by the UIDAI while issuing an Aadhaar card shall not be used for any other purpose, save as above, except as may be directed by a court for the purpose of criminal investigation.”-A three judge bench headed by Justice J Chelameswar said in an interim order.

Legal scholar Usha Ramanathan describes UID as an inverse of sunshine laws like the Right to Information. While the RTI makes the state transparent to the citizen, the UID does the inverse: it makes the citizen transparent to the state, she says.

Good idea gone bad
I have written earlier that UID/Aadhaar was a poorly designed, unreliable and expensive solution to the really good idea of providing national identification for over a billion Indians. My petition contends that UID in its current form violates the right to privacy of a citizen, guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. This is because sensitive biometric and demographic information of citizens are with enrolment agencies, registrars and sub-registrars who have no legal liability for any misuse of this data. This petition has opened up the larger discussion on privacy rights for Indians. The current Article 21 interpretation by the Supreme Court was done decades ago, before the advent of internet and today’s technology and all the new privacy challenges that have arisen as a consequence.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MP Rajya Sabha

“What is Aadhaar? There is enormous confusion. That Aadhaar will identify people who are entitled for subsidy. No. Aadhaar doesn’t determine who is eligible and who isn’t,” Jairam Ramesh

But Aadhaar has been mythologised during the previous government by its creators into some technology super force that will transform governance in a miraculous manner. I even read an article recently that compared Aadhaar to some revolution and quoted a 1930s historian, Will Durant.Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Rajya Sabha MP

“I know you will say that it is not mandatory. But, it is compulsorily mandatorily voluntary,” Jairam Ramesh, Rajya Saba April 2017.

August 24, 2017: The nine-judge Constitution Bench rules that right to privacy is “intrinsic to life and liberty”and is inherently protected under the various fundamental freedoms enshrined under Part III of the Indian Constitution

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the World; indeed it's the only thing that ever has"

“Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.” -Edward Snowden

In the Supreme Court, Meenakshi Arora, one of the senior counsel in the case, compared it to living under a general, perpetual, nation-wide criminal warrant.

Had never thought of it that way, but living in the Aadhaar universe is like living in a prison. All of us are treated like criminals with barely any rights or recourse and gatekeepers have absolute power on you and your life.

Announcing the launch of the # BreakAadhaarChainscampaign, culminating with events in multiple cities on 12th Jan. This is the last opportunity to make your voice heard before the Supreme Court hearings start on 17th Jan 2018. In collaboration with @no2uidand@rozi_roti.

UIDAI's security seems to be founded on four time tested pillars of security idiocy

1) Denial

2) Issue fiats and point finger

3) Shoot messenger

4) Bury head in sand.

God Save India

Thursday, September 29, 2011

1645 - Let transparency be uniqueness of UIDAI - Express Buzz

The New Indian Express
Last Updated : 28 Sep 2011 11:58:10 PM IST

The Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI), led by Nandan Nilekani, has run into rough weather with the Planning Commission objecting to the system of money management it follows. crore.Earlier, the finance ministry had found unacceptable its plea for an allocation of Rs15,000 crores. The commission’s objection stems from the fact that it does not follow the financial control systems in force in government offices. For instance, the financial controller of the UIDAI also wears the hat of an implementer of its programme compromising his much-vaunted detachment. Though it was set up as an ‘attached office’ of the Planning Commission, it has never been kept in the loop on the UIDAI’s functioning.

When the UPA conceived the idea of setting up the UIDAI, the purpose was limited to giving every citizen a unique identity card, which would contain all kinds of details about the person, including blood group, address, job, etc. After the arrival of Nilekani, there has been a churning process, as a result of which the UIDAI does not see the issuing of identity cards as the be all and end all of its task. It has drawn up an ambitious programme under which payments for work in programmes like the national rural job guarantee scheme would be made through a unique identity card-linked payment system.

The UIDAI’s grandiose plans have not instilled confidence in the labour and rural development ministries which find them too sophisticated to be true. Small wonder that even those who were initially enthusiastic about the project are no longer enamoured of it. Others continue to question its practice of gathering biometric details — pictures of the retina, thumb impressions, etc. — as a dangerous intrusion into the citizen’s privacy. Whether the benefits of the project are commensurate with the huge cost involved or not is also a matter of dispute. Given the questions raised, it would be appropriate to have a national debate on the whole unique identity card project.

1644 - Aadhar staffers protest over broken promises - Daily Bhaskar

Source: DNA   |   Last Updated 02:41(29/09/11)

Bangalore: More than 100 staffers working in various Aadhar centres struck work on Wednesday, demanding that they be given their salaries for August.

The protesters also demanded better incentives and accommodation.

Hailing from poor families from Tumkur, Gulbarga and Chitradurga, they joined the centres in mid-August hoping to get good salaries, incentives, food and accommodation. "We didn't receive our salary or incentives," said Sumesh Kumar, one of the operators. Apart from the salary, the operators were promised Rs 5 per enrolment after the routine 30 enrolments.

"Most of us were able to get about 60 to 80 enrolments per day. But after working here for a few weeks, we were told that our routine enrolments per operator had been increased to 60, after which we would be given Rs 1 as incentive for every enrolment," said Kumar.

"The accommodation was very poor," said Gangadhara, another protester.

For 90 boys, there were just six beds and 18 mattresses. For 30 girls, the office room was converted into a bedroom by shifting computers to a corner and spreading eight mattresses across the room.

There were only three toilets for girls. Of them, only one toilet was in proper condition.

"One had no pipe, the other had no door. So with just one toilet left, some of us have to wake up at 3 am to use it. The 30 of us have to be ready at the centres by 7.45 am," said Susheela, a protester.

Compared with boys, the girls were lucky.

"Just think of it, about 90 boys have to use just two toilets," she added.

Anger and discontentment was brewing over the weeks and the situation reached a breaking point on Tuesday evening when the girls were asked to find paying guest accommodation for themselves.

"Around 7pm, a meeting was convened and we were told that we would have to give up our accommodation here and look for the same elsewhere. The employees would pay Rs 1,000. We would have to arrange the remaining amount," said Swati, a protester.

"How are we going to find accommodation in one day and how are we going to pay for it," she asked.The boys have been given time till the September 30 to move out.

When contacted, Ashvinee Kumar, manager, operations, said that since many of the operators joined duty after August 22, they were told that the salary for August would be added to their September salary.

As for the incentives, he made it clear that the Rs 5 per enrolment idea was propagated by some agencies.

 

1643 - Aadhaar not enough to open bank account, says RBI - TOI

TNN | Sep 29, 2011, 07.05AM IST

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) while accepting the letter issued by Aadhaar (the name given to the Unique Identification Authority of India-UIDAI-project) as an identity proof, has insisted on a separate address proof to open a bank account.

It was widely expected that once a citizen gets registered under Aadhaar, a bank account could be opened without any further proof of address or identity. The RBI directive on the Aadhaar number will only meet halfway the "know your customer" (KYC) norms of banks. Bankers say that while it is possible for the poor to produce proof of identity in the form of a voter ID card, it is the proof of address that is a challenge since there are many who do not own a landline telephone or have any home ownership documents. Although India has a high mobile penetration, the majority of phones are pre-paid and customers do not have bills to support address proof.

In a circular to banks on Wednesday, RBI said: "It is reiterated that while opening accounts based on Aadhaar also, banks must satisfy themselves about the current address of the customer by obtaining required proof of the same as per extant instructions". The central bank has also decided to allow banks to use the UIDAI letter as proof of identity for opening all bank accounts and not just "no frills" accounts.

One of the objectives of the UIDAI was to serve as a single identification akin to the Social Security number in the US. Since the UIDAI project also included biometric identification it was meant to be a foolproof ID.

In June, the oil marketing companies Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation had said that they would accept Aadhaar as proof of identity and proof of address while accepting bookings for LPG cooking gas connections.

1642 - Turf war between plan panel & UIDAI intensifies - Business Standard

Sreelatha Menon & Sanjeeb Mukherjee / New Delhi September 29, 2011, 0:13 IST

The turf war between the Planning Commission and the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has deepened. While the plan panel is questioning the independence of the Nandan Nilekani-led UIDAI, the latter says its powers were derived from the government and orders issued by the Planning Commission itself.

Earlier this month, the Commission complained to the finance ministry that financial decisions and proposals of UIDAI were not being routed through the Commission which had been kept out of the decision-making loop. UIDAI has said if proposals were not being routed through the Commission and sent directly to the finance secretary, it was owing to a notification issued by the Commission itself. “If it (Planning Commission) wishes to undo its own notifications or orders, it is free to do so,” said UIDAI Director General R S Sharma.

The Plan panel has sought control of oversight over UIDAI though it had let go this control after a notification it issued in November 2009 where it delegated financial powers to the UIDAI director general, equivalent to those of a ministerial secretary with powers to take decisions.

In its notification dated November 30, 2009 on the delegation of financial powers to UIDAI, the Planning Commission says: “Competent authority has declared the DG, UIDAI as the head of department for all purposes..I’m also directed to convey the sanction of the competence authority under Rule 13(2) of delegation of financial powers , 1978 to the delegation of such financial powers to the head of the department UIDAI in respect of UIDAI that have been delegated to the Planning Commission as a department of the Central Government under DFPR 1978...”

There is another notification by the finance ministry itself appointing K Ganga, deputy director general (finance), as the financial advisor in UIDAI.

Now in a note to the Department of Expenditure, the Commission has sought the appointment of an independent financial advisor, preferably its own, to monitor the funds of the UIDAI. Sharma cites these notification issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Planning Commission to prove that it has been doing exactly what it was asked to do.

A senior Planning Commission official said: “The budget line of UIDAI is with Ministry of Planning and we need to see the proposals.”

The official added the financial advisor in the Planning Commission would be monitoring the affairs in UIDAI.

Several questions have been raised against the UIDAI in the past few months by the Planning Commission, especially on its role in collecting data in duplication of efforts by the Registrar General of Census.

The UIDAI proposal to collect data for the whole population as against the 200-million limit, earlier agreed by the government, had been shot down by the finance ministry, giving a shot in the arm to the critics in the Planning Commission.

The Planning Commission, which has emerged as a staunch critic of UIDAI, has however attracted criticism from many for what is thought to be attempts to tamper with the independence and efficiency of UIDAI.

Sources in UIDAI say the basic grouse within the Planning Commission is that UIDAI has circumvented it, communicating directly with the finance ministry. If the proposals were to go through the Commission, the delays would multiply, said an official.

Planning Commission member Mihir Shah differs on this: “My problem with UIDAI is that the cost it incurs should benefit the most excluded. But is that happening? Without an extra effort the most excluded people won’t even get a UID number.”

Ashwini Kumar, policy analyst and academic from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, said: “The Planning Commission wants to bureaucratise and control an innovative project which has its own internal mechanism to detect irregularities. The Planning Commission intervention is an example of its lack of imagination.”

However, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia is said to have conveyed concerns of the Commission regarding UIDAI to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh before his recent departure abroad.


1641 - RPF/PLA likely to disturb UID collection in Manipur: MHA- Nagaland Post

Correspondent, IMPHAL, SEP 28 :Published on 29 Sep. 2011 12:05 AM IST

Following instruction from Union ministry of Home Affairs, IGP (Armed Police and Operation) Manipur has asked SPs of all districts to ensure that strict action be taken up against RPF/PLA cadres, who try to distrub the implementation of AADHAR scheme (UID) in Manipur.

Earlier, asserting that the cadres of outlaw RPF/PLA are likely to disrupt in the implementation of AADHAR scheme (UID) in Manipur, the Union ministry of Home Affairs has asked the Manipur government to provide necessary security arrangements to those government officials engaged in the implementation of the scheme.

The intimation from the under secretary (NE-I), MHA addressed to the Manipur chief secretary was received recently in the first week of this month, September, an official source said Wednesday.

The intimation based on the input gathered by the MHA, indicated that the proscribed outfit (RPF/PLA) is planning to disrupt collection of bio-data ad photographs of the government under the AADHAR scheme (UID).

Directions were conveyed to cadres of the outfit by its self styled general secretary of RPF/PLA, Gunen, to take immediate steps for disruption. The PLA cadres have also been instructed upon to destroy documents related to the scheme and suitably ‘punish’ government officials, who refuse to hand over the documents, it added.

In this context, the so-called district commanders of the outfit have been asked to deploy cadres for contacting officials involved in implementation of the scheme, the source quoted as stated in the MHA’s intimation.

 “All district SPs have been asked to police stations under their control to have a close vigilant on the officials on field duty of collection of bio-data ad photographs under the scheme,” said an official in the state police department when contacted by this correspondent.

The enrollment process for UID Aadhaar Cards will also be carried out across the country under NPR (National Population Register in Manipur along with other states like Delhi and Nagaland.

Under the scheme, photographs, image of iris and ten finger prints are collected for preparation of NPR. It was started in Manipur as second phase of Census of India 2011 operation in February this year.

The NPR will create an identity data base, help in targeting public services and better planning and strengthen national security. Altogether 7000 enumerators and supervisors were deployed for census 2011 for Manipur. Around Rs two crore was being earmarked for Manipur.
National Population Register (NPR) contains details of each individual in a family, along with photographs and finger biometrics of the people, who are 18 years of age and above. But the NPR does not confer citizenship rights.

The AADHAR process collects 35 types of details related to each individual including persons living in a family, their sex, number of married couples, number of dwelling rooms, type of latrine, fuel used for cooking, source of drinking water, type of floor, wall, roof, whether anyone owns car / two wheeler, anyone availing bank service among others, etc.<

1640 - Amid much controversy, Aadhaar UID turns one - Deccan Chronicle

September 29, 2011 DC 

All Bengalureans will have their Aadhaar numbers before the end of 2012. The UIDAI and state officials have set that as the target for enrolling all Bengalureans under the scheme. This takes into account the current three months’ processing time to get the Aadhaar number from the date of enrolment.

The state government is trying to beat this deadline by increasing the number of enrolment stations in the city from the current 200 to 1000 in two month’s time, and the technology centre is going to double its capacity. “We are trying to reduce the gap of three months (between the day of enrolment and the day of receiving the Aadhaar number at one’s doorstep) to a month. For this, we have ramped up the capacity of the Central Identification Repository (CIDR) to process 10 lakh packets per day, which is the highest in the world, from the previous 5 lakh packets a day,” said Ashok Dalwai, Deputy Director General, Unique Identification Authority of India.

Currently, over 1500 enrolment stations across Karnataka see an average enrolment of 60,000 per day. Enrolment is on in 20 districts, said a state government official working closely with the UIDAI. Much of the delay in getting the unique 12-digit alpha-numeric identity is due to the state government, which finalised the tendering late, though Karnataka was one of the first states to sign the MoU with UIDAI in July 2010. The programme to issue Aadhaar numbers was launched only last month, though enrolment began earlier in Tumkur and Mysore districts, in October 2010. It began in Bengaluru in June this year.

“Our (CIDR’s) current capacity of processing 10 lakh packets a day is greater than the enrolment capacity of the entire country (7-8 lakh a day). But, we have a backlog from the time when enrolment was on and processing capacity was low,” explains Mr Dalwai of the UIDAI. “In Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, the enrolment rate is very high. We will need three months time to clear this backlog. However, the enrolment capacity will be going up simultaneously. Considering this, we are going to further increase the processing capacity. If the enrolment stations succeed in enrolling everybody within one year, we hope to generate Aadhaar numbers much before December 2012.”

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

1641 - It’s Montek vs Nilekani on UID project budget - NDTV

Sunetra Choudhury, September 27, 2011 (New Delhi)



After all the talk of differences between Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister P Chidambaram, two other cabinet minister rank officials of the government seem to be engaged in a battle.

NDTV has learnt that Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has complained to Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram on how Nandan Nilekani led Unique Idenfication Authority is doubling the cost of the UID scheme.

He has also written to the home minister objecting to methods adopted to collect citizen biometrics like fingerprints and iris scans in the aadhar or unique identification number scheme.

In a letter dated August 30, Ahluwalia wrote: “HM may kindly see the note below with the duplication in the rollout of aadhar numbers by UIDI and the ongoing exercise of the national population register by the registrar general of india. RGI has since informed duplication cannot be avoided.”

The planning commission is objecting to the UID team spending Rs. 3000 crore collect the finger prints, iris scans and photos of just 10 crore people.

Originally this was approved by the government if the data could also be used for the national population register.
But Nilekani now wants to record biometrics for all 120 crore people which will cost almost Rs. 15,000 crore and only be available in 2017 – something which both Montek led plan panel and the expenditure and finance committee have rejected.

Another point of objection is over the iris data. The planning commission says: "a reasoned decision is missing (on) whether iris really needs to be collected."

“We want to avid the duplication of data and of expenditure,” said Planning Commission Member Secretary Sudha Pillai.

Many legal groups have also complained about the fear of data and identity theft which the government is considering.

Some say it is a classic instance of what can go wrong when someone from the private sector is brought into the government. For instance, Nandan Nilekani is supposed to report to this ministry but apparently on many occasions he has gone straight to the finance ministry to get approval. That doesn’t go down well with the bureaucrats in there.

Read more at: http://profit.ndtv.com/news/show/its-montek-vs-nilekani-on-uid-project-budget-180223?cp

1640 - IT cos jittery on UID tender delay - Toi

Harsimran Julka, ET Bureau | Sep 28, 2011, 12.54PM IST

NEW DELHI: IT vendors are becoming jittery as the UIDAI has missed the 90-day deadline to select a vendor for the Rs 2,000-crore citizen database management contract amidst budget cuts from the finance ministry and a clash of a similar tender issued by the Department of IT for a National Population Register.

The delay is widening the gap between enrollments and issuance of Aadhaar numbers. The Unique Identification Authority of India has already enrolled about 40 million citizens but Aadhaar has been issued to only about 33 million people.

The selected vendor will manage IT and data of all Indian citizens, the largest citizen identity database in the world. US-VISIT program run by US department of Homeland Security is the only second such database in the world, which has about 10 million people enrolled in it. UIDAI will complete its anniversary of issuing its first number on Thursday.

At the current annual rate of enrollments, it will be able to issue only 160 million Aadhaar numbers by 2014, unless things are expedited. Accenture, TCS, HCL Infosystems , Wipro, Mahindra Satyam were selected to go in the final round, after IBM and HP opted out of bidding.

But the selected vendors are also getting jittery. "We've invested about $15 million in just preparing the bids. Uncertainty is causing a problem for us and the ecosystem. Ideally the government should sort out UID's clash with other departments," said an e-governance head of a large IT firm.

The bids for the most crucial and largest IT tender of about . 2,000 crore were put in May, this year by IT companies. So far, the authority had a record to select vendor in a timeframe of 45 days, from bids to selection.

But amidst budget cuts from the centre, the delay is being prolonged. The Ministry of Finance has rejected UIDAI's demand of allocation to be upped from Rs 3,000 crore to Rs 15,000 crore.

It has also rejected UIDAI's demand for allowing biometric enrollments over and above the 200 million mark. The NPR will now take the reins from UIDAI, for enrolling citizens after it achieves 200 million enrollments.

It has created a state of limbo for the UID ecosystem, which consists of over 200 empanelled agencies, who are already complaining of a delay in payment from states. An official of a US-based IT firm which pulled out from bids at the last moment said that though its good for their business that duplicate tenders of a similar size and quality are coming out, but it's not good for the taxpayer.

"Ideally the NPR and UID should work together to find a common ground," he added, on condition of anonymity. When ET spoke to UIDAI Director- General RS Sharma on a possible clash with the NPR tender, he said that UIDAI's job is to just implement the policy of the government. "Our job is to just execute. It's the government which decides on the policies."

Due to the government's delay in sanctioning of funds required for the project, the authority has been unable to select a vendor and is thus missing several deadlines in states such as Delhi, in issuing Aadhaar numbers.

The Delhi government has extended the deadline to January for covering the whole city.

1639 - Am I a virus? asks UID’s Nilekani. The answer: Yes, you are - First post

R.Jagannathan, Sep 28, 2011

Nandan Nilekani’s honeymoon with neta-babu India is over. India’s Unique ID champion, the man who wants to give every resident of this country his own 12-digit biometric identity, has had a free run so far with the PM giving him a more-or-less free hand to build the unique ID system and related architecture.

Money and resources have not been spared despite the fiscal crunch, with Nilekani, who is Chairman of the Unique ID Authority of India (UIDAI), being given an outlay of Rs 3,023 crore for the biometric capture of 200 million IDs. His mandate has also been broadened to include work on the idea of replacing subsidies with cash transfers, electronic toll collection, and e-governance, among many other things.

But, suddenly, an empire jealous of its power and pelf, is striking bank. The man who had a free run on his ideas is hearing more “maybes”, “buts”, and even straight “no's.”

It’s not just the jholawalas, who never warmed up to the idea of unique IDs, who are gunning for him.


The Finance Ministry, says The Economic Times, has just said no to his demand for a Rs 17,863 crore budget to capture the entire population’s biometric data; the home ministry is unhappy about UIDAI’s way of biometric data collection when its own population register, which carries out the census, could do equally well; the Planning Commission, which is where the UIDAI is located, wants the organisation’s finances and transaction to be monitored; and the labour ministry is wondering how UIDAI has already hit its stride when its mandate has not even been legislated!

The system is balking at Nilekani’s carte blanche and is suspicious of his powers.

That’s probably why Nilekani asks incredulously in a recent interview to The New Yorker: “What am I, a virus?”

The short answer is ‘yes’. Nilekani is the interloper whom the system, dominated by politicians, bureaucrats and an assorted range of activists, is trying to cut down to size.

Preciently, NIlekani’s former mentor and Infosys’ Chairman Emeritus NR Narayana Murthy, talks about the real challenge before Nilekani in The New Yorker article. “Technologically, it is a very simple project. The challenge is in making sure that literally hundreds of thousands of officers fall in line, (and that) they rally to his call and march to his tune.”

Far from marching to his tune, his own former well-wishers are now striking a discordant note.

The Planning Commission under Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, who is a close confidante of the PM, is voicing dissent. A recent Planning Commission note to the Finance Ministry says: “The UADAI’s present system represents a major departure from government procedures and removes all inbuilt checks and balances. We need a relook at the UIDAI’s administrative structure.”

Montek is miffed because the UIDAI is an adjunct to the Planning Commission—that’s how Manmohan Singh managed to smuggle Nilekani into the system—but the Commission doesn’t get to see how he gets his money or uses it. It now wants to put a crimp in Nilekani’s finances by planting a “full-time financial advisor” to track sanctions and clearances, says The Economic Times.

Nor is Montek the only one trying to shrink the Nilekani kingdom. Jairam Ramesh’s rural development ministry wants to do its own biometrics for its flagship National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

But the biggest opposition comes from Nilekani’s ideological foes: civil society poverty-mongers and politicians.
Politicians and civil society activists worry that UIDAI will ultimately seek to restrict their role by trying to exclude the non-poor from state subsidies. The political logic which led Sonia Gandhi to over-rule her jholawalas in the National Advisory Council (NAC) and back Nilekani’s project initially was that the UIDAI would give all the poor an identity and enable them to open bank accounts and make development more inclusive.

But Nilekani’s brief is now changing—and more threatening to politicians and their vote-banks. A cash-strapped Finance Ministry—backed by the PM, his Economic Advisory Council chief C Rangarajan, and the Chief Economic Advisor Kaushik Basu—wants to use the unique ID for curtailing benefits to the undeserving.

Among other things, they want to exclude the non-poor from subsidies, weed out phantom beneficiaries, prevent leakages from the public distribution system and replace price subsidies with direct cash transfers to the really needy. This is a politician’s nightmare, and red rag for the jholawalas who have made poverty their core competence.

Jean Dreze, who was on the NAC till recently, believes that cash transfers won’t work and prefers regular food handouts to the poor. That way, “you’re giving people what you know they need.” It is debatable whether people just want subsidised food or greater freedom of choice (which is what they would get if subsidies were to be replaced with cash transfers), but this has not stopped the critics. Usha  Ramanathan is another anti-UIDAI activist quoted by The New Yorker as being opposed to all that the unique ID system stands for.

However, Nilekani is a man on a mission, and is willing to fight back. He believes that some of his opponents are technophobes who are uncomfortable with the idea that technology can help solve problems related to poverty. His take on his critics: “They don’t believe that technology can solve problems. They say we’ve been looking at these things for decades and we haven’t solved them, and who are you to tell me you’ll solve them in three years?”

But won’t all the data collected through biometrics and technology be misused to invade privacy? Nilekani retort to the The New Yorker: “One (thing to do) is go back and live in a cave. The other is to say this stuff is useful but we must put in checks and balances.”

Nilekani, who left his job at Infosys two years ago as he wanted to seek challenges outside business, is not going to lie down and play dead while his detractors plot his demise. He is clear that he will either succeed fully or fail in his mission to provide all 1.2 billion Indian residents a unique ID. “Five years from the day I took it (the job), you would be able to say I succeeded if people got numbers; and you’d know I screwed up if people didn’t get numbers. So it was zero or one.”

In short, all or nothing.

With the system rising in unison to clip his wings, Nilekani may have to live with partial success of his unique ID project. His current budget will allow him to capture 200 million Indians for his biometric database. And since the finance ministry has said nyet to his proposal to hike outlays to Rs 17,863 crore to cover all 1.2 billion Indians, he will have to bide his time.

Narayana Murthy, who spoke to The New Yorker on Nilekani’s strengths (“networking and schmoozing”) and his challenges,  has this word of advance consolation for him in case he finds himself between success and failure – between zero and one. “I would not hold him (Nilekani) responsible if this project did not take off, if it did not scale up as well as he wants. Most things in India muddle along.”

Nilekani will have to “schmooze” more with politicians and bureaucrats to achieve something that will amount to more than “muddling” along.


1638 - Planning Commission wants Nandan Nilekani-led UIDAI to be monitored - Economic Times

28 SEP, 2011, 02.13AM IST, 
VIKAS DHOOT & DEVIKA BANERJI,ET BUREAU

NEW DELHI: The Planning Commission has raised questions about the administrative structure of the Nandan Nilekani-led Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI) and called for the appointment of an independent financial advisor to monitor its finances and transactions, days after the finance ministry rejected the authority's Rs 15,000 crore funding proposal.

"The UIDAI's present system represents a major departure from government procedures and removes all inbuilt checks and balances. We need a relook at the UIDAI's administrative structure," the commission wrote in a letter to the finance ministry in the third week of September.

The commission has pointed out that though the UIDAI was set up as its 'attached office' in January 2009 and derives its budget from the ministry of planning, it has never got to examine any of the authority's financial proposals till date. It says the cabinet and expenditure proposals of the UIDAI need to 'normally be seen' by its secretary and financial advisor.

"But neither the secretary nor the financial advisor is in the loop." In a subsequent letter to the finance ministry, the commission has asked for "a full-time financial advisor" to be placed in the UIDAI tasked with the "responsibility of looking into the authority's financial sanctions and clearances".

It has objected to the decision-making structure in the UIDAI that delegates the powers of a financial advisor to a deputy director-general who is also responsible for the authority's programmes and projects.

Typically, financial advisors of government departments are not entrusted with any discretionary policy-making powers so that they can take a fair and independent view of financial proposals.

ADVISOR HAS MANY RESPONSIBILITIES

But the commission says in this case the financial advisor has a number of responsibilities and prepares memos and cabinet notes for the authority. "This takes away the benefit of an independent scrutiny of proposals by an arms' length financial advisor," says the commission.

An e-mail sent to UIDAI officials seeking their views on the Planning Commission's letters did not elicit a response. The Planning Commission's criticism of the authority's way of functioning represents another setback for the body tasked with implementing one of the most ambitious projects of the UPA government.

Earlier this month, the finance ministry shot down a proposal to sanction Rs 15,000 crore to the authority for extending its biometric enrollment programme. This followed objections raised by the home ministry and the commission, which said the programme should be carried out by the census office that is creating the National Population Register.

The UIDAI has also been panned by the labour and rural development ministries which feel its plans will take too long to materialise. The ministries are working on their own independent biometric solutions. The UIDAI's original mandate was to assign a unique identity number to all Indians.

Now, the authority is also working on a brand new payment infrastructure with micro-ATMs to boost financial inclusion.

1637 - UID tender delay: IT companies like Accenture, HCL Infosystems, Wipro and Mahindra Satyam jittery over vendor selection for Rs 2,000-cr contract - Economic Times

28 SEP, 2011, 04.16AM IST, HARSIMRAN JULKA,ET BUREAU 

NEW DELHI: IT vendors are becoming jittery as the UIDAI has missed the 90-day deadline to select a vendor for the Rs 2,000-crore citizen database management contract amidst budget cuts from the finance ministry and a clash of a similar tender issued by the Department of IT for a National Population Register.

The delay is widening the gap between enrollments and issuance of Aadhaar numbers. The Unique Identification Authority of India has already enrolled about 40 million citizens but Aadhaar has been issued to only about 33 million people.

The selected vendor will manage IT and data of all Indian citizens, the largest citizen identity database in the world. US-VISIT program run by US department of Homeland Security is the only second such database in the world, which has about 10 million people enrolled in it.

UIDAI will complete its anniversary of issuing its first number on Thursday. At the current annual rate of enrollments, it will be able to issue only 160 million Aadhaar numbers by 2014, unless things are expedited. Accenture, TCS, HCL Infosystems, Wipro, Mahindra Satyam were selected to go in the final round, after IBM and HP opted out of bidding. But the selected vendors are also getting jittery.

"We've invested about $15 million in just preparing the bids. Uncertainty is causing a problem for us and the ecosystem. Ideally the government should sort out UID's clash with other departments," said an e-governance head of a large IT firm. The bids for the most crucial and largest IT tender of about Rs 2,000 crore were put in May, this year by IT companies.

So far, the authority had a record to select vendor in a timeframe of 45 days, from bids to selection. But amidst budget cuts from the centre, the delay is being prolonged. The Ministry of Finance has rejected UIDAI's demand of allocation to be upped from Rs 3,000 crore to Rs 15,000 crore. It has also rejected UIDAI's demand for allowing biometric enrollments over and above the 200 million mark.

The NPR will now take the reins from UIDAI, for enrolling citizens after it achieves 200 million enrollments. It has created a state of limbo for the UID ecosystem, which consists of over 200 empanelled agencies, who are already complaining of a delay in payment from states. An official of a US-based IT firm which pulled out from bids at the last moment said that though its good for their business that duplicate tenders of a similar size and quality are coming out, but it's not good for the taxpayer.

"Ideally the NPR and UID should work together to find a common ground," he added, on condition of anonymity. When ET spoke to UIDAI Director-General RS Sharma on a possible clash with the NPR tender, he said that UIDAI's job is to just implement the policy of the government.

"Our job is to just execute. It's the government which decides on the policies." Due to the government's delay in sanctioning of funds required for the project, the authority has been unable to select a vendor and is thus missing several deadlines in states such as Delhi, in issuing Aadhaar numbers. The Delhi government has extended the deadline to January for covering the whole city.

1636 - Aadhaar drive gets rolling - TOI

TNN | Sep 28, 2011, 10.12AM IST

MANGALORE: With 48 hours left for Aadhaar enrolment drive planned in Dakshina Kannada district, a special enrolment drive carried out for members of the fourth estate and their family members here on Tuesday evoked overwhelming response. When the drive inaugurated by district in-charge minister J Krishna Palemar ended at 7pm for the day, staff from Glodyne Technoserve completed 109 enrolments on three stations.

Mahadevaswamy, district coordinator of Glodyne Technoserve, said the average enrolment of 36 per station is good given that the staff, all of them from Mysore are getting used to the local names and places. The transliteration engine used on the software provided by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) takes some time to start collating common names and time taken for subsequent enrolment process picks up as the numbers go up, he said.

Hailing the UIDAI initiative, Palemar said not much thought has been paid to various ID cards brought out by government agencies in the past. But with Aadhaar, the government is aiming to bring host of benefits both to the user as well as various agencies dispensing services to citizens and also ensuring that genuine beneficiaries are identified for the services provided. This will also ensure optimum spread of government subsidies, he noted.

Espousing the need to create greater awareness about enrolment drive in rural areas, Palemar said this would do away with the need for the Election Commission of India to come out with a list of alternative documents for those not possessing election photo identity cards (EPIC) during each general and assembly elections. The alternate documents create chances for misuse and the same can be avoided once Aadhaar is in vogue, Palemar added.

1635 - 225 Aadhaar stations to be set up in Mandya - TOI

TNN | Sep 27, 2011, 11.22PM IST

MANDYA: With the help of the district administration, 225 Aadhaar (Unique Identification Number) card allotment stations will be established in various parts of Mandya district, said D H Ravindra, chief executive of centre for e-governance.

Speaking to media persons here on Monday, he said around 18 lakh people will be provided with Aadhaar cards within a short period of time. In the first stage, around 20 to 25 stations will be established in the district headquarters and will be extended to all taluk headquarters. Later, stations will be established for each gram panchayat, he said.

He gave a list of the documents to be produced by public to obtain the UID card. People should carry the documents such as bank pass book, voter ID card, post office pass book, ration card which contains photo, driving license, LIC bonds, current bill, water bill, landline telephone bill passport, pan card, ATM card with photo to prove their address, identity and age factors. Ravindra said that affidavits should not be entertained as proof documents.
 
Explaining how the UID card will be useful for both people and governments, he said, the state government alone can save around Rs 3500 crore by doing away with unauthorized LPG and BPL card beneficiaries. A person who has the UID card can identify himself anywhere in the country with his 12 digital number. This number will help him to avail benefits of government schemes and also can be used for multiple purposes he said.
 
Ravindra appealed to the media to educate people that the service of allotting the UID card is free and that there is no need to employ middlemen.

Headquarters officer of DC's office, Jayanna said the district administration will provide all assistance to the e-governance department to establish allotment stations.

1634 - Boycott UID/Aadhaar Number- Gopal Krishna - Counter Currents -

Boycott UID/Aadhaar Number

By Gopal Krishna

27 September, 2011
Countercurrents.org

This is to appeal to you and to draw your most urgent attention towards the world's biggest database project unfolding through Unique Identification (UID)/Aadhaar Number in India without legislative approval since January 2009. It is about a 12-digit identification number which is linked to the National Population Register (NPR), Census and National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) under Home Ministry among other initiatives.

Montek Singh Ahluwalia and P. Chidambaram have recommended the cut in the budget of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) because of “unnecessary spending” by it. UIDAI operates under the same Planning Commission that has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court in the PUCL vs Union of India & Others wherein it has said that any citizen who spends more than Rs 965 per month in urban India (around Rs.32 per day) and Rs 781 in rural India (around Rs.26 per day) “at June 2011 price level” would be considered not to be poor. It is the same agency that claims that UID scheme is for providing social services to the poor.

The UIDA had asked for Rs 3,500 cr for 2012-13, but the Planning Commission has recommended a figure of Rs 1,400 cr. UIDA was given Rs 3,000 cr for fiscal 2011-2012. The proposal has been forwarded to the Ministry of Finance for final approval.

The Ministry of Home Affairs wants to curb UID/Aadhaar Number’s scope to promote its own National Population Register (NPR), which is tasked to collect information about Indian citizens in a similar manner. At present both UIDAI under Nandan Manohar Nilekani and NPR under C Chandramouli, the Census Commissioner are collecting demographic details along with biometric data. In a classic case of pretending ignorance the Ministry of Home Affairs has questioned the legality of UIDAI. "Until the NIAI Bill 2010, is passed by parliament the UIDA does not become an authority, and should not be allowed to function so independently". The fact is Union Home Minister is a member of the Cabinet Committee on UID Authority and related matters and he was also the member of the Empowered Group of Ministers that decided both the initiative of NPR and UID. Revealing the sad state of affairs even without the passage of any legislation from the Parliament, UIDA has issued 1 crore UID/Aadhaar Numbers and plans to issue 60 crore UID/Aadhaar Number by 2014.

This project has been implemented in Pakistan under its Home Ministry. In India, NATGRID Chief Executive Officer, Capt Raghu Raman has proposed intervention of commercial czars and creation of private territorial armies in a a document titled "A Nation of Numb People".

It may be noted that ASSOCHAM, representing 3 lakh companies and KPMG, a Swiss consultancy have underlined the ramifications of UID number in their report titled "Homeland Security in India".. Union Ministry of Home Affairs, Annual Report, 2010 claims NATGRID will be started in 2011 after "approval from the competent authority (Union cabinet)". When Hard News, a news magazine asked Nilekani about the relationship of UID/Aadhaar Number, his response was "No comments".

It may be noted that we already have at least 15 identity proofs including Voter I card. What creates a compelling logic for a 16th identity proof?

Providing bio-metric data like finger prints of ten fingers, iris scan etc for the identification number to public and private institutions is akin to wearing a radio collar. This is an act of subjecting oneself to constant surveillance which in itself is a dehumanizing act. How can students submit themselves to such indignity unthinkingly.

It is quite alarming that the enrollment for it has started where gullible citizens and even chief ministers are queuing up for it not knowing its dangerous implications. Similar identification schemes have been rejected by in China, UK, Phillipines, Australia and USA. Pakistan has been awarded for the successful implementation of identification project. According to World Bank, it is unfolding in 14 developing countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, Uganda.

The National Identification Authority of India (NIAI) Bill, 2010 for UID/Aadhaar Number is pending with the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance. We have given testimony to it. Its classic case of putting the cart before the horse wherein the project precedes the legislation. The Bill does not define bio-metric data implying that it could include DNA profiling and voice identification. Section 57 of the Bill reveals that the Indian National Congress led UPA government holds Parliament in contempt. It is also linked to several other proposed legislations and initiatives.

Bio-metric identification based UID/Aadhaar Number for residents of India is essentially a surveillance project which will last for centuries to come. It is an assault on the human rights of present and future citizens of India. It is being bulldozed down our throats at behest of US bio-metric technology companies which manifestly work with intelligence agencies. This will neutralize political resistance in India to a huge extent. It will ensure profiling of minorities of all ilk for good.

The entire data base of UID/Aadhaar Number will be stored in a Central Identities Data Repository (CIDR) which will be handed over to US based security, intelligence and bio-metric technology companies like Accenture Services Pvt Ltd and L1 Identities Solution Pvt Ltd as per a contract awarded to them on July 30, 2010. It is germane to recollect that Wikileaks' latest disclosure reveals that former Egyptian President, Hosni Mubarak had transferred the identity database of Egyptians to US Federal Bureau of Investigation. Is it not relevant to this so called e-governance initiative of UPA Government?.

I also wish to draw your considered attention towards the manifesto titled “2083: A European Declaration of Independence” brought out by Norwegian gunman and neo-Crusader, Anders Behring Breivik who carried out the heinous attacks on his fellow citizens. This 1500 page manifesto refers to the word “identity” over 100 times, “unique” over 40 times and “identification” over 10 times. There is reference to “state-issued identity cards”, “converts’ identity cards”, “identification card”, “fingerprints”, “DNA” etc. The words in this manifesto give a sense of deja vu.

In a significant development following rigorous deliberations, an Indian development support organization founded in 1960, Indo-Global Social Service Society (IGSSS) has disassociated itself from UID Number project which was being undertaken under Mission Convergence in Delhi. Withdrawal of IGSSS that works in 21 states of the country across four core areas India: Sustainable Livelihood, Youth Development, Disaster Risk Reduction, and Urban Poverty merits the attention of all the states and civil society organisations especially those who are unwittingly involved in the UID Number enrollment process.

In its withdrawal letter IGSSS said, “we will not be able to continue to do UID enrolment, as we discussed in the meeting of 10th May 2011.” It added, it is taking step because `it’s hosted under the rubric of UNDP’s “Innovation Support for Social Protection: Institutionalizing Conditional Cash Transfers“ [Award ID: 00049804, Project: 00061073; Confer: Output 1, Target 1.2 (a) & Output 3 (a), (b)]. In fact we had no clue of this until recently when we searched the web and got this information.’

A Statement of Concern calling for halting of UID Number project was issued in September 2010 by 17 eminent citizens led by Justice V R Krishna Iyer, Prof. Romila Thapar, Late K.G.Kannabiran, Prof. Upendra Baxi, Bezwada Wilson, Late S.R.Sankaran, Prof. Trilochan Sastry, Prof. Jagdeep Chhokar, Justice A.P.Shah among others at a Press Conference in New Delhi but corporate media chose to ignore it.

Let me also request you to forward this message to concerned legislators, lawyers, students, teachers and citizens for their perusal and consideration of this grave issue.

I can share more reference documents to enable the fellow citizens to adopt a resolution or issue a appeal calling for UID/Aadhaar Number boycott within our own states and spheres.

Gopal Krishna
Member, Citizens Forum for Civil Liberties (CFCL)
ToxicsWatch Alliance
New Delhi
Email:krishna2777@gmail.com
Web: toxicswatch.blogspot.com

1633 - UID to miss Sept deadline, govt sets new date - TOI

TNN Sep 27, 2011, 05.36am IST

NEW DELHI: The process of issuing unique identification number to all the people in the capital may miss the September 30 deadline. So far, just 27% of population has been enrolled under the Unique Identification-AADHAR project. Admitting that the pace of work was slow and would take another six months, unless the private agencies engaged for the purpose speed up the process, Delhi revenue minister A K Walia has now set a fresh deadline of January 2012.

Latest figures show that out of total estimated population of 1.67 crore in the caiptal only 45.5 lakh have been enrolled till now. However, the UID-AADHAR numbers have been generated for 9.5 lakh individuals only. An analysis of the data shows that an average of 69,763 enrolments happen in a day. In case the pace of enrolment is not increased it will take another 6 months to complete the remaining 73% of enrolment.

Walia has now directed that the average enrolment per day should be raised to 1.25 lakh so that the enrolment is completed by early January next year. District authorities have been asked to ensure that more machines are installed to speed up the process.

Walia has made it clear that non-performance at any level will not be tolerated and action will be taken against non-performers. He instructed the divisional commissioner to forfeit the security deposit of Tera Soft, the agency responsible for dismal performance in East and South districts. These two districts are at the bottom of the list as far as percentage of enrolment done is concerned. Another agency is also issued an warning for its unsatisfactory performance. District authorities have been asked to replace non-performing agencies with the new agencies having good credentials. At present, 10 agencies are involved in the project.

Delhi government and the Unique Identification Authority of India signed a memorandum of understanding in June last year to implement UID in the capital. Under the project, every individual will be issued a unique identity number along with biometric details of the retina and fingerprints. UID will be issued to every individual, including new born babies, who is a resident of Delhi. However, biometric details will be taken of those who are five years and above.

The unique number is seen as a foolproof identity that cannot be duplicated. It is seen as a proof to enable people holding the identity number to apply for opening a bank account and other papers like ration cards and pension. It is seen as beneficial particularly for the vulnerable and the homeless as most of them find it difficult to secure any social entitlements due to lack of identity papers.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

1636 - Is Nandan Nilekani's UID dream run over? - ECONOMIC TIMES

27 SEP, 2011, 07.55AM IST, 
M RAJSHEKHAR, VIKAS DHOOT AND SOMA BANERJEE,
ET BUREAU

( These) various pulls and pressures mean that when it comes to policy, the urgent wins over the important, tactic triumphs over strategy, and patronage over public good." -Nandan Nilekani in his 2008 book Imagining India
Nilekani had a ringside view of the workings of the government then, as a member of a few advisory panels . For the last two years, he's been in the ring as the head of a government institution whose work has import for every Indian, mostly sheltered from those pulls and pressures. But, lately, his institution and he might be feeling it more than ever before, more so considering where the opposition is coming from: other parts of the government.

The reasons for the differences are many: territorial, civil liberties, intellectual, political and technological. Put it all together and it gives the impression that the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) - a novelty in the delivery of a government service - is under siege. From within the government. Nilekani shrugs it off as a "process of debate" natural to a project of such scale and transformational impact. "An important lesson I have learnt is that in the public space, there are a lot more stakeholders with different views," says the UIDAI chairman.

"We have to work with them and build consensus, which is what we are doing." But another top UIDAI official, not wanting to be identified, points to motives in the guise of differences: "It is part skepticism, part vested interests." The significance of the UIDAI is at many levels. It is about the future of when and how 1.2 billion Indians receive unique ID (UID) numbers, called Aadhaar. This number is envisaged to become the backbone of many financial transactions, including the ongoing morphing of the government subsidy and welfare system into cash transfers.

It is also about whether bright minds in the private sector can cross over to the government and make a difference. Nilekani is as big and bright as they come. He was comfortable and wanted in Infosys, the IT company he co-founded, till Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called him in early-2009 to head UIDAI, at the effective rank of a cabinet minister. Two years and two months into his five-year term, Nilekani must truly feel like a minister, experiencing government in all its hues.

PULLS AND PRESSURES

Here's the count for the last two months. The finance ministry, which has endorsed virtually every UIDAI decision so far, has rejected its demand to increase its biometric capture mandate from 200 million to all 1.2 billion, and its outlay from Rs 3,023 crore to Rs 17,863 crore. Earlier, the home ministry questioned the accuracy of the UIDAI data, effectively sending out the message that its own entity that does the Census will collect biometrics. The ministry of rural development is planning its own biometric cards.

And, says Bhartruhari Mahtab, an MP from the Biju Janata Dal and a member of the committee evaluating the bill to give UIDAI legal status: "Most members were unconvinced about the need for the UIDAI." (See graphic: Difference of Opinion) It's unlikely the government will do a Uturn since Nilekani and the UIDAI came in with backing from the Congress high command. Even the 15,000 crore additional demand, which was rejected, was a pitch for additional responsibilities and funds. Both Nilekani's and UIDAI's mandate have continuously increased, notably on how to leverage Aadhaar for transactions.

"We are plumbers," says UIDAI directorgeneral RS Sharma. "We are implementing a project given to us by the government. And we are working within our mandate." Today, the UIDAI has about 200 full-time employees, including 60 from the private sector. But as it pitches for more, as its engagement with other parts of the government and states intensifies, the pulls and pressures are multiplying. A senior bureaucrat in the ministry of labour, not wanting to be identified, says UIDAI has assumed it has a great idea the rest of the world will fall in love with. "You cannot push this down people's throat," he says. 


COMMENTS

Lal Narang (Pune)
This brave man dynamic and full of ideas had a dream unparallel and befitting his qualifications and zest and when he started the road seemed ready to welcome him on journey to the end,,,yet trust the men in power, men with vested interests to seek their own pound of flesh where none was available. Some of them simply ignorant of what the project meant for the country and the over all benefit for a common man and under common man and yet some trying to bring in factors like caste creed and regions in the equation blocked the road and stopped the good man from going further down the road... Wise man as he is he understood and envisaged all possible hurdles and had taken into account all possible factors but it would seem that it what ever he tries to do the selfish, greedy and under developed people in the Government can never be convinced .... This one examples will be more than sufficient to prove that any thing for the betterment of the common lot and the country become unpalatable and unacceptable by these leaders whose right place is in lunati assylum -if they are accepted...

Kanwal Krishen Mam (Beijing)
It is pity to kill the good project. I feel India need to have only one identity document which should be used universally all over India. This shall save the tax payer's money which are being spent by individual Govt. departments such as Voters Card, PAN etc. Also by this majour control can be exercised on various problems faced for which we do not have any solution.

Indian (Bharath) 

I think Nilekani needs to go and meet Anna for once and discuss with him the importance of this exercise in the lives of the underprivileged and 'should be' beneficieries of Govt. Programmes. This card will be giving Anna's fight against corruption a true 21st century angle. Moreover it will also relieve to a great extent the menace of infiltration we are facing at our borders as till date we do not know who is an Indian Citizen by the looks. They all look the same on both sides of India's borders for it were all one when the British rule gave way to the " Great Indian Dynastic" rule. Unless and until the People of India take it into their hearts this is going to be non starter as the Political & Bureaucratic Mafia along with the religious vested interests will see to it that the term UID and the word Aadhaar is removed even from the Indian edition Dictionaries. - Jai Hind!!

Moorthy (Chennai)
Already we have many UIDs, for example PAN,passport,driving license, voter id etc,. Is seems PAN will serve the propose. Investing huge money for UID may not be worth.

SS (India) replies to Wilson Thampi
For 200 years british could not give electricity or anything. What was left was a nation with 35 years of average life expectancy and 12% literacy. Atleast Indian govt has done far better in 60 years than what British did. I too am dissatisfied with progress, but important not to be sarcastic in every comment. Find solutions if you think UID is right, vs finding problems. There are many who know how to be sarcastic or find problems but only few who find solutions. We need nation of people who find solutions and not sit on sidelines commenting sarcastic.


1635 - Aadhaar alone isn’t enough for a full-fledged bank account - LIVE MINT

The finance ministry may have amended the Prevention of Money Laundering Rules, 2005, to notify Aadhaar as adequate to meet KYC norms for opening bank accounts, putting it alongside other identity proofs, but banks are still confused
Surabhi Agarwal, Remya Nair & Anup Roy

New Delhi/Mumbai: Is a unique ID number or Aadhaar number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) enough to satisfy the so-called know-your-customer (KYC) norms that banks have to ensure every account they open meets?

The finance ministry may have amended the Prevention of Money Laundering Rules, 2005, to notify Aadhaar as adequate to meet KYC norms for opening bank accounts, putting it alongside the passport, driving licence, permanent account number (PAN) card, and the voter’s identity card, but banks are still confused.

That’s because the finance ministry notice came in December, and in January, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said all accounts opened exclusively with the use of an Aadhaar number would be treated as so-called small or no-frills accounts.

Small bank accounts are subject to various limitations: the total amount deposited in them in a fiscal cannot exceed Rs. 1 lakh; the customers need to satisfy another KYC norms within a year for the account to be operational (though the deadline is extendable by a year).


To open large bank accounts, customers will have to satisfy another KYC norms in addition to using their Aadhaar number. “Aadhaar is one of the additional means we are giving people to open bank accounts; however, in itself not sufficient for large bank accounts,” said a finance ministry official who did not want to be identified.
Even though another government official pointed out that none of Aadhaar’s future plans are “premised on this”, the notification makes it less attractive for banks to open accounts through Aadhaar.

Aadhaar is the government’s flagship project to give a unique identity number to each resident of the country.

UIDAI, which has major ambitions to make Aadhaar a robust means of authentication for all kinds of financial transactions, has been in talks with the finance ministry and RBI to address the issue.

“The central bank is fundamentally conservative in nature and Aadhaar has the potential to bring about radical changes in the system, which explains RBI’s move. They had some concerns, which are being addressed,” added a government official familiar with the issue, who did not want to be identified.

Robin Roy, associate director at audit and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, said that technically a UID number can serve both as an identity proof and an address proof, but is not considered sufficient as the regulator insists on more robust KYC processes for opening savings and current accounts. “For Aadhaar to be used as the sole KYC, there is a need for convergence by all the regulators such as RBI, Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India) and Irda (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India) in acceptance of this number,” he said. Aadhaar, Roy added, needs to inspire confidence with its due diligence and fraud-prevention processes.

A senior executive at State Bank of India, who did not want to be identified, said that under the Anti-Money Laundering Act, “we cannot be lax on our due diligence part. Banks from other countries will not do business with us if that is the case. Aadhaar number, in its present form, does not give us the full picture of the account holder”.

An executive at Punjab National Bank, who too did not want to be identified, said UID cannot be taken as full KYC simply because the database is not ready to be queried yet.

The issue could be resolved in the next few days. A spokesperson for RBI said the central bank is discussing the issue with the various parties involved and that it could likely issue some clarifications on the use of Aadhaar in the next few days.

UIDAI, which has enrolled 36 million people so far, estimates that around 80% of them want a bank account.

Aadhaar-linked bank accounts assume significance because the government has set up a committee to look at the issue of direct transfers of subsidies and how an Aadhaar-linked payment gateway can be used to achieve this purpose.

surabhi.a@livemint.com


1634 - THE I.D. MAN - THE NEW YORKER

Can a software mogul’s epic project help India’s poor?
 
by Ian Parker
OCTOBER 3, 2011

ABSTRACT: PROFILE of Indian billionaire Nandan Nilekani. One afternoon last December, inside a tent pitched beside a busy road in New Delhi, a group of homeless workers were standing in line for I.D. numbers. They were being drafted into a public scheme known as Aadhaar, launched by Nandan Nilekani, a genial software billionaire, which intends to create a national biometric database ten times larger than the world’s next-largest biometric database. The aim is to help reduce the extraordinary economic distances between those who have benefitted from India’s boom of the past two decades and those who have not. The effort has been called “the biggest social project on the planet.” 

Skeptics see a threat of state intrusions, or detect patriotic vanity. Mentions Farooq Ali. India has no equivalent of Social Security numbering, and just thirty-three million Indians, out of 1.2 billion, pay income tax, and only sixty million have passports. The official opacity of hundreds of millions of Indians hampers economic growth and emboldens corrupt bureaucrats. Mentions the headquarters where Nilekani works, the Unique Identity Authority of India (U.I.D.A.I.). If the project is successful, India would abruptly find itself at the forefront of citizen-identification technology, outperforming Social Security and other non-biometric systems. Nilekani co-founded Infosys, an outsourcing company, in 1981, when he was twenty-six. In 1993, he and his co-founders became rich when Infosys went public in Indian. In 1999, Infosys was the first Indian company to be listed on a North American exchange. Three years later, Nilekani became C.E.O., and the company’s rate of growth accelerated, reaching fifty per cent in 2005. He published a best-selling book, “Imagining India,” in 2008, and in it he made a case for unique I.D. numbers. The process of building a government department from scratch after he left Infosys, in July, 2009, was “a huge dislocation” from Nilekani’s comfort zone. Within weeks, he and a small team of civil servants and tech experts had established much of the project’s architecture. Aadhaar would subcontract enrollment, which would be voluntary, and available to all residents. And there would be no I.D. cards—just I.D. numbers. In September, 2010, Rajana Sonawane became the first holder of an Aadhaar number. Three months later, Aadhaar’s intake had risen to forty thousand a day. Mentions Srikanth Nadhamuni. In India’s N.G.O.s, think tanks, and universities, opposition to Aadhaar has been full-throated. Mentions Jean Drèze. Alongside arguments about social policy, there is also some Indian disquiet about Aadhaar’s threat to privacy. Mentions Mohammad Intezar Khan.

1633 - Tripura leads in enrolments for Aadhaar UID scheme - Economic Times

26 SEP, 2011, 03.59PM IST, IANS 

AGARTALA: Tripura leads in enrolments for the the ambitious "Aadhaar" scheme, a 12-digit number being issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) for all Indian residents, a minister said here Monday.

"In Tripura, 80 percent of the 3.7 million population have so far been enrolled in Aadhaar scheme followed by Andhra Pradesh (25 percent) and Maharashtra (20 percent)," Tripura Rural Development Minister Jitendra Choudhury told reporters.

Quoting a communique of the union rural development ministry, Choudhury said : "The central government, at a function in New Delhi on Thursday, would give awards to Tripura and other well performing states in implementation of the Aadhaar scheme."

Tripura was the first state in the northeast and the eighth in India where the Aadhaar scheme was launched on Dec 2 last year.

According to UIDAI director general and mission director Ram Sevak Sharma, in the next four years, 60 crore Indians would get the Aadhaar number.

"Crores of Indians do not have bank accounts. Once they get the Aadhaar number it would easily facilitate them to open a bank account and get banking services," Sharma had told reporters here recently.

The Aadhaar scheme, formally launched by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sep 29 last year, is now in progress in many states. UIDAI has empanelled several enrolment agencies across the country.

"The Aadhaar number is an official confirmation of residency not the citizenship of any individual," an official of the Tripura government clarified.

"The quality and speed of lots of government programmes and issue of official documents to people would be improved through this Aadhaar number," he said, adding that the problems in getting government facilities and services would also be reduced.

According to the official, the Aadhaar number would be stored in a centralised database and linked to the basic demographics and biometric information, including a person's photographs, 10 fingerprints and iris impression.

"The Aadhaar number and all details of an individual will be easily verifiable in an online and cost-effective way," he added.

"By March next year, the enrolment of all residents of Tripura would be completed. They would then get the Aadhaar number directly from UIDAI," said the official.

1632 - Nilekani targets 600 million Aadhaar cards by 2014 - The Hindu Business Line

ALKA KSHIRSAGAR

Mr Nandan Nilekani, UIDAI Chairman

The key game changer is the on-line identity that would provide individuals with a portable identity that can be authenticated anywhere.

PUNE, SEPT. 25:
Around 600 million Indians will possess Aadhaar cards by the middle of 2014, Mr Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, Unique Identification Authority of India, has said.

So far 33 million people have been issued the cards while another 40 million have been enrolled, he revealed, adding that currently a total of 600,000 new people were being enrolled at 20,000 locations across the country every day.

“This will go to one million a day by October,” he said and added that the biggest demand was from people who did not have an alternate way to establish their identity.

NO DUPLICATION
With bio-metrics – ten fingerprints and retina imaging – the basis of the Aadhaar cards, Mr Nilekani called the ‘de-duplication' technology the most important part of the UID architecture.

“In a couple of years, there will be 400 million cards, and every day one million new people will be enrolling. This means that before the next morning, each of these will have to be checked against the data of 400 million existing cards so there will be no duplication,” he said.

FINANCIAL INCLUSION
The UIDAI is also conducting a pilot in Tumkur to open simultaneous bank accounts linked to their UID. “This is important for financial inclusion and we are in talks with 64 banks across the country,” Mr Nilekani said.

The key game changer in the UID project was the on-line identity that would provide individuals with a portable identity that can be authenticated anywhere he said, quipping, “This is not technological gobbledygook. It will change India at scale and speed.”

1631 - Do all Indians need an Aadhaar card? - TOI

2011-09-26 13:14:28.0

Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India, Nandan Nilekani, has said that the ‘Aadhaar’ card is necessary for all Indians. At a function in Pune, Nilekani said that lack of proof of identity remains a challenge for many Indians, especially at a time of large scale rural-to-urban migration. 

“The moment you become a migrant, you are rendered anonymous in terms of drawing benefits such as ration card supplies, public health, education schemes etc.,” he said. 

Nilekani said that of country's 1.2 billion population, only 50 million i.e. less than 5% hold a passport, close to 100 million people have PAN cards and another 200 million have driving licenses. "A vast section of people does not have any ID proof,” he said.

Monday, September 26, 2011

1630 (original 969) - NO UID Program on US Radio by Gopal Krishna


By Gopal Krishna
21st Dec 2010
Today I was on Dr. Katherine Albrecht Radio Show, in US at 3 AM early morning for an hour. The program was against the UID Number.

The conversation is available at: Click on Link

In the US, there is a UID like project called radio frequency identification (RFID) project which is being opposed by the citizen groups there.

The technology, RFID, is rapidly moving into the real world through a wide variety of applications: Washington state driver’s licenses, U.S. passports, clothing, payment cards, car keys and more.
Their objective is to create a future world where RFID is everywhere and figure out problems. RFID has been used primarily to track goods in supply chains, and the RFID Ecosystem works as a kind of human warehouse.

The system can show when people leave the office, when they return, how often they take breaks, where they go and who’s meeting with whom. The latest RFID tags contain a 96-bit code meant to uniquely identify an object or person.

The RFID would be an invisible tag. The US.Department of Homeland Security required states to use an RFID chip that is readable from a distance to be compatible with its REAL ID initiative. Large US telecommunications companies are in the middle of a bitter dispute over their role assisting in government wiretapping, and whether they can be sued or be given legal immunity.

By the time, we will know that such technologies have become quite widespread, it might be hard to change. A global technology based control regime is emerging. It will be great if we can exchange notes and support our respecting campaigns against the emerging universal identification architecture to combat threats to civil liberties and natural resources.

It seems we need to be more active to study and reveal the dehumanizing ramifications of such technological interference in human life.

thanks
Gopal Krishna