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

Friday, May 30, 2014

5561 - Narendra Modi may merge Nandan Nilekani's UIDAI, Chidambaram's NPR projects - Financial Express


VijaitaSingh | New Delhi | Updated: May 30 2014, 12:21 IST

SUMMARY
UIDAI generated Aadhaar cards; it is mandatory for every citizen to be enrolled under NPR...


Under PM Narendra Modi dispensation, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and the National Population Register (NPR), the two similar projects launched by the UPA government for issuing unique 12-digit identity numbers to residents of India, are likely to be merged, according to a senior Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) official.

Former home minister P Chidambaram, whose tenure saw the launch of NPR in 2010, was on several occasions at loggerheads with the implementation of UIDAI headed by former Infosys CEO Nandan Nilekani as both projects had overlapping features as biometric identification. While the UIDAI generated Aadhaar cards had no legal backing, it is mandatory for every citizen to be enrolled under the NPR under the Citizenship Act 1955.

In a presentation before Home Minister Rajnath Singh on his first day in office, ministry officials suggested that both the schemes could be merged and an arrangement should be done where both can work together.

The UIDAI works under the aegis of Planning Commission while NPR is a project of the MHA. UIDAI was rolled out in 16 states while NPR is a nationwide project.

“The minister was briefed about several subjects and this was one of them. He asked for actionable suggestions on various issues pertaining to the ministry and it was suggested that the two schemes could be merged,” said a senior official.

Chidambaram refused to comment on the subject and Nilekani could not be reached for comments.

Soon after taking charge, Singh held a three-hour meeting with senior ministry officials and went through presentations on various subjects. He asked officials to come up with innovative ideas for internal security and better coordination between the Centre and states. The minister also asked officials how the border disputes with China, Bangladesh and the Sir Creek area along Gujarat coast touching Pakistan can be revisited and an alternative scenario could be arrived at which does not compromise national security.

Crucial divisions like Internal Security, Naxal Management, Centre-State, North-East and Jammu and Kashmir have been directed to prepare a roadmap to improve internal security architecture in the next few days.

“He asked officials heading different divisions to make individual presentations. He asked us to let him know what kind of intervention he could make in areas of inter-ministerial coordination, sanction of funds and ensuring cooperation of Central and state governments,” said the official.

5560 - Rajnath hints at merger of NPR and Aadhaar - TNN


Bharti Jain,TNN | May 30, 2014, 12.35 AM IST

NEW DELHI: NEW DELHI: Rajnath Singh, who assumed charge as home minister on Thursday, has hinted at the possibility of looking at the merger of the National Population Register (NPR) exercise and Aadhar scheme. During his first interaction with ministry officials, Singh is said to have asked for suggestions on how the two schemes could be made "complementary" so as to eliminate any duplicity between them. 

Incidentally, the UPA's flagship Aadhar scheme was earlier criticized by a parliamentary standing committee headed by BJP leader Yashwant Sinha, over its duplication with NPR exercise and security concerns arising out its enrolment process, particularly its introductory system, and security of Aadhar data in private hands. 

The avoidable duplicity between NPR and Aadhar schemes, both of which involve collection of biometrics from residents of the country, was raised as part of the detailed presentation made by home ministry officials regarding the issues, gaps and action plans of the each of the ministry's divisions. 

Singh, who sat through the three-hour presentation covering areas such as internal security, Centre-state ties, Left-wing extremism, J&K situation and border management, is said to have asked senior ministry officials to come up with "different, innovative and out-of-the-box" ideas to improve on all these fronts. 

Sources in the home ministry suggested that the Registrar General of India, which is in charge of the NPR exercise, would go back to the home minister with a detailed presentation suggesting marriage of NPR and Aadhar schemes. The options may include complete merger of the NPR with Aadhar under the RGI, or division of work between NPR and Aadhar in such a way that enrolment is done entirely by NPR while UIDAI, which runs Aadhar, carried out de-duplication ahead of generating the unique number. 

According to sources, the first option would be better since it shall eliminate the need for a legislative backup for Aadhar, or UID Bill which was shot down earlier by the parliamentary standing committee. 

Singh's call for "out of the box" ideas for improving the functioning of each of home ministry's various divisions came soon after he assumed charge on Thursday. No sooner than he had settled in his corner North Block office, Singh sent in regrets to the posse of mediapersons awaiting his first comments on his priorities as home minister. He headed instead to the MHA conference room for an exhaustive presentation on the work areas and issues concerning the home ministry. For the next three and a half hours, Singh heard out senior officials of the ministry's divisions one by one, making frequent interventions before outlining his own priority areas. 

Singh sat through presentations that included an overview of how each division works, its budgetary resources, gaps and what needs to be done immediately. He listed internal security, centre-state coordination, border management, countering Left-wing extremism, Jammu & Kashmir and security of people of north-east origin across the country among his key priorities. A senior official said Singh has asked individual officers to suggest how internal security matters can be dealt differently, innovatively through some out-of-the-box ideas. The officials dealing with border management were told to come up with possible scenarios for resolving border disputes — particularly along the Bangladesh border and Sir Creek — that would not compromise national security but the same time appear attractive to the other side. 

Insisting on the need to maintain good Centre-state relations, Singh has sought possible mechanisms to achieve this. He also asked officials to spell out areas, particularly relating to inter-ministerial and Centre-state coordination, where his intervention was required. A two-pronged counter-Naxal approach where security and development operations would go hand in hand and better security for people of north-eastern origin living in metros was stressed upon. The Centre plans to issue advisories soon asking the police of various cities to protect north-eastern people.


5559 - Govt likely to continue with Aadhaar: Bankers - TNN



Bankers say that the new government is likely to continue with Aadhaar.
Mayur Shetty, TNN | May 30, 2014, 06.33AM IST

MUMBAI: Bankers say that the new government is likely to continue with Aadhaar given the huge savings that it can bring by plugging leakages in subsidy payments and the support it provides to extending banking services to the unbanked. 

According to a central banking source, using Aadhaar in direct benefit transfers has brought about huge savings in LPG subsidies through de-duplication of subscribers. The Aadhaar database was also helping financial service firms extend their reach to the unbanked as 'know your customer' norms could be completed without insisting on documents. 

Speaking to TOI recently, Uday Kotak, vice-chairman and MD, Kotak Mahindra Bank, said that the government could retain Aadhaar in some form as it would facilitate extension of banking services. Another chief of a private bank said that even if the government tinkered with the scheme, it would still be advantageous to retain the Aadhaar brand as hundreds of crores has been spent on creating an awareness about the scheme in many states. 

Aadhaar is used in the banking industry at three levels. As a financial inclusion tool, at the time of issuance of the number, citizens are allotted a bank account if they do not already have one. It also simplifies the process of account opening to those who already have an Aadhaar number. Some bank branches are already allowing walk-in customers to scan their fingerprints to capture address and identity proof from the central database and open an account. Some private insurance companies are looking at selling insurance across-the-counter with minimum personal information as the Aadhaar card is used to pull all customer information into their database. The government had originally intended to use Aadhaar to transfer government payments, including scholarships, and food and LPG subsidies directly into bank accounts. The Aadhaar bridge - an IT link provided by National Payment Corporation of India - connects the government treasury to the ultimate beneficiary's account. 

Some BJP members were highly critical of Aadhaar. During the election campaign, BJP leader H N Ananth Kumar, who defeated former Unique Identification Authority of India chairman Nandan Nilekani, had claimed that the BJP would scrap the UIDAI and replace Aadhaar with the National Population Register. He had said that Aadhaar had no validity after the Supreme Court observations. The BJP had alleged that Aadhaar numbers were being allotted to non-citizens.



5558 - Will Narendra Modi continues Aadhaar Project ? - A P Today ( Telugu )

Published on May 27, 2014

- See more at: http://www.aptoday.com/videos/will-narendra-modi-continues-aadhaar-project.html#sthash.OTb4rX5z.dpuf


5557 - Court notice to government on food security act - Business Standard



IANS  |  New Delhi  May 28, 2014 Last Updated at 22:28 IST

The Delhi High Court Wednesday issued notice to the central government on a plea seeking to modification in the rules in the National Food Security Act that requires an applicant to furnish Aadhaar card or enrolment ID for issue of card for the scheme.
A division bench of Chief Justice G. Rohini and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw sought the central government's response by Aug 27.
The PIL, filed by advocate Yogesh Kumar, claimed that a large number of poor population in the city was left out the food security scheme because they don't possess an Aadhaar card or have not registered themselves in the National Population Register (NPR).

The food security card under the act is issued in the name of the senior-most member of the family having annual income of less than Rs.1 lakh and provides subsidized foodgrains to them.

After the National Food Safety Act was implemented in 2013, the Delhi government commenced the process of issuing the national food security card to residents here, said the plea.
Authorities has issued a circular of making it mandatory for applicants to compulsorily add details of the Aadhaar card or enrolment ID for accepting the application form, it further claimed.

It also said that in the absence of the same, the food and supplies department was not accepting such an application form, despite of the fact that the Supreme Court had held that no person should suffer for not having the Aadhaar card.

5556 - 5 issues in microfinance sector that need Narendra Modi's attention - Business Today


Vijay Mahajan       Last Updated: May 26, 2014  | 15:30 IST

Vijay Mahajan, social entrepreneur, Founder and Chairman of BASIX Grou

Vijay Mahajan, social entrepreneur, Founder and Chairman of BASIX Group lists five issues for new Narendra Modi government that need to be addressed for financial inclusion and for microfinance sector.

1. Harmonise Aadhaar and National Population Register (NPR): This is needed and brought to its logical conclusion with all citizens getting biometric identification at the earliest. This is important for financial services because transactions will become difficult without this, though efforts must also be made to clarify and ensure that the Aadhaar card is not seen as citizenship card or as an entitlement.

2. The credit bureau system should be made universal:  Every person, irrespective of from where he or she is borrowing -- NBFC (Non-Banking Finance Company), bank or a Self Help Group -- they should all be brought under the credit bureau system. Plus, they should also be linked to utilities like telephone wherever regular payments are involved so that the credit history of the borrower can be made available to the next lender. (There are four credit bureaus in the country today and collect and maintain loan repayment records of borrowers and make them available to lenders).

3.
Impose a national ban on loan waivers by political leaders: Under certain circumstances like drought or floods, there may be justification for a loan waiver but it should not be a political leader to decide that. Political leaders can make a demand and it should be an independent financial commission comprising financial, judicial and public policy experts that can decide who gets the loan waiver and how much. This is important because every time there is a loan waiver, the poor suffer in the long run because for the next five years, banks may not be willing to lend in that area and there is enough data to show this.

4. Link telecom network and the financial network: This is necessary to ensure that mobile phones can truly become banking devices in people's pockets. Recognising the fact that we have 700 to 800 million mobile phone users and mobile connectivity is all pervasive. Along with these, there should be safeguards such as limits to which mobile transfers can be permitted and encouraged.

5. Time for universal and compulsory health and pension policy: Given that we are a young nation, the premiums on average will be lower. With a median age of 26 years, universal and compulsory health and pension policy becomes important. Around 600 million young along with another 200 to 300 million below 50 years will get enough time to accumulate pension and be saved from problems of old age poverty later.

As told to E. Kumar Sharma

5555 - From amid the ashes, hope looks obscure - The Hindu

May 26, 2014 22:37 IST



Mohd Nawaz shows his house which was burnt down by a riotous mob at Arsh Mahal in Kishanbagh. PHOTO: ASIF YAR KHAN

Several families lost their belongings in the arson that followed the Kishanbagh riots, but regaining government documents will worry them most. It is the same story for other families bracing for another fight against the administration now.

Mohd. Nawaz is a worried man. A riotous mob burnt down his house 10 days ago at Arsh Mahal in Kishanbagh, reducing his belongings to ashes.

More than the agony of losing clothes, money and groceries, the 27-year-old auto-rickshaw driver disturbed at having lost all his documents.

“My Aadhaar card, birth certificate, driving licence, ration card and other documents kept in the cupboard were reduced to ashes when the miscreants set ablaze my house,” Nawaz recalls.

“Getting copies will now be a challenge. And I have to approach brokers to get them, as I cannot afford to keep away from work for days at a stretch,” he says.

Nawaz’s neighbour Sadiya Begum also faces a similar predicament. Apart from proofs of identity and birth certificates of her four school-going children, she lost her ration card and her mother’s pension book.

It is the same story for other families bracing for another fight against the administration now.

“Everyone knows how difficult it is it to get any certificate or ration card from a government office. We have neither the influence nor the money to get them quickly,” says Sadiq, a daily wager who too lost birth certificates and other documents in the arson.

Eight houses were down on Wednesday last after violence broke out over the burning of a religious flag in the area. Affected families allege that no official from the district administration had approached them till date.

“Voluntarily organisations donated groceries, clothes and money, but none from the government have come forward,” laments Nabi Miya, a victim.

Keywords: From Ashescommunal riotsHyderabad

5554 - Prepaid card issuers await NDA's Aadhaar stand - TNN


TNN | May 26, 2014, 03.55AM IST
MUMBAI: The RBI gave in to a long-standing demand of prepaid card issuers last month by allowing them to provide cash withdrawal at shops that have credit card swipe machines.

Besides increasing the utility of prepaid cards, it provided shopkeepers a route to transfer cash into their bank account without going to the bank.


The merchant will also get a fee for providing cash. However, there is a catch: Instead of a 'swipe and sign' authentication, RBI wants prepaid card transactions to be verified using Aadhaar-based biometric authentication.

The card issuers feel that this requirement is more to salvage Aadhaar rather than tackle money laundering since the withdrawal limit is only Rs 5,000. Rather than make huge investments on biometric readers, most prepaid card issuers are now waiting for the new government's response to Aadhaar.

Godrej & Boyce rejigs top deck

There has been top-level rejig at Godrej & Boyce. George Menezes, who has been heading Godrej Appliances since 2005, will now be the business head, electricals and electronics division, while Kamal Nandi has assumed charge as business head and EVP, Godrej Appliances.

Nandi, who was EVP, new product development, marketing & sales at Godrej Appliances since April 2006, has been responsible for driving the company's intent to become a leading player in the durables market. In 2006, Nandi was given the additional responsibility of new product development & marketing, with a mission to rejuvenate the Godrej brand as a youthful, contemporary and vibrant one. Over the past 10 years, the organization has scaled up from a Rs 400-crore entity to Rs 2,100 crore, and has a target of reaching Rs 2,700 crore by 2015.

5553 - ‘Aadhaar must be completed and should be used for unifying transfer programmes’ - Financial Express


Santosh Tiwari | Updated: May 27 2014, 04:21 IST

SUMMARY
Arvind Panagariya, the Columbia University professor, has been a strong votary of the Gujarat model of development and his views have played a major part in the formulation of BJP’s manifesto for 2014 general elections

Arvind Panagariya, the Columbia University professor, has been a strong votary of the Gujarat model of development and his views have played a major part in the formulation of BJP’s manifesto for 2014 general elections. With Narendra Modi-led government comfortably in place to take measures for bringing the economy back on track, Panagariya tells Santosh Tiwari that Gujarat-like labour law reforms are required to boost the manufacturing sector besides other measures to improve the situation on the policy front, including a single window involving states for clearance of projects.

The 2014 Lok Sabha election results clearly indicate that people have rejected politics based on caste, religion and dole. What should be the new government’s priorities in this backdrop?

A broad priority has to be the promise made by Narendra Modi during the campaign: Growth and development. If we can grow at 10% per year, we will be able to end abject poverty, ill-health and illiteracy much faster than if we grow at 5%. At a higher growth rate, we will be able to bring in a certain measure of prosperity to the bulk of the population. India will be transformed into a modern economy from its current largely traditional structure.

Food, fertiliser and oil subsidies need to be rationalised and targeted better. How to do it? Should the government junk Aadhaar and look for a new model to target subsidies or should the existing plans based on Aadhaar be implemented better?

Subsidies such as those on cooking gas, fertiliser, electricity and water that principally go to the non-poor population should be phased out with a gradual move towards cash transfers to the poor. Aadhaar must be completed and should eventually be used to unify the existing highly fragmented transfer programmes. Meanwhile, we should not shy away from alternative instruments ranging from conventional postal money orders to modern mobile-based technologies.

The investment climate is grim. What can be done to improve it?
An effective PMO, corrective action on retrospective taxation, promise to bring transparency in taxation so that investors are not surprised after having made investment and some shift towards capital expenditures (mainly infrastructure) in the 2014-15 budget are some measures the government could take to reassure investors.

Clearances to projects have been slow. The UPA government tried to solve the issues through the CCI but it has failed to improve the situation. How to change the scenario here, so that growth is back to the 8% level?

This will require an effective PMO that can break the logjam across ministries, assurance by the PM to the top bureaucracy that it can fearlessly make all legitimate decisions expeditiously, and partnership with the states to move state-level clearances speedily. States that are willing to be partners could collaborate with the Centre to create a single-window facility that gives both central and state level clearances in one go.

Will GST and DTC be among the top priorities for the BJP government? What would be your suggestion here?
The GST requires crossing several hurdles including clearing arrears relating to central sales tax, constitutional amendment to allow the Centre to levy and collect sales tax, and bringing all states on board. Thus, the government should allow itself two years, promising to introduce it beginning April 1, 2016.
The DTC requires a closer look to ensure that necessary simplification is achieved, tax base is broadened, tax system is predictable and there is no scope for unnecessary harassment by tax authorities. Introducing a whole new code to replace the existing legislation can be hugely disruptive. Therefore, it is important to consider the possibility of introducing the necessary reforms through the amendment of the existing direct tax law. The goal should be to implement the reform beginning April 1, 2015.

Manufacturing needs a big push as this can help improve the job scenario. Is there a need for a National Manufacturing Policy?
What we need is the reform of key labour laws to achieve a better balance between the rights of already employed in the organised sector and those currently condemned to low-wage unorganised-sector jobs. We should begin with labour-law reforms in Gujarat where other conditions for the success of labour-intensive manufacturing—good roads, ports, 24x7 electricity and business-friendly environment—are already present. Countrywide, we also need the reform of the Land Acquisition Act on an urgent basis. Perhaps we should consider the option of simply abandoning the recently enacted law and amending the original Act to ensure that the legitimate rights of those whose land is acquired are protected. This will minimise disruption and confusion since there exists several decades of experience with the original Act.

High level of food inflation has been a major problem in the last five years. What should be done to curb it effectively?
This is a difficult problem. One option, however, is to use the food stocks effectively when food prices rise rapidly. Another reform relates to that of Agriculture Produce Marketing Committees Act, so that the massive waste of fruits and vegetables is eliminated, farmers receive a higher proportion of the price paid by the consumer and contract farming and food processing flourish.

You have helped the BJP formulate its economic agenda. It is now time to implement. How do you plan to contribute and guide this process?
The BJP formulated its own agenda and wrote its own manifesto. Any resemblance between my public policy writings and the manifesto at best suggests that someone in the manifesto team read what I wrote and was persuaded by it. As for implementation, our greatest hope is the Prime Minister who has impeccable reputation for getting things done. I will, of course, continue to do my bit through my public policy writings, interviews and other mediums.

How should the UPA flagship schemes for jobs, food security and education be restructured?
Ideally, we should offer the bottom half of the households a choice between cash transfer of R10,000 on the one hand and employment guarantee under MGNREGA and food subsidy on the other. This will empower households rather than public distribution shops and those administering MGNREGA. As for education, we should offer vouchers to the bottom half of households, thus imparting the latter the same ability to choose between government and private schools that richer households have. Additionally, we need to take measures to plug the massive leakages in the public distribution system and MGNREGA and to make the RTE Act outcome-oriented. The option to break the Food Corporation of India into three corporations dealing with procurement, storage and distribution deserves serious consideration. The option to connect MGNREGA employment to building housing for the poor, provision of toilets and skill acquisition must be explored. And the RTE Act must be amended to allow examinations and base school recognition principally on student performance rather than input norms.

5552 - Udipi - Aadhaar Card confusion was a set back for Congress Party Jayaprakash Hegde - Mangalore Information

Udipi - Aadhaar Card confusion was a set back for Congress Party
Jayaprakash Hegde


Udupi , May 24: Former Member of Parliament K. Jayaprakash Hegde , who lost the Lok Sabha elections to BJP's Shobha Karandlaje, thanked the voters who voted for him and   also thanked the leaders and party workers who supported in the election.

Addressing a press meet here, on Friday May 23, he said that he would continue his political journey and would serve the poor even though he had not won the election.

"My actual contest was against Narendra Modi and not Shobha Karandlaje. She would not have won if her development works alone had been considered," he said.

The difficulties that the Aadhaar card confusion has caused to the people have been a setback not just for me but also to the Congress party, admitted Hegde.


 He also said that he would not try for the MLC post in the near future.

5551 - India can save 0.5% of GDP via direct cash transfer and Aadhaar: IMF - Infotech

April 29, 2013

Infotech Lead Asia: International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday said the Integration of direct cash transfer with Aadhaar will assist the Indian government to save 0.5 percent of the GDP.

IMF said that the total savings could be substantial. If the combination of direct cash transfer and Aadhaar eliminates the estimated 15 percent leakage, savings could total 0.5 percent of GDP in addition to the gains from the better targeting of spending on the poor.

Direct cash transfers, which entail direct payments from the government to recipients, can bring down costs and diversion by phasing out middlemen and complex bureaucracies.

The ‘Regional Economic Outlook: Asia and Pacific’ report further said the integration of these two programs — Aadhaar and direct cash transfers — promises further savings.

IMF says the integration will involve many challenges: the timeframe for bringing India’s population of 1.2 billion into the Aadhaar program could extend beyond 2014, and integrating this database with information on individuals eligible for subsidized fuel will take time.

As per the Unique Identification Authority of India, (UIDAI) which issues the Aadhaar numbers, about 320 million such cards have been issued so far. UIDAI has plans to issue 600 million Aadhaar cards by 2014.

India has initiated a wide-ranging project to shift many subsidy programs toward direct cash transfers, PTI reported.


The Indian government has started transferring cash directly into the bank accounts of beneficiaries of selected schemes using the Aadhaar payment gateway in a phased manner. The first phase started in January covering 43 districts and 78 more would be brought covered from July 1.

5550 - Aadhaar's future bleak as MHA is likely to revive NDA project

05/23/2014 | 08:31am US/Eastern


New Delhi: As Narendra Modi-led BJP government places itself firmly in power, a big question mark looms over the continuity of UPA's controversial Aadhaar project - the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

The Union home ministry that fought a bitter but losing battle against Nandan Nilekani's UIDAI under the UPA regime for collection and safe keep of biometric data of residents (citizens and non-citizens) is hoping to open up the closed subject again.

Top sources in the home ministry said they are planning to raise objections about the efficacy of Aadhaar scheme and to pitch their own multi-purpose national identity card (MPNIC) scheme based on national population register (NPR) to Narendra Modi. Incidentally, the NPR project was initiated by the NDA government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2002 on the recommendations of a Group of Ministers (GoM) that took the decision on the basis of Kargil Review Committee, appointed to look into flaws in the system in the wake of the Kargil War in 1999. The GoM called for giving all citizens MPNIC and issuing non-citizens identity cards of a different colour and design to check infiltration and ensure national security.

When Congress-led UPA government came to power in 2004 it carried forward the plans of the NDA government but enlarged the scope of MPNIC project to use it to check subsidy through targeted welfare schemes. This change from security-centric to welfare approach resulted in replacing MPNIC project with UIDAI. "The efficacy of Aadhaar project under UIDAI was always under question. Despite ministries and departments raising issues against Aadhaar, including prime concern of security and protection of the data, the UIDAI managed to wrest control not only on securing biometrics through independent registrars of its choice but also to keep the data," said sources.

According to the original mandate given to it, the UIDAI, set up by an executive order of the government and not through an Act, was supposed only to de-duplicate the biometrics data captured by the offices under the registrar general of India and generate a unique ID number against each name. But the mandate was later enlarged by Manmohan Singh who gave UIDAI the power to capture the data, store and it and link it with various targeted socio-economic government schemes by seeding with the bank accounts of individuals.

The UIDAI has so far spent a whopping Rs3,500 crore to enrol nearly 55 crore Indians but is still very far from doing the real work of de-duplication exercise, without which the unique ID number has no value and loses its purpose. But revamping Aadhaar could be a tough call for Modi, claim votaries of UIDAI. "After resisting Aadhaar initially in Gujarat, Modi used it for targeted delivery system. He may let it remain there and add some security features that have gone for a toss," a source said.

However, in home ministry's favour goes the 42nd report of standing committee of finance on national identification authority of India that was chaired by BJP leader Yashwant Sinha and was entrusted to judge the UIDAI bill.

Coming heavily on UIDAI in its report submitted to the parliament in 2011, the standing committee had raised several question marks on the whole process, including dubious verification of information of individuals that can have far reaching consequences for national security.

"As the National Identity Cards to citizens of India are proposed to be issued on the basis of aadhaar numbers, the possibility of possession of aadhaar numbers by illegal residents through false affidavits / introducer system cannot be ruled out," it said.

Credit:Manan Kumar

(c) 2014 @ 2014 DILIGENT MEDIA CORPORATION LTD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

5549 - Will the Aadhaar card be ‘Modi’fied by the BJP? - TheHans India


May 22,2014, 06.06 PM  IST | Lata Jain

The Rs 14,000 crore Aadhaar card project, under the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), set up by the central government aiming at creating a unique identity for each resident of India, through bio-metric –retinal and finger print scans was one of the best known e–commerce projects, is likely to be dumped by the Modi government. 

The UID project evokes reactions ranging from ardent support to cynicism to suspicion. Advocates say it is one of the best ways to solve India's gargantuan problem of delivering governance to 1.2 billion people. Critics say it is too ambitious and high-tech for a country where nearly 40 per cent of the population is still officially defined as poor.

The UID project's open architecture lends itself to innovative applications. Besides MGNREGA payments, Aadhaar can be linked to distribution of cooking gas and food grain, cash transfers, and identity proof for SIM cards. It has the potential to spur enterprise and consumer applications.

While arguments are on for the past few  months over the constitutional validity of the card and making them mandatory for availing benefits, new petitions are being filed by individuals for permission to 'opt out' of the scheme and for destruction of all personal information and to prevent abuse of details stored in UIDAI’s database.

Meanwhile the Supreme Court has put a full stop. It has delinked the Aadhaar card from LPG gas supplies, a major blow to the pet scheme of the UPA government. 

 Will the Aadhaar card be ‘Modi’fied? 

The BJP was against Aadhaar. The BJP claimed that there were security implications if migrants wanted Aadhaar card as ID proof. Modi said Aadhaar had no legal backing.  

Nilekani had dreamt big and Congress supported the project. 

Nandan Nilekani believed that the Aadhaar based cash transfers would move around Rs 2,00,000 crore of welfare benefits every year into bank accounts of individuals.

Whatever Modi said during the campaign, inside sources in BJP believe the card is here to stay and may even use Aadhaar for cash transfers. Chances of strengthening the concept of cash transfers are gaining strength. The BJP wants it to rethink on the function and a foolproof system involving the functioning of the card for cash transfers and identity.

BJP sources have two concerns with the card, the lack of legal backing and the security implications. The Modi-fication in the Aadhaar might be that the BJP government will want the exercise to be done by the NPR (National Population Register).

“If the statements of Modi were to be recollected, he criticised giving ID to immigrants from other countries. Keeping in view Modi’s statements on Pakistan and Bangladesh, it seems some kind of biometric drive for identity will continue. Having invested huge amounts on this project, looks like Aadhaar is here to stay,” says Abhijit Sen, who stepped down a few days back as member of the Planning Commission. “The role of Aadhaar might be re-appraised,” he added.

5548 - RBI postpones Aadhaar linked payment system - eGovReach

22 May 2014

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has deferred the implementation of the Aadhaar linked payment system. It has informed the banks to examine the technical difficulties of the payment system along with the time frame needed to implement it. 

According to a report in The Economic Times, the RBI had earlier, in November last year, directed that all new ATMs and POS machines should be tailored to accept Aadhaar.

The chief technical officers had argued that the network had to be overhauled and ATMs and point-of-sale (POS) machines with merchants with merchants would have to be upgraded with biometric readers. 

"This was communicated by the regulator to Indian Banks Association. While the project has not been scrapped, it has been kept in abeyance," said a banker. IBA is the association of bank managements. "It took a while for RBI to take the decision," he said.. 

As per the original proposal, once a person with an Aadhaar card asks the bank to link the 12-digit Aadhaar number with his/her bank account, it would enable the person to withdraw funds from ATMs, receive government benefits directly to the bank account as well as make payments by using fingerprints. Banks felt all this can be achieved with existing technology and there was no need to spend hundreds of crores to set up a new network. 

 Also, there are technical hurdles: "Data on magnetic swipe of a credit/debit card is transmitted through telephone lines. Biometric data will need high speed connection and the bandwidth and capability has to be raised. Besides, in biometric mode, response time and rejects may be higher and transaction could take longer," one of the service providers stated.

 Besides, there are not enough manufacturers to supply ATMs or POS that accept traditional cards with magnetic stripe, EVM pin and chip (a recent technology), as well as fitted with biometric reader for accepting Aadhaar-based transaction. But UIDAI, the agency that issues Aadhaar, is of the view that Aadhaar-based payment technology can be cost effective and beneficial as it will take electronic payments to the masses. 


5547 - Is Aadhaar At Risk Under Newly Elected Indian Government? - Find Biometrics


Fri May 23, 2014

“Though a citizen’s Aadhaar number is not the same as official identification documents, it still has an important place in bringing social services to the nation even if it has room for improvement.”

An historic election took place in India last week, ending in the turnover of the nation’s federal government. On May 16, 2014, The Bharatiya Janata Party, under the leadership of Narendra Modi, beat out the previous ruling party (India’s Congress Party) at the polls.

The Congress Party is notable for instituting Aadhaar, India’s national ID initiative, in 2009. Part of the larger, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), Aadhaar contains the fingerprint, face and iris biometrics of registered Indian citizens. Like similar citizen registration programs that use biometrics, ideally, it exists to make social programs work more efficiently and eliminate fraud.

Now, Aadhaar may be under threat with the new government. In the run up to this most recent election, the Bharatiya Janata Party publicly slammed the program, calling it a failure and a waste of money.

As of the writing of this article, no official moves have been made against Aadhaar, but in an article from the New Scientist published earlier this week, journalist Hal Hodson writes that the program may be under fire.

According to the article, instances of fraud are still an issue, even when national ID has been instituted. Systemic corruption has found a way to survive, simply changing the point of vulnerability from the record system to the weakest link in a chain of people.

This threat to India’s national ID program is reason for concern. Though a citizen’s Aadhaar number is not the same as official identification documents, it still has an important place in bringing social services to the nation even if it has room for improvement. Whether that next step is legislative or technical, additional assurance can go a long way in making national ID programs like this achieve their promise. 

A recent example of how biometric ID is helping can be found in a recent deployment announced by DigitalPersona in which the company’s fingerprint readers are being used to enroll citizens that are eligible for banking services and government privileges such as food distribution programs or the Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (a law ensuring work for rural citizens of India).

5546 - Aadhaar-LPG linkage back in the reckoning? - The Hindu

VIJAYAWADA, May 23, 2014
Updated: May 23, 2014 22:36 IST



S. SANDEEP KUMAR

Officials drop hints on reconsideration of the scheme after plugging loopholes

Is the Aadhaar- LPG linkage for subsidised LPG cylinders back in the reckoning? The answer seems to be ‘yes’, if claims of a few dealers and officials of oil companies are to be believed. However, it is not clear if the earlier practice of crediting the subsidy to the customers’ bank accounts would continue or a new system will be put in place.

The scheme was scrapped on March 10 this year following several complaints from the consumers. With a new government all set to take charge, officials of oil companies and LPG dealers indicate that the scheme may be reconsidered after plugging the loopholes.

Loopholes
The primary problem was the delay in depositing the subsidy amount in customers’ bank account, besides the time taken for linkage between the dealer and the bank. Consumers were forced to shell out up to Rs.1,100 per refill but the promised subsidy of around Rs.600 was never credited to their account in time. Many people had to run from pillar to post to get the subsidy amount. “In a recent meeting in Hyderabad, officials dropped hints on bringing back the scheme but they were not sure about the modalities of implementation,” said a member of the Andhra Pradesh LPG Dealers Association.

Though the officials concerned could achieve over 85 per cent success in linking the Aadhaar card to LPG in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts, the State average was way behind, somewhere around 55-60 per cent. In Vijayawada and Guntur, it was about 60 per cent.

Admitting flaws, a senior HPCL official said a committee was constituted by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry to study the effective implementation of the scheme without any delay in transfer of the subsidy.

Feedback
The committee also gathered feedback from oil companies, dealers and consumers. The future course of action will depend on the committee’s report and the extent to which the new government will consider its recommendations. “There is a need for Aadhaar-LPG linkage system,” he said.

An average consumption of cooking gas by a family is six to seven cylinders in a year. This calculation holds good for the country. Even if the government fixes the ceiling at nine cylinders per year, it would be a reasonable decision. 

Consumption will go up if there is no ceiling and government cannot bear the subsidy loss,” he added.

Friday, May 23, 2014

5545 - UIDAI chairman's message post the loss : the journey continues


A few hours ago, I congratulated Ananth Kumar, on his victory in Bengaluru South.

This was a hard-fought campaign. I am deeply grateful to the voters who voted for me, for your faith in me. To those who did not vote for me, I regret that I was unable to win your support in the election.

We’ve been part of a historic democratic exercise. 55 crore Indians cast their vote across the country - this is the largest election turnout in world history.

I respect the choice that voters across the country have made, and I want to thank the Election Commission for its hard work, in ensuring that the process ran smoothly.

I want to thank the Congress Party, for their faith in me as a candidate. I joined the Congress on March 9, and I was entirely new to electoral politics. Yet the Congress leaders were incredibly supportive, and the leaders were united in their efforts for this campaign.

I want to thank the best team of party workers, the volunteers, and staff I could have had. Thousands of you knocked on doors, took part in events and made telephone calls, taking time away from family and from work to deliver our message. And I am especially proud that the campaign we ran was a passionate, energetic, and also a clean one.

Finally, I want to thank all the people of Bengaluru who participated in this election. Regardless of the result, this campaign delivered a powerful message, through the voices it raised and the votes it received. The demand for a better city has been heard.

Thousands of you reached out to us with your Ideas for Bengaluru. Rohini and I knocked on hundreds of doors. We met thousands of Bengalurians at your homes, shops, colleges and schools, and places of business. My agenda in the coming years include the priorities that you shared with me.


I promise you today that I will work with every party and with every level of government to get the change we need. So let’s work to build a better Bengaluru.

5544 - Marketing firm scrapes voter data from EC website to let political parties micro-target - Medianama


By NT Balanarayan on May 19th, 2014  |   3 Comments Email Email  anonymous tip off

 Modak Analytics, a Hyderabad-based web analytics company, claims to have created a “big data based Electoral data repository” after scraping information of 81.4 crore voters from Election Commission website. The company now plans to analyze this data to help parties or candidates “raise funds, design a tailored communication to target a select few voters, rework advertisements and create detailed models for voter engagement in battleground states as well as in gender and voter clusters to increase the power of micro-targeted strategy,” the company said in a statement to the Economic Times.

A sample of the information is on its website (pdf ). For a constituency, Modak Analytics was able provide a caste-based split, the number or percentages of Muslim voters in a constituency, show a break-up in terms of age, and list constituencies with the most celebrities. The company claims it used in-house automation technologies to scan through nine lakh PDFs, with 2.5 crore pages get details of all the others. Its biggest challenge? The extraction and transliteration of the information, so that it could be merged with other systems.

“Data from multiple sources like Census, Economic and Social surveys were mapped to polling booths. Simultaneously, external and propriety data sources had to be fused with individual voters’ data. Because of this complex nature, no big IT company ever ventured into this”, Aarti Joshi, EVP and co-founder of Modak Analytics, told ET.

Why is this a problem

That idea of using election data for marketing is not entirely new and has been suggested in the past by Netcore founder Rajesh Jain. It is also worth noting that Cobrapost had touched upon the issue of micro-targeting when they released Operation Blue Virus last year.

Modak can now use this data to sort out the population on the basis of caste, religion, age, gender, among other demographic information. While micro-targeting sounds good on paper from a marketing perspective, we need to remember that they have this information without the consent of the voter. Does Modak have the right to use the information scraped from the EC website to offer such services to political parties? What is the guarantee that political parties will micro-target audiences using the data only for good purposes?

From a privacy perspective, who has the rights to the data: Election Commission or the individual? Shouldn’t the Election Commission have looked at privacy issues before making this data so freely available online?

What’s even more shocking is that Modak claims this information is in public domain and it’s not clear if Election Commission ever wanted  private companies to use data of all Indian citizens in such micro-targeting campaigns. Then there is also he risk of such information being added to Aadhaar or National Population Register (NPR). While Aadhaar might have had several set backs there is a chance that BJP will enforce NPR, which has most of the privacy issues UIDAI’s project had.

UIDAI had said that it would only share the information that is pertinent when businesses use Aadhaar to authenticate, but with such scraped data floating around, what is the guarantee that businesses won’t link the two? If something like that happens, there is nothing you can do, since India does not have a privacy law yet.

How did they do it

Election Commission had set up a tool to search for your name or voter id and find out the voting booth assigned to you. Turns out, there was a way to use this tool to get voter rolls for every state and union territory of India. A 17-year-old developer Raghav Sood had pointed out these issues a while back on Medium. He had also written about how he managed to write a script to scrape this data from the Election Commission’s website.

From the look of it, Modak Analytics also did the same thing, except they are now offering the data to companies, politicians and parties that want to use this information.

Who is to blame: Election Commission or Modak?

This is a question that needs to be answered now. Was it responsible of Election Commission to put up all the voter data online in a format that could be exploited by a bot? There is not even a captcha in place to stop such an activity. There is no process in the backend monitoring scraping either and these are things EC should have put in place before putting out all this information in the open.


Can we blame Modak for scraping all this data and offering services around it? Of course, but did Election Commission give the impression that the data is actually open source by not putting any security hurdles in place? How long do we have to wait before the EC decided to fix this issue or before it makes a public announcement against the use of its data for marketing purposes?

5543 - Aadhaar set for a makeover - Millenium Post



Aadhaar set for a makeover

20 May 2014, New Delhi, Shubhendu Parth

BJP has been critical of it, but it would prefer to convert it into ‘citizen ID card’ project.

For the party that believes information technology is a big enabler for empowerment, equity and efficiency, will the ascent of BJP into power mean the end of road for Aadhaar?

While Nandan Nilekani, the former chairman of the unique identification authority of India (UIDAI), and the Manmohan Singh government had been projecting Aadhaar as the essential tool to drive several social projects, BJP and the prime minister-to-be Narendra Modi have always been critical of the project.

Raising questions on UPA’s decision to approve the big-ticket Aadhaar project, Modi had been demanding that the project should be discussed in the National Security Council, often accusing the government of allowing issuance of Aadhaar cards to “illegal immigrants” (read Bangladeshis) and to those without proper citizenship documents.

The party had also highlighted the fact that the citizen data, including the biometric details were being handled by a US company that was also handling a similar project—the National Database & Registration Authority (NADRA) driven by Pakistan’s ministry of interior.

The other big objection that the party had was the manner in which the Congress-led UPA pushed the project without securing parliament’s approval for the same and despite the parliament’s standing committee rejecting the National Identification Authority Bill 2010 on December 13, 2011.

Given the background, and the BJP’s known stand on illegal migrants from across the border, particularly Bangladesh, the question about Aadhaar’s future has been asked time and again. In fact, not many were surprised when the 52-page BJP manifesto for 2014 Lok Sabha elections did not have a single mention of the project. This, despite the fact that the manifesto had a detailed section on eGovernance and Aadhar continued to remain one of the single largest eGovernance projects in the country.

So, will the Modi-led government scarp the Rs 3,800-crore project that has already enrolled over 600 million people? Going by the sheer scale of the project, it has assumed a critical mass that will make it difficult for the new government to just do away with it.

Sources close to the BJP top brass indicate that the party will certainly review it in totality and convert it into a citizenship document, which at present Aadhaar is not. It would be interesting to note that the project was first mooted by the ministry of home affairs (MHA) as national ID card initiative during the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA regime.

For record, the project which was initially called Common UID (the word ‘common’ was later deleted), however, got stuck as the MHA was not sure how to handle the legal verification process that was key to identifying a citizen. It was later converted into a resident ID project but never took off till the planning commission decided to adopt it to enable better implementation of development projects.

By arrangement with Governance Now

5542 - Indian election to impact Aadhaar - Biometric Update



May 21, 2014 - 
The historic win of India’s main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the recent national election might result in changes to Aadhaar, the world’s biggest biometrics bank.

The Aadhaar program, governed by the Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI), aims to enroll all of the country’s residents through biometrics, in order to distribute 12-digit identity cards for access to social programs. So far, the program has enrolled over 280 million residents, with an aim to enroll 400 million by the end of 2014.

The database is currently used for school attendance, natural gas subsidies to India’s rural poor, and to send wages directly to people’s bank accounts. The system, a landmark legacy project of India’s long ruling Congress Party, also provides identification to people who do not have birth certificates.

During the election campaign, the database was criticized by the BJP as a “failure” and a “waste of money”. Narendra Modi, the leader of the BJP and now India’s Prime Minister designate, slammed the biometric system as a “political gimmick”, openly questioning in the press whether the system adequately addresses control of migrants and national security concerns.

Much of this criticism was mainly politically motivated, since Nandan Nilekani, an Indian entrepreneur and bureaucrat, who served as a former UIDAI Chairman, contested the recent election as a high-profile Congress candidate for a parliamentary seat in Bangalore. In order to question Nilekani’s reputation, the BJP’s Modi launched a sharp attack on Congress Party’s role in the Aadhaar scheme, claiming that the system robbed the Indian treasury through excess expense and even through partisan corruption. The previous stage of Aadhaar implementation was budgeted at nearly US$630 million.

While initially heralded as a method to eliminate fraud, the system has been subjected to a number of severe criticisms. As reported previously in BiometricUpdate.com, several Indian banks have resisted the Aadhaar subsidy transfer system. The banks’ resistance to this platform was rooted in two main concerns: Banks wanted the UIDAI to bear liabilities related to false identifications, and the UIDAI wanted banks to reconfigure their existing systems to its inter-operable solution.


Also, India’s Supreme Court ruled that Aadhaar numbers are not be mandatory for receiving government services. Many industry analysts have also been critical of Aadhaar’s administration, noting that it has not been efficient. As a result, expectation of changes to the system due to a changeover in government is warranted. The BJP however did not indicate whether they would reform or scrap the program. Indeed, Modi as Chief Minister of Gujarat, actually did implement the system in his state. But as with many policy prescriptions during election campaigns, the BJP leveled criticism of the system without offering concrete solutions. Political analysts will watch closely to see what changes will be offered in the coming months.

5541 - RBI defers Aadhaar-linked payment plan mechanism - Economic Times


By Sugata Ghosh, ET Bureau | 22 May, 2014, 04.00AM IST

Bankers have been trying to tell RBI about drawbacks of the plan to let customers use fingerprints to withdraw money from ATMs and pay for purchases.

MUMBAI: For the past one year bankers have been trying to tell the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) about the drawbacks of an ambitious plan to let customers use fingerprints to withdraw money from ATMs and pay for purchases. It is expensive, risky and would serve only a handful of clients, they argued. Chief technology officers and payment experts told the panel examining the project that it made no sense — the network has to be overhauled and ATMs and point-of-sale (POS) machines with merchants have to be upgraded with biometric readers. 

Their views were ignored, thanks to the previous government's emphasis on Aadhaar, which is based on biometric validation. In November, RBI directed that all new ATMs and POS machines should be tailored to accept Aadhaar. Bank CEOs opposed the move, but there was no hint that RBI would rethink. However, a fortnight ago, RBI told banks — perhaps due to the uncertainty of Aadhaar under a new government — to examine the technical difficulties of the proposed payment system and the time frame for implementing it. 

"This was communicated by the regulator to Indian Banks Association...While the project has not been scrapped, it has been kept in abeyance," said a banker. IBA is the association of bank managements. "It took a while for RBI to take the decision... that we believe is because of the importance that the UPA II government had placed on Aadhaar. It was a favourite project under Nandan Nilekani, who everyone thought was very close to the power centres. The panel's report was not made public," he said. 

As per the original proposal, once a person with an Aadhaar card asks the bank to link the 12-digit Aadhaar number with his/her bank account, it would enable the person to withdraw funds from ATMs, receive government benefits directly to the bank account as well as make payments by using fingerprints. Banks felt all this can be achieved with existing technology and there was no need to spend hundreds of crores to set up a new network. 

Also, there are technical hurdles: "Data on magnetic swipe of a credit/debit card is transmitted through telephone lines. Biometric data will need high speed connection and the bandwidth and capability has to be raised. Besides, in biometric mode, response time and rejects may be higher and transaction could take longer," one of the service providers told ET. 

Besides, there are not enough manufacturers to supply ATMs or POS that accept traditional cards with magnetic stripe, EVM pin and chip (a recent technology), as well as fitted with biometric reader for accepting Aadhaar-based transaction. But UIDAI, the agency that issues Aadhaar, is of the view that Aadhaar-based payment technology can be cost effective and beneficial as it will take electronic payments to the masses.

5540 - Future of Nandan Nilekani's UIDAI hangs precariously as home ministry prepares for a kill - dna

Thursday, 22 May 2014 - 7:05am IST | Place: New Delhi | Agency: DNA


As Narendra Modi-led BJP government places itself firmly in power, a big question mark looms over the continuity of UPA's controversial Aadhaar project - the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

The Union home ministry that fought a bitter but losing battle against Nandan Nilekani's UIDAI under the UPA regime for collection and safe keep of biometric data of residents (citizens and non-citizens) is hoping to open up the closed subject again.

Top sources in the home ministry said they are planning to raise objections about the efficacy of Aadhaar scheme and to pitch their own multi-purpose national identity card (MPNIC) scheme based on national population register (NPR) to Narendra Modi.

Incidentally, the NPR project was initiated by the NDA government under Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 2002 on the recommendations of a Group of Ministers (GoM) that took the decision on the basis of Kargil Review Committee, appointed to look into flaws in the system in the wake of the Kargil War in 1999.

The GoM called for giving all citizens MPNIC and issuing non-citizens identity cards of a different colour and design to check infiltration and ensure national security.

When Congress-led UPA government came to power in 2004 it carried forward the plans of the NDA government but enlarged the scope of MPNIC project to use it to check subsidy through targeted welfare schemes. This change from security-centric to welfare approach resulted in replacing MPNIC project with UIDAI.

"The efficacy of Aadhaar project under UIDAI was always under question. Despite ministries and departments raising issues against Aadhaar, including prime concern of security and protection of the data, the UIDAI managed to wrest control not only on securing biometrics through independent registrars of its choice but also to keep the data," said sources.

According to the original mandate given to it, the UIDAI, set up by an executive order of the government and not through an Act, was supposed only to de-duplicate the biometrics data captured by the offices under the registrar general of India and generate a unique ID number against each name.

But the mandate was later enlarged by Manmohan Singh who gave UIDAI the power to capture the data, store and it and link it with various targeted socio-economic government schemes by seeding with the bank accounts of individuals.

The UIDAI has so far spent a whopping Rs3,500 crore to enrol nearly 55 crore Indians but is still very far from doing the real work of de-duplication exercise, without which the unique ID number has no value and loses its purpose. But revamping Aadhaar could be a tough call for Modi, claim votaries of UIDAI. 

"After resisting Aadhaar initially in Gujarat, Modi used it for targeted delivery system. He may let it remain there and add some security features that have gone for a toss," a source said.

However, in home ministry's favour goes the 42nd report of standing committee of finance on national identification authority of India that was chaired by BJP leader Yashwant Sinha and was entrusted to judge the UIDAI bill.

Coming heavily on UIDAI in its report submitted to the parliament in December 2011, the standing committee had raised several question marks on the whole process, including dubious verification of information of individuals that can have far reaching consequences for national security.

"As the National Identity Cards to citizens of India are proposed to be issued on the basis of aadhaar numbers, the possibility of possession of aadhaar numbers by illegal residents through false affidavits / introducer system cannot be ruled out," it said.


Noting that the security and confidentiality of information of aadhaar number holders and duplication and security of data still remain unresolved, it rejected the UIDAI bill by 31:3 members and recommended data already collected by the UIDAI to be transferred to the NPR. It also suggested the government to reconsider and review the UID scheme in all its ramifications and bring forth a fresh legislation.

5539 - Aadhaar, fuel hikes, LPG cap hurt us: Cong minister - Hindustan Times

Jayanth Jacob, Hindustan Times  New Delhi, May 19, 2014


First Published: 00:42 IST(19/5/2014) | Last Updated: 08:07 IST(19/5/2014)

The Aadhaar scheme, touted as ‘gamechanger’ by the UPA government, ended up hurting the Congress in the Lok Sabha polls, said outgoing Union food and consumer affairs minister KV Thomas.

“The Aadhaar initiative, and the objective of linking welfare schemes with it, didn’t find favour with the people. The decision was not appreciated by voters,” Thomas told HT on the eve of the Congress Working Committee meeting on Monday, where the party is expected to deliberate on the reasons behind the loss in the Lok Sabha polls.

Read:
Cobrapost sting reveals Aadhaar card fraud
The government also made bad moves by decontrolling fuel prices, capping subsidized LPG cylinders, and not enacting the food security law in time for people to feel its impact, the Congress leader added.

Thomas is one of the few Congress ministers to have won in the recently-concluded Lok Sabha elections, where the Congress slumped to its worst-ever tally of 44 seats, down from 206 in the outgoing Lok Sabha. The food minister’s winning margin of 87,047 votes in Ernakulam was the largest for a Congress candidate in his home state of Kerala.

The Aadhaar scheme, which linked social-sector benefits and subsidies to a unique identification card, was marketed with catchy slogans like “Aap ka paisa, aap ke haath”, in the hope of rich electoral dividends.

Read: Aadhaar will be game-changer in delivering social justice

The UPA government was using the Aadhaar platform for direct transfer of subsidies but the move got stuck after the Supreme Court in March ordered that the scheme cannot be made mandatory for availing government welfare benefits. BJP president Rajnath Singh had earlier said his party would review the scheme, if voted to power.

Thomas also blamed policies like “letting the oil companies decide fuel prices” for the drubbing received by the Congress party.

The decision to limit the number of subsidised LPG gas cylinders to 12 a year — which was nine initially before Rahul Gandhi intervened—was also an unpopular decision, Thomas opined.

When asked why the food security bill — the biggest welfare scheme of UPA II — proved to be a dampener, Thomas said “the scheme should have been rolled out earlier”.

“Of course, the right to food has had it resonance. But the issue is that the people wouldn’t respond to it in electoral terms unless they start getting its benefits. I wish we were able to roll out the scheme earlier,” the minister said.

5538 - Odisha to expedite Aadhaar linking of job card holders



19 May 2014
The Panchayati Raj Department of Odisha has asked all the district collectors to conduct a special drive to integrate the Aadhaar information of job card holders under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA).

Since the Ministry of Rural Development has been insisting on migration to Aadhaar-based payment system for the wage earners, the State Government has stepped on the peddle. It has asked all the collectors to launch a special drive for updating account information of the job card holders, upload them in NREGASoft, a dedicated software for the employment programme and complete the work by June 25, reports the New Indian Express.

During the drive, all the districts have been asked to seed the Aadhar account information of the card holders in the NREGASoft so that it is easy to move to a Aadhar-Based Payment (ABP) system.

Not long ago, the Ministry had made electronic fund management system (e-FMS) mandatory in a bid to streamline the wage payment system and reduce delay. Under the system, wages are credited to the bank accounts of the workers electronically. This system is based on either National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT)of the Electronic Clearing System (ECS).

After the RD Ministry decided to move to ABP, districts were asked to begin the account update and merger process. However, the progress has been slow.

Though there are 64,42,259 job cards issued under NREGA with 1.70 crore persons enlisted, only 64.30 lakh have any kind of accounts as of now. Of them, 35.61 lakh are active workers. The job card holders have accounts in commercial banks, regional rural banks, cooperative banks as well as in post offices.

However, the information convergence on accounts has been slow. While only 25.85 lakh accounts have been frozen in NREGASoft, the link to Aadhar has been paltry, to say the least. Across the State, just about 5,175 accounts have been uploaded in the management information system so far while 3,191 of them are linked to bank accounts.


The Department has asked the collectors to use the field functionaries in linking of the accounts. The BDOs have been vested with the responsibility of verifying accuracy of the information.

5537 - NIC should become a strategic advisor to govt instead of writing codes: Ram Sewak Sharma - Business Standard

NIC should become a strategic advisor to govt instead of writing codes: Ram Sewak Sharma
Q&A with Secretary, Dept. of Electronics & IT


Surabhi Agarwal  |  New Delhi  May 20, 2014 Last Updated at 19:40 IST



In his first interview after taking over as the Secretary of the Department of Electronics and IT, Ram Sewak Sharma talks about the need for the department to reinvent itself and relook at projects initiated several years ago as they may not be relevant anymore given the changing nature of technology. In an interview with Surabhi Agarwal, Sharma, who was formerly the Director General of UIDAI and served as Chief Secretary of the Jharkhand government in his last assignment, also talks about the need for organisations like National Informatics Centre to just act as technology advisors to the government instead of focusing on non-core activities like developing software. Edited Excerpts…

What insights do you carry to this new post from your past interactions with the department as the chief secretary of the Jharkhand government and director general of the UIDAI?
It is a good experience to work with the state government before assuming this role. Because, it’s from there, you can see how the projects are being implemented; how the interface of the states with the NIC (National Informatics Centre) takes place; what are the deficiencies and pain points. So that experience will help in fine-tuning, restructuring, redesigning some part of the projects under the National E-Governance Plan.

What are the key gaps that you have identified so far?
The first phase of the National e-Governance Plan (NeGP) was launched in 2006; eight years have passed since then. A lot of things have changed – both in software as well as hardware. Mobile has now become a very effective delivery medium. So, I think we need to redesign or restructure various projects, which have become obsolete in terms of their structure. For example, many of the programmes were developed on client server technology and now you have cloud. We have to leverage cloud and deliver services through mobile, tablets etc. So, a lot of restructuring is required. One of the important points that I want to make is that currently there are huge silos. We need to create more information interchange protocols to bridge the gap. I think data driven decision-making or data analytics is one area which is lacking. Over the years, states have created a lot of data such as property, taxes, treasury etc. We need to have this data analysed to draw patterns, trends, fraud or tax evasion analytics.

What are the other areas in which you envisage a re-look?
I think NIC should become an advisor to the government rather than an application developer. In many of the states, you will find that NIC employees are developing applications, writing codes. That paradigm has to change. NIC is a strategic partner, and they should provide advice while application development should be done by others. NIC shouldn’t be writing codes. We should also be able to develop many more platform applications. For example, Aadhaar – which is like a platform on which you can develop applications. States can just ride on it, create a login and get going. For example, payment gateways, SMS gateways, PDS and transport applications can be easily standardised. This will lead to simplification of the design architecture and reduction in the duplication of works.

How do you look at the new government and its technology vision?
The new government will have its own policies or priorities. So, we will have to redesign or reorient the policies in accordance with the priorities of the new government. I am pretty hopeful that this area, especially governance, will become a huge focus of the new government. Electronics manufacturing is also a priority area. We can provide employment to a huge number of people besides cutting down on our electronics import.

What is going to be your strategy to address issues of cyber security, internet governance as this is an emerging area where India has a lot of catch up to do?
Internet governance is one area where we would like to have an important role to play considering that we are the largest users of this infrastructure. The customer base of Internet in India is very high. Efforts are on and we have articulated our views. We are also trying to put some institutional frameworks to ensure better cyber security.