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

Sunday, August 31, 2014

5811 - Is Narendra Modi right in going back to Aadhaar? by Gopal Krishna - Money Life

Moneylife » Life » UID/Aadhaar » Is Narendra Modi right in going back to Aadhaar?

GOPAL KRISHNA | 27/08/2014 02:29 PM |   
Both Barack Obama and David Cameron-Nick Clegg stood by their words and abandoned national ID schemes. Unfortunately, Narendra Modi and BJP, which promised to scrap biometric Aadhaar during their election campaign, have gone back on their words

The US’ Department of Homeland Security is creating a global biometric system of identification and economic control, so that biometrics becomes the common international denominator identifying us to governments and corporations. Such a system destroys national sovereignty, removing control of the people over their government. This system threatens religious freedom, privacy, states’ rights, the rights of representation and our ability to redress grievances, state sovereignty and national sovereignty. -Mark Lerner in Systematic Plan for a Single Global Biometric ID System


The national identity card scheme represents the worst of government. It is intrusive and bullying, ineffective and expensive. It is an assault on individual liberty which does not promise a greater good. The Bill is, therefore, partly symbolic. It sends a message that the Government is going to do business in a different way. We are the servants of the people, not their masters, and every action that we take must be considered in that context.

5810 - RBI for Making Aadhaar Sole Platform for Financial Inclusion - NDTV


Press Trust of India | Updated On: August 26, 2014 23:40 (IST)

Mumbai: A senior Reserve Bank of India (RBI) official on Tuesday called for resolution of issues regarding legality of Aadhaar project at the earliest, so that the unique identity number provided by it can become the sole platform for the financial inclusion programme including direct cash transfers.

"We need to resolve the issues regarding the legality of the Aadhaar number so that this can be the sole number for any financial transactions ... Then the whole financial inclusion programme, including the direct benefit transfers, can be rolled out without hitches and any duplication," RBI Executive Director Deepali Pant-Joshi said at an event organised by Dun & Bradsheet in Mumbai.

The Supreme Court recently invalidated making of Aadhaar enrolment a precondition for government benefits.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to kick off an ambitious financial inclusion drive on Thursday, which aims to bring 7.5 crore additional households under the banking system by FY18.
Ms Pant-Joshi also said that e-KYC (know your customer) matched with the Aadhaar would be a sufficient proof for bank account opening.

Discounting the fear that financial inclusion accounts can be misused for money-laundering, she said there is no logic behind the fear, as there would hardly be any incentives to do so. A basic savings account can transact only a maximum of Rs.
50,000 a month, a petty amount from money launderer's point of view.

She also dismissed the fear amongst bankers that financial inclusion accounts would lead to more NPAs.

Over 90 per cent of the 4.1 per cent gross NPAs are created by large corporates, she said.

"Among the poorer sections, only 4.4 per cent of total NPAs are from the farm sector, while the share of the MSMEs is only 5.2 per cent. So where is the poor retail customers creating bad loans in the system? NPAs are not a creation of the poor but the rich," she said.

Meanwhile, Indian Banks Association chief executive Mohan Tanksale said that worries about misuse of Aadhaar-linked accounts were misplaced.

"Already 63 crore people spanning 23 states are on the Aadhaar platform and only the rest of the states and a few crore people are on the National Population Registry. What we need is a uniform platform and the Aadhaar is the best available option," Mr Taksale said.

UIDAI western region deputy director general Ajay Bhushan Pandey said that the UID Authority has enrolled 73 crore people and is enrolling 2 million more every day.

5809 - Tribal Kid Denied Admission into Welfare Hostel Ends Life - New Indian Express

By Express News Service
Published: 26th August 2014 06:00 AM
Last Updated: 26th August 2014 05:07 AM

VISAKHAPATNAM: Dejected over denial of admission into Tribal Welfare Ashram High School at Killoguda, a 11-year-old tribal student committed suicide by hanging himself from the ceiling of his residence in Diguavakolaputtu village of Dumbriguda mandal in Visakhapatnam district late Sunday night. His body was found by his family members Monday.

Korra Balakrishna, a resident of Diguvakolaputtu village, sought admission into Class VI at the Tribal Welfare Ashram High School at Killoguda in Dumbriguda mandal recently. However, the school headmaster insisted that the youngster should submit his Aadhaar card number for obtaining scholarship and continue his education as per the conditional norms by the government.

But the young lad, who was born with webbed fingers, was denied enrolment at the Aadhaar centre as he could not give his biometric finger prints. On Saturday, the school authorities are learnt to have informed all the students to submit the Aadhaar card numbers or risk losing their scholarships. Unable to obtain an Aadhaar card and fearing that he cannot study further, Balakrishna took the tragic step at his residence Sunday night.

Reacting swiftly, district education officer M Venkata Krishna Reddy ordered mandal education officer V Trinadha Rao to probe the incident. Preliminary reports submitted by the MEO suggested that Balakrishna’s parents took him home Saturday as he was suffering from severe stomach pain. “He was also depressed for unknown reasons. We suspect that the stomach pain could also have led to his suicide,” the MEO reported.

Taking serious note of the incident, the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (SCPCR) directed the district collector, ITDA project director and the superintendent of police to hold an inquiry into the incident and submit a report to the Commission before August 30. The Commission ordered immediate proceedings under Child Rights Protection Laws, Right to Education Act, and Persons With Disabilities Act.
Meanwhile, HRD minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao directed Tribal Welfare deputy director T Mallikarjun Reddy to look into the issue and submit a report to the government at the earliest. He wanted the officials to take stringent action against the persons responsible for the incident.

What Allegedly Led Balakrishna to Take His Life:
  • He was denied admission into Tribal Welfare Ashram High School at Killoguda without Aadhaar card number which enables him to obtain scholarship.
  • He was refused an Aadhaar card as he was born with webbed fingers and could not give his biometric fingerprints.
Probe Ordered:
Both the state government and the State Commission for Protection of Child Rights have ordered for investigation into the incident and wanted the district authorities to submit a report before August 30.


5808 - Denied Aadhaar card, boy ends life - The Hindu

VISAKHAPATNAM, August 26, 2014
Updated: August 26, 2014 00:12 IST



An 11-year-old boy committed suicide by hanging himself from the ceiling fan at his home in Diguvakolaputtu village of Dumbriguda mandal, located in the Agency area of Visakhapatnam district, on Sunday night after he was denied the Aadhaar card by the authorities concerned.

Kora Balakrishna, a student of Class VI of the Government High School, Kilogudda village in Dumbriguda mandal, was told by the headmaster to get his Aadhaar card done, as all the government schemes, including scholarships, were to be linked to the unique identification number.

The boy ran from pillar-to-post at the offices concerned in Dumbriguda, Araku and Visakhapatnam, but was denied the card as the fingers of his hands were joined.

The depressed Balakrishna took the extreme step on Sunday night, said Sub-Inspector of Dumbriguda.

The police are investigating the case.


5807 - Soon, Aadhaar cards for jail inmates - TNN

Santosh Sonawane, TNN | Aug 25, 2014, 11.44AM IST


NASHIK: The Nashik Road Central prison authorities have undertaken a programme of making aadhar cards for jail inmates since August 9. So far, around 275 jail inmates have filled up their forms for the purpose.

Prison officials said there were over 2,200 inmates and the entire procedure would be over next month. The aadhar card scheme is being implemented under the guidance of jail superintendent Jayant Naik, deputy superintendent Vaibhav Age, senior jailer Vilas Sable and other senior officials.

Officials said the scheme was being implemented as per the directives of the state government in a bid to ensure that even jail inmates were not deprived of aadhar cards.

Senior jailer Vilas Sable said, "Aadhar card has become an important requisite for various purposes. It is considered as an important document for identification purpose."

As part of the process, an undertaking was taken from jail inmates about their residential addresses, which is included in the aadhar card. The addresses of the prisoners on their conviction warrant issued by the courts are used as their residential proof. However, considering the fact that there were inmates who resided in other states of the country, the prisoners have been instructed to get their addresses changed once they are out of the jail by producing necessary documents at the local aadhar card issuing centre.

Jail officials said there were many schemes launched by the government, which were of major use to everyone. Since aadhar card was considered as an important document, the inmates after completing their sentence could avail the benefits of the projects such as Rajiv Gandhi Gruhakul scheme, employment schemes, etc.

The work has been given to a city-based organisation. Officials said they were aiming at getting the details of at least 100 inmates daily. All the necessary details of a person like fingerprints, retinal scan, etc., are taken, which would help the authorities maintain a record of the convicts and undertrials.

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5806 - Cloud still hangs over Aadhaar's future - Business Standard

Nilekani probably managed to save the project by a persuasive talk with Modi, but the concerns haven't gone away


Surabhi Agarwal  |  New Delhi  August 25, 2014 Last Updated at 00:30 IST

It is widely believed that Nandan Nilekani’s meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saved the ambitious Aadhaar project from oblivion or a takeover by the home ministry.

Within a couple of days of the meeting, Modi gave directions to expedite enrolments through Aadhaar, along with the direct benefits transfer (DBT) project linked to the unique identity number (UID).

However, the uncertainty surrounding the project hasn't yet been cleared. For, there has been little official communication detailing how the new government sees the project.
It was widely expected that Modi's Independence Day speech would contain several important announcements pertaining to DBT, financial inclusion and health. While Modi did launch a scheme on financial inclusion called the Jan Dhan Yojana, the link with Aadhaar was not spelt out.

UNCERTAIN PATH

  • Nandan Nilekani’s meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saved the Aadhaar project from takeover by the home ministry
     
  • Modi gave directions to expedite enrolments through Aadhaar along with the direct benefits transfer project
     
  • The uncertainty surrounding the project hasn't been cleared yet. There has been little official communication detailing how the new government sees the project
     
  • The cabinet approved the blueprint for the Digital India project, which envisions a “cradle-to-grave digital identity for every citizen of the country — unique, lifelong, online and authenticable”
     
  • Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is also said to have been tasked with clearing the many legal issues surrounding the project

The Cabinet on Wednesday approved the blueprint for the Digital India project, which envisions a “cradle-to-grave digital identity for every citizen of the country— unique, lifelong, online and authenticable”.

This announcement was also thought to give a fresh lease of life to the Aadhaar project. However, a government official said the link with the UID number is not certain. “It could be any working digital identity”, he said. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in its pre-election campaign had rapped the Aadhaar project. When the BJP-led government took charge, there were strong doubts over the project’s continuity.

Also, the home ministry bid strongly to bring control of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) under its ambit. It also wanted to merge UIDAI’s database with that of the National Population Register (NPR), a project which has always been at loggerheads with the former.

Work had almost stopped at the UIDAI headquarters when its former chairman and chief architect Nilekani sought a meeting with Modi and finance minister Arun Jaitley. According to people aware of the matter, Nilekani sought the meeting in his personal capacity and not at the behest of the organisation.

He was not accompanied by any officials, contrary to what was reported. During the meeting, in the first week of July, Modi is said to have mostly listened to Nilekani explaining the benefits of the project in the areas of containing subsidies, financial inclusion and tracking financial transactions through online authentication, among others.

Modi did not make many comments and just had a few “good questions” relating to the issue of citizenship and related matters. Soon after at an inter-ministerial meeting, Modi asked officials to fast-track Aadhaar enrolments and the DBT scheme. Jaitley is also said to have been tasked with clearing the many legal issues surrounding the project. Another official, who is more optimistic, claims the government is now, more or less, convinced about the benefits of Aadhaar. “It is not that Modi was not at all informed about the Aadhaar project. It was running in Gujarat when he was the chief minister. But Nilekani’s meeting acted as the catalyst,” said the official.

Despite having given up the post of UIDAI chairman and joining the Congress party, Nilekani did not give up the cause of Aadhaar. He would read the newspaper reports which cast doubts about the project’s future and call officials to enquire. And, then, took it upon himself to do the final convincing.

“It was a meeting between a man who knows the project inside out and the man who has to take the final decision on it.” It showed his commitment towards the project, added the official.

On the issue of what the Congress party thought of Nilekani’s move, a leader said one should not misinterpret it. “He met Modi the prime minister and not Modi the politician.” Another leader added that Aadhaar was Nilekani’s baby and he was a technocrat who “stepped in for a project of national interest”.

Nilekani might have managed quell the initial uncertainty about Aadhaar by meeting the Prime Minister but a lot still needs to be stated by the government in terms of how this project fits into their larger agenda. “If you look at it dispassionately, nothing has changed,” said a not-so-optimistic government official. UIDAI was earlier mandated to enrol 900 million people, the PM has just given directions to complete one billion faster.

There is status quo on the DBT project and there is no clarity on DBT in liquefied petroleum gas. A serious overlap between the UID and NPR continues. “It was the weakness of the earlier government that it did not solve the dispute and even the current one is not interested in resolving it,” said another official. There continues to be several process-related loopholes in the project, which are still not being addressed, despite several warnings.

While one side claims UIDAI’s weak enrolment system could create national security issues in the future, the other side thinks the home ministry wants to control the database since it is so valuable. “Speed is good but accuracy (in collecting data) is paramount, as this data will be used for decades to come,” added the person.

All eyes are now on the rollout plan of the Jan Dhan Yojana and Digital India to see where Aadhaar fits in the Modi government’s scheme of things.

Monday, August 25, 2014

5805 - An Identity Card on the Wall - EPW


Identities in Flux and Ethics of Technology Change

This article raises and deals with a set of questions and reflections on identity construction, projection and interpretation of a particular context in rural India. It revolves around the story of V Venkataswamy, a cotton handloom weaver in Adilabad in Telangana. It is also based on a particular narrative about this individual and a photograph of an identity he projected of himself. The article pleads for an engagement with the ethics involved in technology change and the impact it is having on millions of people across the length and breadth of the country.

Pankaj Sekhsaria (psekhsaria@gmail.com) is a doctoral candidate at the Department of Technology and Society Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Maastricht University, the Netherlands.

I would like to acknowledge the contributions of Uzramma, M Annapurna, Latha Tummuru, B Syamasundari, Radhika Gajjala Jo Wachelder, Wiebe Bijker and the CAST Masters Class of 2009-11, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Maastricht University to the ideas in this article.

This article is constructed upon the story of V Venkataswamy, a man I actually never met. It is also based on a particular narrative someone else told me about him and a photograph I have of an identity he projected about himself. The choice of this single exemplar has its obvious limitations: just one “absent” individual, a very specific and localised context and too many assumptions that will necessarily have to be made.

The reasons, therefore, for making this choice are important to explain and I begin by narrating Venkataswamy’s story and explaining the photograph I made more than a decade ago. I then explore some issues around identity construction itself, particularly those that are created and/or located in situations of societal and economic flux. This is followed by a discussion on the issues of ethics in present-day discourses around modern technologies, something that is particularly evident in the medical field.

I conclude by seeking an extension of the ethics discussions to a larger basket of technologies, particularly the “traditional technologies”. It is one possible way of seeking greater engagement, understanding and empathy for individuals and communities who, like in the case of Venkataswamy, appear to be creating new identities, but are most likely, in fact, experiencing unprecedented erasures of their existing “sense of self”.

Paradoxical Reality
The photograph is a very simple one. It shows “V Venkataswamy U/s” – a small sign in grey, painted besides the door of Venkataswamy’s locked house located in the small town of Chinnur in central India. The U/s besides his name stands for unskilled and this is what Venkataswamy had painted about himself on the wall of his own house.

The story that I was told went something like this: The painted name plate on the wall was in fact from an identity (ID) card he had been issued a while ago when he worked as a gatekeeper – an obviously unskilled job – in the Mineral Exploration Corporation Limited (MECL). It was in this ID card that he had been identified thus.

He worked here for a while, then moved to a nearby steel-producing city to work as domestic help and then came back to his hometown of Chinnur to earn a living by driving people around in an autorickshaw. This is what I was told he was out doing when I had visited his house.

It is a classic representation of the situation across rural India – a complex landscape of tremendous inequities, deprivations and challenges; of people in constant flux as they try to find a living and a livelihood. While this is true of Venkataswamy, his story is also representative of another equally important but paradoxical reality.

Venkataswamy was, in fact, one of the most skilled cotton handloom weavers in the entire region, an integral part of one of the finest and richest traditions that India has been and continues to be known for. The products were and are even today known internationally for their skill and quality (Prasad 1999: 13) and the industry is also considered the country’s second largest employer after agriculture (Sekhsaria 2009: 50, 51). Estimates1 of the actual number of people employed and the value of the output vary considerably, but there is agreement that the handloom industry is a significant and important contributor (Liebl and Roy 2003: 5368; Sekhsaria 2009: 50, 51). 

Handloom weaving has other important characteristics too. It is a livelihood that is rooted in the local context of the weaver, is completely in control of the weaving family, involves high skill and precision and is an environment-friendly and decentralised industrial enterprise.

This is the background against which the “unskilled” Venkataswamy’s story has to be read. For me it has continued to be important for two reasons. The first was the realisation that this story, albeit limited and incomplete, is not a stray one.

Many Venkataswamys we do not know about are being labelled U/s in a variety of ways and there is something deeply disturbing about this. Second, the story has stuck vividly in my mind for over a decade now and there are a whole set of unresolved questions that I continue to carry with me. 

Why did Venkataswamy give up weaving? Why did he get the U/s label? Why did he accept it? Did he not believe that weaving needed skill? These are not questions about Venkataswamy alone, but questions of societies and systems that turn a skilled craftsman into a daily wage earner and then brand him U/s. Can we provide a coherent explanation? Is a larger understanding possible?

Constructing Identity
A common thread visible in literature on identity is of its construction being a dialectic between the individual and the world around him/her. Elias (2000: 284) finds it peculiar that it should not be so and that “people often speak and think of individuals and societies as if they were two phenomenon existing separately – of which…one is often considered ‘real’ and the other ‘unreal’…”

Bhiku Parekh (2008: 2) describes human beings as bearers of universal and particular identities where they share a common human identity and are different things at the same time – “fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, and spouses as well as members of different ethnic, cultural, political and other communities”, while Gordon Mathews (2000: 17) defines identity “as the ongoing sense the self has of who it is, as conditioned through its ongoing interactions with others”.2

While this interaction between the world and the self might explain a part of Venkataswamy’s story, ambiguities remain. I would argue that while the nature of the world’s influence on an individual’s notion of self or identity is a more tangible entity, the process by which an individual constructs identity for himself or herself is far more difficult to fathom. Casting the net wider might helps, but it also increases the complexity. Juliet Steyn (1997: 1) brings in the temporal dimension that identity, “… may be as much about the future and the past, as the present…” and Stuart Hall (2000: 16) discusses identity as a “…concept operating ‘under erasure’ in the interval between reversal and emergence; an idea which cannot be thought in the old way, but without which certain key questions cannot be thought at all”. Brubaker and Cooper (2000: 6-8) attempt a synthesis as they explain identity in five broad categories – as a ground or basis of social or political action; as a specifically collective phenomenon; as a core aspect (or individual or collective) selfhood; as a product of social or political action and as the evanescent product of multiple and competing discourses.

The larger the catchment, the more elusive the notion of identity seems to become. Pinning it down then seems like an extremely difficult undertaking and Venkataswamy’s case seems to prove this empirically, as it is capable of finding resonance of some sort or the other within any discourse and/or definition of identity that one might choose to engage with. In some senses it fits into all the categories and yet it cannot be located with certainty into any. The fluidity and the challenge is evident in Brubaker and Cooper’s (2000: 9) articulation that “identity bears a multivalent, even contradictory theoretical burden” and that inspite of its “ambiguity…most sophisticated theorists, while readily acknowledging the elusive and problematic nature of identity, have argued that it remains indispensable”.

Venkataswamy’s Choices
All the limitations and ambiguities notwithstanding, Venkataswamy does appear, prima facie, to “choose and accept” his own identity when he paints his ID card on the wall of his house. There is a neat closure, particularly if one were to look at “what was” the identity to “what it is” now. The complexity and the question that arises is not when one is looking at and understanding the question of “what”, but that of “how” and “why”? What happens in the period of transition? How do people negotiate identities in times of flux governed by forces and powers far beyond their individual control or even understanding – a combination, perhaps, of processes of a distant history on the one hand and, overarching present-day discourse of globalisation that challenges traditional identities, “…be they ethnic, cultural, religious or national” on the other. “And as these come under pressure, personal identity too cannot remain stable” (Parekh 2008: 1). The closure, then, is not as neat and many questions arise if one seeks to unravel its finer details.
If identity involves choice (Parekh 2008: 11; Sen 2005: 350) I would inquire about the trueness of the choice available. If identity is about multiple things (Gay, Evans and Redman 2000: 1; Sen 2005: 350), the question would be about the choice and its hierarchy, of what is chosen as more important and why; if “identity can be described as a process which entails differentiation between the self, not-self and other” (Steyn 1997: 1) what decides the choice of this “other”?

The concern would be that Venkataswamy’s own construction is not anymore of an identity but that of a “non-identity”. It is an identity of erasure, of a voluntary (or perhaps involuntary) disappearance of the individual, his skill, livelihood, his past and therefore, a future that has any links with the past. He lives in the present and simultaneously in the past from which he is seen to have transitioned and if matters were not complex enough, also inhabits at the same time the very space and time of this “transition”. We have clearer vocabularies to define what exists at the beginning of these transitions and what comes at the end, but much less understanding of what happens in between. How do these multiple negotiations take place? Is self-erasure an outcome or a determinant of this world in flux? Can or should anything be done about this, if anything can be done at all?
One way of engaging with this bind may be to give up the quest to “pin down” and understand Venkataswamy’s identity, and try instead to plot the trajectory that brought him where he presently is. It is here that technology plays a very crucial role, both in terms of the specific history of weaving and also in the more general interface of technology and the notion of identity.

History of Weaving Technology
While it is neither possible nor relevant here to go into a detailed historical analysis, it is important to understand the framework for the same. Historical studies closely link the decline of handloom weaving in India with the rise of British colonial power; with increased mechanisation and the deliberate construction of colonial policy “to convert India into a source of raw material and a market for finished products” (Prasad 1999: 14).

Historical accounts (based, ironically, on colonial sources) provide rich evidence of the quality of cotton grown in India, the quality and superiority of the hand-spun yarn and hand-woven fabric. Hand-spun fibres were said to have better adhesion and were therefore stronger and finer than machine-made yarn. The fineness, silkiness, softness, durability and absorbency (of Indian cotton) were seen as being enhanced by low speed operations (Prasad 1999: 16).

Yet, handloom weaving was and continues to be constructed as primitive, inefficient and non-productive, laying the ground in the process for its replacement by more mechanised and “efficient” forms of production or retraining of those involved in weaving with a different set of skills. It was not the British alone who constructed handloom weaving in this light. Important sections of the Indian nationalist and freedom movement in the past and very influential and important sections of the Indian polity today (Prasad: 1999: 16) have a very similar opinion. This has itself been closely linked to the rapidly advancing spinning and weaving technologies for more than two centuries now – developments that have without doubt increased the output, variety and speed at which fabric is produced today.
It is significant to note that more than two centuries of technological developments and a range of incentives notwithstanding, there is considerable evidence (as seen earlier) that the handloom industry continues to survive, if not thrive across large parts of the Indian subcontinent. This is extremely important because it is in this historical framework on the one hand, and rapidly changing technological practices on the other that the perceived lack of skill of Venkataswamy is firmly embedded.

Technology and Identity
In its more generic context, technology appears to interface with identity in two broad ways.

The first is related to the concern that rapidly accelerating technology is eroding our sense of who we are (Molony 2001). While the outcomes will be as varied as the context and the nature of technology in question, in Venkataswamy’s case it is clear that this is indeed what has happened. It can also then be argued that this would also be the case for a majority of people associated with a certain set of technologies that are generally considered “traditional”. It is not so much about the fact that the technologies are traditional, as it is with the huge flux that these technologies (particularly traditional technologies) and their practitioners are forced to negotiate. What exists does not seem valuable or viable anymore; what will come is not clear or then perhaps out of reach for want of resources or necessary skills. It is a subject we will return to later in this article.

The other technology – identity interface is of identity management technologies and tools – is about creating newer, more complex and presumably more secure protocols for identification. Technologies like photography, finger printing, biometrics, and genetics among others are being used increasingly and in different ways to create an ID card of some sort or the other. ID cards have come to occupy a central role in modern society – providing access, security and resources, not to say of “identity” itself.

If rapidly changing technology did lead to an erosion of Venkataswamy’s sense of self it is ironic indeed that it was his ID card that he chose to reinforce his changed identity with. The system certainly deskilled Venkataswamy, but it also seems to have provided him some sense of self – an identity, applied here after (Brubaker and Cooper 2000: 4) as a “category of practice (which) …is used by ‘lay’ actors in some (not all!) everyday settings to make sense of themselves of their activities, of what they share with, and how they differ from others”.
ID cards have, in a more general sense, become tools to individualise members of society. At the same time, however, they make it mandatory for the individual to provide considerable information about himself/herself. It allows, therefore, for a larger scrutiny and surveillance of and control over the individual, leading to serious questions about freedom and right to privacy. In his discussion on privacy, identity and technology (primarily internet technology), Richard Warner (2004: 859) points out the irony that “Technological innovation has flourished in this environment (of the development of democratic nation states and their market economics), producing among other things, the surveillance technologies that threaten privacy.” The same can easily be applied to the ID card as well – as technology that reduces our control over what the other knows about us. The ID card, then, is a trade-off between its benefits and individual freedom and privacy, a trade-off that individuals understand only partly and have little say over.

Technology and Ethics
There are important ethical issues involved here just as they are in the development and use of modern biomedical technologies – organ transplant, genetic testing, and scientific imaging and visualisation of the human body. There are significant implications for notions of identity and self too. Margaret Lock (2008: 875, 876) points out for instance that “genetic test results (cause) …boundary reformulations (that) challenge normative expectations about embodiment, identity and relationships of individuals to familial and other social groups, as well as conventional cultural horizons and even global politics;” and that “biomedical technological practices can bring about radical transformations in self, identity, and human relationships (Lock 2008: 879). In the case of recipients of donated organs, for instance, “…(the organs) are experienced by recipients as personified with an agency that manifests itself in some surprising ways and profoundly influences the recipient’s sense of self” (Lock 2008: 885).

Linda Hogle (2008: 854) notes the following about the impact of these emerging technologies: “Boundaries, often assumed to be sacred and static are easily transgressed by emerging biological technologies that create artificial cells and chromosomes, life forms made from minimal genomes” and that “Adult and embryonic stem cell research raises questions about the moral status of the embryo...” (Hogle 2008: 861)

These technologies are bound, therefore, to have “profound social effects” (Lock 2008: 893); are characterised by significant discussions around “ethics” (Lock 2008: 875, 877) and how, for instance, work “on the part of scientists, politicians and public interest groups may exemplify a new form of ethics in which responses to public accountability are built into emerging technologies” (Hogle 2008: 862).

This is understandable considering that it is the human body that is directly involved, but surely ethics can and should come into discussions on other technologies as well – their impact can be just as profound, though perhaps in different ways. If the human-technology interface can transform identities and disrupt received notions of what it means to be human in the use of prosthetics, implants and enhancement of the human body (Hogle 2008: 858), other human-technology interfaces could surely do the same. While ethics becomes a key concern in the development and use of technologies in medicine, very few if any similar questions are ever asked about a faster car, a more powerful personal computer or for that matter, of a weaving technology that replaces the traditional handloom. What we have instead is a deterministic discourse; of inevitability even invincibility of the new technology that replaces the old.

Deterministic Discourses
Richard Sennet (2008: 266) illustrates this when the solution he offers for the crisis being faced by artisanal craftsmen is to learn a new skill, because as “the ‘skills society’ is bulldozing the career path….craftsmanship seems particularly vulnerable…since (it) is based on slow learning and on habit….” He says that he is not convinced that this is the craftsman’s fated end and that, “Schools and state institutions, even profit-seeking businesses, can take on concrete steps to support vocations. This is to build up skills in sequence, especially through job re-training.”
The obvious implication is that the traditional craftsman – the book binder, the carpenter, the goldsmith and the weaver have no space to survive through the crafts they know and skills they have. Does this have to be the case? If schools, state institutions and profit-seeking businesses can seek to retrain artisans why can they also not create spaces, support mechanisms, interest, respect and markets for the products that the craftsman is already producing? Sennet’s only way out for them is in retraining – the very process of flux and change that could cause a serious erasure of identity; the job-retraining might ensure that the artisan might survive but the craft itself does not have a future.

Amartya Sen too takes a line similar to that of Sennet’s. The significant evidence of quality and viability notwithstanding he constructs hand spinning (and by extension handloom weaving)3 as primitive and not capable of surviving without the help of government subsidies (2005: 101).

These kind of deterministic approaches fail to notice and account for the fact that handloom weaving and other traditional occupations still support millions in large parts of the world. For them complex realities on the ground and narratives like those of Venkataswamy do not seem to exist at all. It is also unlikely, then, that Sen and Sennet will be able to provide an explanation (or justification) for the presence of the debates and discussion on ethics and “right and wrong” in biomedical technologies. We have to look elsewhere. Anderson and Adams (2008: 188), for instance, point out how practitioners of traditional medicine “…begin to develop uncertainty about traditional knowledge and practice not because they are presented with empirical evidence that what they do is ineffective but because the terms on which biomedical efficacy rests deny the validity of their knowledge.” Andrew Feenberg (1995: 12) argues similarly, that the “legitimating effectiveness of technology depends on unconsciousness of the cultural-political horizon under which it is designed”, and that a “recontextualising critique of technology can uncover the horizon, demystify the illusion of technical necessity and expose the relativity of prevailing technical choices”.

Conclusions
It is in the absence of this “recontextualising” that narratives of the traditional (technology, crafts, agriculture, tribal world view’s) continue to be marked by “technological determinism” on the one hand and only limited, if any discourse at all, around ethics on the other. While technological determinism has been challenged to some extent through constructivist approaches, the same cannot be said in matters related to ethics. This need not be the case as is illustrated in a field such as engineering ethics. Engineering ethics which “critically examines the behaviour of engineers and engineering institutions; identifies activities, practices and policies that are morally problematic (or exemplary)…” (Johnson and Wetmore 2008: 568) has itself been inspired, in part, by the developments in the field of bioethics and medical ethics (2008: 569). “Engineering Ethics” could be extremely relevant and useful if, in addition to understanding from mega-incidents like the nuclear disaster of Chernobyl and the gas tragedy of Bhopal, it also dealt with technology change in general and the future of traditional technologies in particular – some kind of technology ethics.

Venkataswamy offers an illustration of this because his story, though limited and constructed by someone else, is at least still available. Millions of others including farmers, tribals and traditional craftsmen are experiencing tremendous flux as displacement and dispossession occurs on a massive scale in India today. In most cases they disappear into a huge void of imposed and accepted erasure as they trade place and profession with each other in some cases and dislocate both in many others.

It is not (and perhaps will never be) fully clear what we should make of Venkataswamy’s identity and the use of the U/s label, but that is only part of the story. The notion and the construction of identity which is inherently complex becomes even more so in situations of vulnerability and flux.

The social, political and economic implications of this are bound to be huge and it is crucial, even critical that we understand this and issue a call for action to “do something about it”.

Notes
1 Handloom in Andhra Pradesh alone provides direct employment to 2,00,000 families and generates an annual output of about $2 billion. National estimates of employment in cotton handlooms vary from 0.7 to 3.4 million. Export earnings from handloom increased nearly 60% from $0.32 billion in 1993 to about $0.5 billion in 2000 (Liebl and Roy 2003: 5366).
2 Mathews definition of identity itself relies on formulations by Anthony Giddens (1991: 52-54).
3 The extension to handloom weaving is my inference from Sen’s text.

References
Anderson, Warwick and Vincanne Adams (2008): “Pramoedya’s Chickens: Post Colonial Studies of Technoscience” in E J Hackett, O Amsterdamska, M Lynch and J Wajcman (ed.), The Handbook of Science and Technology Studies(Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press): 181-209.
Brubaker, Rogers and Frederick Cooper (2000): “Beyond “Identity”, Theory and Society, 29: 1-47.
Elias, Norbert (2000): “Homo Clauses and the Civilising Process” in P du Gay, J Evans and P Redman (ed.), Identity: A Reader (London: Sage Publications), 284-96.
Feenberg, Andrew (1995)“Subversive Rationalisation: Technology, Power and Democracy” in A Feenberg and A Hannay (ed.), Technology and the Politics of Knowledge (Bloomington: Indiana University Press): 3-22.
Gay, du Paul, Jessica Evans and Peter Redman (2000): “General Introduction” in P du Gay, J Evans and P Redman (ed.),Identity: A Reader (London: Sage Publications), 1-5.
Giddens, Anthony (1991): Modernity and Self-Identity (Cambridge, UK: Polity Press).
Hall, Stuart (2000): “Who Needs ‘Identity’?” in P du Gay, J Evans and P Redman (ed.), Identity: A Reader (London: Sage Publications): 15-30.
Hogle, Linda F (2008): “Emerging Medical Technologies” in E J Hackett, O Amsterdamska, M Lynch and J Wajcman (ed.),The Handbook of Science and Technology Studies (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press): 841-74.
Johnson, Deborah G and Jameson M Wetmore (2008): “STS and Ethics: Implications for Engineering Ethics” in E J Hackett, O Amsterdamska, M Lynch and J Wajcman (ed.), The Handbook of Science and Technology Studies(Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press): 567-81.
Liebl, Maureen and Tirthankar Roy (2003): “Handmade in India”, Economic & Political Weekly, 38: 5366-76.
Lock, Margaret (2008): “Biomedical Technologies, Cultural Horizons, and Contested Boundaries” in E J Hackett, O Amsterdamska, M Lynch and J Wajcman (ed.), The Handbook of Science and Technology Studies (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press): 875-900.
Mathews, Gordon (2000): Global Culture/ Individual Identity (London: Routledge).
Molony, Barbara (2001): “Technology and Identity”, STS Nexus 1.2,http://www.scu.edu/sts/nexus/summer2001/MolonyArticle.cfm
Parekh, Bhiku (2008): A New Politics of Identity (New York: Palgrave Macmillan).
Prasad, C Shambu (1999): “Suicide Deaths and Quality of Indian Cotton”, Economic & Political Weekly, 34: 12-21.
Sekhsaria, Pankaj (2009) “The Unskilled Venkataswamy”, Down to Earth, 30 April.
Sen, Amartya (2005): The Argumentative Indian (New York: Picador).
Sennet, Richard (2008): The Craftsman (London: Penguin).
Steyn, Juliet (1997): “Introduction” in J Steyn (ed.), Other Than Identity – The Subject, Politics and Art (Manchester: Manchester University Press).

Warner, Richard (2004): “Surveillance and the Self: Privacy, Identity and Technology”, DePaul Law Review 54: 847-71.

5804 - Nandan Nilekani: The rising czar of Bangalore - Economic Times

K R Balasubramanyam, ET Bureau Aug 22, 2014, 10.45PM IST

(The purpose of his siding…)

For Bangaloreans, Nandan Nilekani represents much more than Aadhaar or the Congress. He symbolises Bangalore's entrepreneurial spirit in and the world of technology where the country is now competing with the best in the world. The purpose of his siding with the Congress after an eventful career at Infosys was not to park himself to enjoy the spoils of a political post at the centre. Instead, he wanted to use his ideas to provide every Indian with a unique identity, the utility of which is manifold.

But after losing the Lok Sabha polls, the 54-year old tech czar has withdrawn himself into a shell. Even many of those who voted for the BJP don't dispute his usefulness to society and would eagerly welcome his return to the public space.

It is in this context that Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's intention to get the Aadhaar architect back into the realm of public service is both thoughtful and laudable. If the CM pursues his intent with action, it is sure to result in gains for all sides.
In an interview with ET, the chief minister said he plans to create a role for Nilekani to help with Bangalore development. If Siddaramaiah is able to get the billionaire to end his self-imposed seclusion, the Infosys cofounder can well be expected to make a big impact on the way the city plans its infrastructure or delivers public services. Without a doubt, Siddaramaiah is a political leader with a positive rural bias. But Bangalore is where a sixth of Karnataka's population lives. Giving Nilekani a Bangalore-specific role will not just restore the spotlight on Bangalore, it might well make Siddaramaiah-Nilekani a potent political combo. It will be a wise political move for the chief minister, too.

As Bangalore South candidate, Nilekani interacted with thousands of citizens and has first-hand knowledge of the city's problems. More than 15 years ago he founded the Bangalore Agenda Task Force, a public-private partnership to find innovative and speedy solutions to civic problems. So when the polls in his constituency ended, he got down to the serious businesses of developing appropriate technological tools to address the city's problems. It goes without saying Bangalore needs scores of technology-driven solutions, and ideas to evolve itself into a truly world-class city of the future.


At quite another level, Nilekani's loss in Bangalore South could well prove to be a gain for all of Bangalore. Who knows, it could even herald a new beginning in his political career. Didn't Manmohan Singh return as PM after losing the Lok Sabha election from Delhi? Nandan just might bounce back as chief minister of Karnataka one day.

5803 - VIDEO: Surveillance impact ‘severe’: Jillian York - Crickey



A leading freedom of expression activist has said that the collection of metadata by governments poses a threat to people’s privacy that the general public is not taking seriously.
Jillian York, director for International Freedom of Expression at the Electronic Freedom Foundation, told Crikey politics editor Bernard Keane last month that “privacy is a privilege. It should be a right, but in reality it’s most often a privilege … Privacy is a privilege that most people are not afforded.”

Speaking at an event hosted by Electronic Frontiers Australia at Electron Workshop in North Melbourne, York says the US government hasn’t proven why mass surveillance is necessary, especially as it is not effective at preventing crime. “I think the best example of this is the Boston Marathon, where we had a very horrific act of terrorism where some of those people were actually under FBI surveillance. Presumably the NSA had all the data, and they were not able to prevent that.”


Surveillance by governments can also have consequences for social change, says York. “The impact of surveillance on free expression and association is so severe. The idea that historically there are movements that all of the organising around the movements happened by doing things that were not allowed to be said in public, by organising in ways that were behind closed doors, women’s rights, gay rights, all of these things happened because we were not being watched 24/7.”

5802 - Global Government Biometric Systems Market Size, Share, Trends and Forecasts 2014-2024



ALBANY, New York, July 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --
ResearchMoz presents this most up-to-date research on Global Government Biometric Systems Market 2014-2024  Business Strategies, Industry Trends, and Pipeline Analysis.

The Global Biometric Systems Market 2014-2024" offers the reader detailed analysis of the global biometric systems market over the next ten years, alongside potential market opportunities to enter the industry, using detailed market size forecasts.

To view the table of contents for this market research report please visit: http://www.researchmoz.us/the-global-government-biometric-systems-market-2014-2024-report.html

What are the key drivers behind recent market changes? 
Global governmental spending on biometric programs and corresponding systems is predominantly driven by the numerous e-passport and national identity card programs underway in various countries and the projects slated to begin in the near future. The US and European nations including the UK, Germany, France and other smaller European nations were the early adopters of biometric technology for various purposes including border control, airport security, identity security, and law enforcement. E-Passports and national identity cards equipped with electronic chips carrying biometric data, form the major basis for all the aforementioned applications. With increasing popularity, countries in Asia Pacific and Latin America are adopting biometric passports and electronic identity cards. Furthermore, the increasing instances of terrorism around the world are also urging governments of vulnerable nations such as the US, UK, Russia, and India to introduce secure biometric passports and electronic documents which prove instrumental in checking the entry of hostile forces into countries through the borders or airports. These national identity and biometric passport issuance programs involve huge investment and require long durations to be completed. For example, India has recently launched its Unique Identity (UID) program in order to provide every citizen with a unique identity card which consists of biometric data including fingerprints, digital signatures and digitized photographs. This program is deemed to be the largest of its kind in the world till date and is anticipated to substantially improve and streamline the process of government services' delivery to the Indian citizens.



What makes this report unique and essential to read? 
"The Global Biometric Systems Market 2014-2024" provides detailed analysis of the current industry size and growth expectations from 2014 to 2024, including highlights of key growth stimulators. It also benchmarks the industry against key global markets and provides detailed understanding of emerging opportunities in specific areas.

Key Features and Benefits 
    The report provides detailed analysis of the market for biometric systems during 2014-2024, including the factors that influence why countries are investing or cutting expenditure on biometric systems. It provides detailed expectations of growth rates and projected total expenditure.

    Government initiatives towards identity and border control, increasing concern over data security and growth in urban population leading towards increase the proportion of rebel groups and terrorists are expected to boost the demand for biometric identity and security systems over the coming years. As this sector gains prominence, it is expected that large competitors will try to generate competence by acquiring medium and small sized niche entities, with unique facilities that will fill the gaps in their portfolio of products, or services. In July 2012, Apple Inc acquired fingerprint sensor and recognition solution provider AuthenTec for US$356 million. Moving ahead the company has integrated the fingerprint recognition into its latest mobile devices iPhone 5S. In the same month, Cross Match Technologies, a provider of interoperable biometric identity management systems was acquired by Francisco Partners, a global private equity firm focused on investments in technology and technology-enabled services business. Later in the same year, search engine giant, Google acquired facial recognition technology company Viewdle. The increasing demand for innovative biometric applications is expected to result in a further increase in consolidation activity over the coming months.

Key Market Issues 
    Policies and technology developments to protect civil rights as well as personal and information privacy have become inevitable prior to applying any advanced biometric technology into practice. In recent years, privacy issues are becoming increasing significant as novel biometric technologies such as facial recognition, iris recognition and DNA identification technologies are introduced. Theft of biometric information might result in unauthorized access to military facilities and thus perpetrate terrorist activities resulting in a major threat to the national security. Biometric information collected by the government agencies may also be transferred to other departments for administrative or other purposes that will increase chances of illegal hacking. . Furthermore, biometric data that is acquired originally for national ID or for passports can also be used by government agencies for surveillance purposes and for checks against forensic databases without the person being aware of its use. DNA identification systems, a new category of biometric system presents privacy issues, different from those involved in other biometrics collection. DNA sample collected through a blood draw or a swab of the inner cheek is more invasive than other external biometrics such as fingerprint or photograph. Also, it contains information about a person's genetic make-up, including gender, health, disease history and other hereditary information that can be used for purposes other than for which it was collected. As such in recent years, public agitation has increased against using the biometric information without their consent by law enforcement agencies and militaries. Given these issues which are yet to be resolved in their entirety, a strict control of access to databases containing personal identification information is considered to be a challenge for the growth of the market.

    Historically, the government agencies have been collecting information from only one biometric system at a time. However, in recent years, use of multi-modal biometrics is gaining prominence as collecting more than one piece of biometric data from an individual makes identification more accurate. Therefore, designing completely reliable and automatic biometric systems is a key challenge for companies and governments alike. As there is no standardization of biometric data due to information collection by several law enforcement agencies simultaneously, achieving interoperability by integrating all these databases has become very difficult. Furthermore, high data retention time leads to additional problems as data that is less identifiable in the past becomes more identifiable with the advancement in technology. For example, biometric records stored in the Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT) and Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS), by US law enforcement agencies, are expected to be retained for 75 years. This means that the government agencies will be using the same poor quality biometric data and information despite the developments in technology, in a drive to achieve interoperability. Additionally, technical issues in some biometrics, such as facial recognition, make their use inappropriate, as accuracy is mainly dependent on consistent lighting conditions and angles of view. Large age discrepancies will also aggravate the problem as comparing a person with his photo taken several years ago will lead to false acceptance or rejection. Therefore, a number of technological advancements are required in order to achieve these goals, which poses a significant challenge for market participants who have to maintain the accuracy of biometric systems, while at the same time reduce the cost involved in it.
    The government agencies worldwide have started to recognize biometrics as one of the safest verification and identity authentication tools. The use of biometrics such as iris, fingerprint, finger vein, voice recognition and voiceprint have become a new generation of authentication. However, it has also created a new generation of fraud. One of most serious threat to the technology is from impersonation. Impersonation sees the imposter attempt to be incorrectly recognized as a different, legitimate user. The imposter with a fake identity but legitimate biometric information stored in his biometric card can successfully access vital government sites and can even cause damage on someone else's identity. The biometric card does not ensure that the person applying for an ID card is using her own name, rather than a stolen or false identity. The plan does require card applicants to present identity documents such as drivers' licenses and national identification cards. However, the imitated identify documents are easy to get in several countries including the United States. It is likely therefore that the well-developed identity document forgery industry  will provide support to the imposters and will help them gets their biometric cards issued on a fake identity; resulting in a situation which can be even more fatal.. The imposters are more difficult to identify than the individuals with fake documents as they have legitimate biometric cards. They can only be caught if there are several layers of verification which is very difficult to implement in sites such as airports with high foot fall on a daily basis.
    Biometric systems primarily work on security features by protecting the information stored on the card. However, most of the biometric cards encryption scheme with technologies including fingerprint recognition, face recognition and voice recognition can be broken and once the encryption system on the ID card is broken, or the master decryption key leaks or is reverse engineered, then all existing ID cards can become vulnerable. Some of the widely used biometrics systems are vulnerable to hacking with even the most common techniques. A fingerprint can be duplicated using gelatin molds and then pressed against the scanner of a fingerprint reader, granting access to its user. There have been instances where voice recognition systems have been defeated with voice recordings. Even face recognition systems have been bypassed with photographs of the legitimate users. Although, the use of hybrid biometrics systems have successfully overcome many of these hacking attempts successfully, it has proved difficult for the authorities to avoid expert hackers who have even managed to outsmart hybrid biometrics systems. With the advent of new technologies in the security, the hackers also advance their expertise to overcome the modern security measures. Therefore, the biometrics sector will be under constant threat from sophisticated hacking and the authorities will have to rely on biometrics on a partial basis.

Key Highlights 
    With increase in the usage of biometric devices, a number of cases have been brought to light where impostors and fraudsters have tried to and in some cases succeeded to bypass the system by using spoofing techniques. This has resulted in a number of anti-spoofing designs and technologies that are being developed by suppliers and an increased focus on multimodal biometrics in order to strengthen security measures by overcoming the limitations of a single technology. Requirement for multimodal biometrics has also been augmented by shortcomings of uni-modal systems such as fingerprints, faces and iris/retinal recognition systems as such systems in isolation can be susceptible to errors arising from non-uniform natural and other surrounding factors such as faulty data, human aging, light fluctuations etc. Such systems are capable of using more than one physiological or behavioral characteristic for identity verification and use technologies such as fingerprints, facial features, iris/retinal scans and vein patterns in conjunction to provide highly secure and above average accuracy. These systems can also effectively deter spoofing as it is almost impossible to duplicate or alter multiple biometric traits, in addition to which some of these multimodal systems can request the user to present random traits that only a live person can do. Given the advantages offered by these systems and the sensitive nature of applications that most biometric systems are used for, it is expected that multimodal biometric systems will gain even more popularity over the forecast period and demand for such systems will be high in all spheres of application including the government, corporate, commercial and banking sectors.
    With a number of nations implementing multiple biometric information collection and verification programs, under various government agencies over the forecast period, it is expected that in the immediate future, a truly global need for interoperability among the data and devices of agencies using biometric systems will make its impact felt in the industry. Currently, such interoperability requirements mostly feature in the agenda of early mover nations in this domain, such as the US, which has a vast and long term experience of inter agency biometric information sharing and the interoperability problems that arise out of such co-operation. Interoperability initiatives in the US date back to 2006, when the US Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) Program of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Criminal Justice Information Services (CJIS) Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) developed an interoperability project to support the sharing of information among DHS, DOJ, and their respective stakeholders. The implementation of such a system enabled users to submit a single query and receive results from the US-VISIT Automated Biometric Identification System (IDENT) and the DOJ Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System (IAFIS) rather than submitting two separate queries. Such measures have stemmed from instances where wanted criminals have been able to escape prosecution as one department was not aware of the status of the criminal due non-availability of biometric records for that person which was already in possession of the other agency. If information would have been shared in the manner that is being done now then a large number of such cases could have been prevented which would ultimately effect the country's national and border security positively. Given the benefits that can be derived from such information sharing, interoperability frameworks are also expected to be formulated in other countries across the globe which has implemented multi-agency biometric programs in order to establish coherent and effective information integration.
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Biometrics Technology (Face, Hand geometry, Voice, Signature, Iris, AFIS, Non-AFIS and Others) Market : The rising number of terror attacks and crimes has created a need for high level security in both private and public sector. Traditional methods used for personnel authentication such as username and passwords, tokens etc. are vulnerable to attacks. Biometrics technology provides high level security and cannot be stolen since it uses an individual's physiological and behavioral characteristics for identification. The convenience and growing applications in government sector such as national identity schemes, national border control projects such as e-passports among others are the key factors which would help contribute to the growth of biometrics in the upcoming years. This report analyses the biometrics technology market on a global basis with detailed breakdown into various sub-divisions. It provides cross sectional analysis of the market based on parameters such as geography, application and end use segments. In addition, the analysis provides market estimation in terms of revenue and forecast for the period between 2013 and 2019. Porter's five forces analysis and value chain analysis included in the report further help in assessing the market situation and competitiveness. Market attractiveness analysis helps to highlight the key industry segments and their comparative attractiveness with other industry segments. See 

Explorer More Biometric Market @ http://www.researchmoz.us/biometric-market.htm

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5801 - Aadhaar-linked biometric attendance for Central staff - Deccan Herald,

Ajith Athrady, New Delhi, Aug 23, 2014, DHNS:
System seeks to improve work ethics in departments

Seeking to ensure punctuality and better work ethics among government employees, the National Democratic Allia­nce (NDA) government has decided to install Aadhaar-enabled biometric attendance systems (AEBAS) in all Central government offices.

The primary aim of the system is to check absenteeism, measure the time an employee spends in office, and the time he or she checks in and checks out at work, an official from the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) told Deccan Herald.

The government has fixed October as the deadline to instal the system in all its offices in the national capital. By end of this fiscal, the system should be in place in all its offices across the country, covering 30.98 lakh employees, the official said.


The DoPT has issued a circular to all the ministries, asking them to collect details of the employees, their ranks and contact details (email ID, residential address, telephone and personal mobile phone numbers).

The order is binding on all employees, including those in the armed forces.  Public sector undertakings have also been told to implement the system at the earliest.

To implement the system, all offices will have to instal fingerprint scanners with WiFi internet connection. The Departm­ent of Electronics and Infor­mation Technology (Deity) has installed the system in its headquarters, Electronics Niketan on Lodhi Road, while the Ministry for Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation has started the process.

Eight such AEBAS systems have been installed at six gates of Nirman Bhawan, which houses the Urban Development Ministry. The Unique Identification Authority of India has provided the machines, the software and the authentication devices for the wall-mounted systems, said a senior Urban Development Ministry official.

Employees have to use last four digits of their respective “Aadhaar” numbers as “Personal Identity Number”, besides using their finger for authentication.

The DoPT has asked the ministries and departments to hold special Aadhaar registration camps in their office to help employees get their unique ID numbers at the earliest.

Besides, the government has also asked the departments to procure required equipment by placing online tenders. Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth has already instructed the secretaries to crack down on government employees found to be “habitually late” in reaching office.

5800 - Editorial: Digital India dream - FINANCIAL EXPRESS


The Financial Express | Published: Aug 23 2014, 02:37 IST

The Digital India programme cleared by the cabinet on Wednesday seeks to ‘prepare India for a knowledge future’. On the face of it, the plan looks like a pipe dream but in reality, it is not. It has three key objectives. 

First, to create a digital infrastructure for providing to citizens services like digital identity, mobile phone and a bank account. 

Second, to service and govern a real-time online financial transaction platform. 

And third, to digitize all documents and records of the citizens and make them available on a real-time basis. 

So, what makes all this achievable now? To begin with, creating the telecom infrastructure, critical to the R1.13 lakh crore plan, is a work in progress—a large part of it has already been put in place by the telecom companies. What the government has to do, and this is the real challenge as it requires defence vacating spectrum, is to make available additional spectrum to cater to a nation-wide digital platform. The R30,000 crore

National Optic Fibre Network plan for connecting 2.5 lakh gram panchayats across the country to provide community wi-fi service, though languishing, needs to be expedited. For Digital India, digital identity needs to work as the common thread for all services. 

This is where Aadhaar will be of immense help. About 66 crore people are already enrolled for Aadhaar and with the PM pressing for a quick, 100% enrollment, digital identity for all is just a matter of time.

The biggest advantage is that several states, on their own, have either created or are in the process of creating Digital-India-type infrastructure. Madhya Pradesh initiated the Samagra scheme in 2012 for transferring all entitlements like scholarship or pension and providing public services, even updating of birth, death and marriage records, online. The registration of people under Samagra is almost complete and Aadhaar is currently being seeded with the beneficiary data. 

Similarly, Rajasthan has also started the Aadhaar-based Bhamashah scheme on August 15 for transferring all entitlements to the bank accounts of beneficiaries electronically. What the Centre needs to do is coordinate with the states and ride on the work that has already been done or is being done by them for connecting people and governance electronically.

5799 - Aadhaar impact beyond DBT - FINANCIAL EXPRESS


| Updated: Aug 23 2014, 01:12 IST

SUMMARY
Given that both the Centre and states have now started working on Aadhaar-based cash transfers of entitlements, it will be good

Given that both the Centre and states have now started working on Aadhaar-based cash transfers of entitlements, it will be a good idea to re-look at some of the transformational benefits that can be achieved using the UIDAI platform. Rajasthan has already started registering people for rolling out entitlements through its Bhamashah scheme and the Prime Minister’s ambitious financial inclusion plan, Jan Dhan Yojana, will also be linked to Aadhaar.


While Aadhaar-based identification is expected to reduce leakages in the government’s social sector spendings, there is more that can be gained. A Barclays report points out that UIDAI can be effectively used to minimise tax evasion and tracking high-value transactions by linking bank accounts and PAN. This has the potential to add about 0.4% to the GDP annually. The reduction in government spending-related leakages could result in savings amounting to 0.2-0.3% of GDP. 

Also, Aadhaar-based financial inclusion can help move savings away from gold to financial products, which could add up to 0.2% to annual growth. Aadhaar can improve the efficiency of government spending on education, healthcare and housing. The health records of individuals can be linked to Aadhaar and the database can be leveraged to ensure better health insurance coverage. It can also be used to monitor attendance of government teachers and doctors.

Saturday, August 23, 2014

5798 - Better have Aadhaar to remain in govt job - Free Press Journal

— By FPJ Bureau,  August 22, 2014 12:13 am

New Delhi : The Central Government employees not having the Aadhaar card may soon find themselves locked out and not allowed to attend office. Orders have been issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) to make all central government offices Aadhaar enabled.

Aadhaar-enabled Biometric Attendance Systems (AEBAS) are to be installed at the entrances of all government offices, first in Delhi and then in all central government offices outside. The order is binding on all employees of all ranks, including those in the Armed Forces.

The circular does not specify a date from which the new attendance system will come in force, but it stresses that “Aadhaar number is mandatory to register attendance.”

Offices have to install fingerprint scanners with Wi-Fi Internet to record attendance of the employees at a central server, where a software will be installed to automatically email to the concerned bosses of the offices about the irregular employees for taking disciplinary action, a DoPT official said.


He said the exercise is to check absenteeism and measure the time an employee spends in office and the time he or she checks in and checks out. Instead of installing the localised attendance machines, the PMO wanted them based on Aadhaar to ensure no scope for fiddling with them.

5797 - High-speed internet to be 'core utility' as Digital India gets Cabinet nod

Each Indian citizen will also get a unique 'cradle to grave' digital identity

BS Reporter  |  New Delhi  August 21, 2014 Last Updated at 00:50 IST

RELATED NEWS
The Cabinet on Wednesday approved a blueprint for the Digital India programme, which envisages all government services be delivered electronically by 2018. It also seeks to provide unique identities to all citizens.

The programme aims to “bring public accountability through mandated delivery of government services electronically” and provide a “unique ID and e-Pramaan, based on authentic and standards-based interoperable and integrated government applications and data bases”.

Digital India would provide “high-speed internet as a core utility” down to the Gram Panchayat level and a “cradle-to-grave digital identity — unique, lifelong, online and authenticable”, said an official statement, adding the unique IDs would facilitate identification, authentication and delivery of benefits.

The statement steered clear of mentioning Aadhaar. It is felt if the government plans to use the services of the Unique Identification Authority of India, which has already registered about 660 million Indian residents, it will provide a major boost to the project.

It is envisioned through Digital India, mobile phones and bank accounts will aid digital and financial participation. The government has said the project, to be implemented in a phased manner during 2014-2018, will seamlessly integrate government services across departments to provide single-window access to all and ensure these are available real-time, across the online and mobile platforms. To make it easier for companies to do business in the country, government services will be digitally transformed.

The initiative will make financial transactions above a threshold electronic and cashless.

Posts of chief information officers will be created in at least 10 key ministries so that e-governance projects can be designed, developed and implemented faster.

The government release added the Digital India would prepare India for a knowledge future and “to realise IT (Indian talent) + IT (information technology) = IT (India tomorrow)”.


5796 - Now, transfer money through your mobile recharge shop - TNN

Jayanta Deka, TNN | Aug 21, 2014, 05.18PM IST

Lucknow: For Delhi-based MNC employee Neelam Dubey, transferring money to her mother who stays in a village in Campierganj near Gorakhpur has always been a problem. Being 'semi-literate', her mother always avoided going to the bank and relied on easier alternatives. Neelam tried every option to ease out the transaction, sometimes sending cash through bus drivers headed to Sanauli on the Indo-Nepal border.

When the Reserve Bank of India initiated a pilot project, away from media attention, to test cash-out through mobile-based wallets, many like Neelam saw it as a step towards financial inclusion. RBI's pilot project is powered by 8 companies which include Airtel Money, Vodafone's M-Pesa and Oxigen. These e-wallets till now were offering cash deposit facility which enabled online transactions. For instance, Airtel Money which can run on any basic phone, offers cash deposit option and the money can be used for online shopping, paying utility bills, insurance premiums and recharging DTH and phones. Through tie-ups with banks, these e-wallets also offered cash withdrawal facility.

With the RBI's nod to the pilot project, these mobile wallet services were given a chance to disburse cash through their retail chain itself. The RBI is testing cash-out facility which will enable a user to send money through any ordinary mobile phone and also withdraw cash from the retailer by proving Aadhaar card. The project is already in operation in parts of UP (east), Bihar and Odisha.

"The project is helping villagers transfer cash through their basic phones without going to the bank which is often not nearby. India needs more banks and through this project we are trying to bridge the divide. For basic money transfer, there is now no need to have a bank account," said Pramod Saxena, founder & chairman of Oxigen while on a chat with TOI. Oxigen is one of the mobile wallet services that have been given permission to roll out the trial project by the RBI. The company handles more than 35 million transactions per month.

Experts said that once given a go-ahead, the mobile wallet services with cash-out facility can be a big step towards financial inclusion. With its direct linkage to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and the Aadhaar card system, through encrypted and closed-loop connection, the transactions are safe. At present, cash-out facility is given for free and 1.5% transaction fee is charged for cash deposits.

Saxena said that the currents trends show Delhi, Mumbai, Gujarat and Punjab are the major cash-in points whereas most of the cash recipients are located in the villages in UP east and Bihar. "Once the service is rolled out across the country, we are expecting good business from UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha and Assam. At present, we have 200 retail points and are expecting to raise the number once RBI permits us," he added.


When contacted, Airtel and Vodafone declined to comment on the story, claiming they are not mandated to speak to the media on this project as yet. However, they confirmed that the project has started. RBI spokesperson also confirmed to TOI that the 'trial' project has began.