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, May 15, 2016

9975 - Here’s why you need not go to your bank - First Post


May 11, 2016 17:53 IST

What is the fastest thing you can do in 2 minutes? Cook your favourite cup of noodles or switch on your computer?

Well, what if we say you can open a fresh bank account from scratch in less than 2 minutes - just 90 seconds to be precise.
Banking? Wait! Are we talking about tremendous paperwork, signatures until you twist your wrist, safeguarding cheques, memorising multiple passwords or waiting for the one-time password?

It is time to wipe out the conventional image of banks and replace this with digibank from DBS, where you can open a bank account faster than you can make a cup of tea.
With the launch of this mobile-only bank, using the mighty old pen, filling in paper slips to transfer money to your mom or cutting a cheque leaf to pay the rent are things of the past. There aren’t any papers required, not even to note down one-time passwords.

No OTPs too? Yes, we reiterate no OTPs are needed.  If you are fretting about the security, then it’s time to put the fears to rest right away. A dynamic inbuilt security feature ensures authentication is automatic once you register your device.
Rubbing your eyes in disbelief and thinking it is only for the uber rich who can stash all their wealth in the account? You are mistaken again. digibank unshackles you from the clutches of minimum account balances and restrictions on cash withdrawals at automated-teller-machines (ATMs). You can keep as little as Re 1 in your account and you wouldn’t have to give the closest ATM a miss to avoid unnecessary charges. Take your pick from any of the 2 lakh plus ATMs around the country and withdraw at ease.
And if you wish to beat your friends hands down on who earns the most on their savings bank account, digibank – which offers 7% interest on the account balance – is your way to do it.
We aren’t talking about things dreams are made of. The growing ubiquity of mobile phones, riding on the back of social infrastructure in the country has made it possible for DBS to move beyond the brick-and-mortar structure and thus pass on the benefits to end users – the account holders.
Elaborating on how tremendous savings with a host of value-added features were possible, Piyush Gupta, CEO of DBS, says, “We have been able to streamline our technology that is robust, reliable and works efficiently in multiple domains, both geographically and functionally. For the past couple of years, we have been using our technological strength and marrying it with the way humans think to create human-centred designs.”
Piggybacking on this technology, DBS has been able to swiftly offer digibank account holders rewards and deals on the go, while they shop, dine at their favourite restaurant, avoiding the necessity to sift through hundreds of deals.
Asked how DBS has been able to make the mobile-only model work, Gupta says, “The unique public infrastructure available in India in the form of Aadhaar enabled e-KYC framework, e-signatures and digital locker along with the Unified Payment Interface enables a high level of digitisation. Leveraging this architecture, we have created digibank, which allows you to live more and bank less.”
You would surely have jumped out of your bed after reading this, but you need not step out of it to open the account. All you need to do is download digibank on your mobile phone, key in your Aadhaar and Permanent Account Number. While at the café, you can also verify your Aadhaar at the biometric devices station across 500 locations, initially.
So, go to your favourite spa, play the game that you always wanted to and live your life and strike banking off your 'To-Do' list with digibank on your Smartphone.
While you are dining, if you exceed your set food budget limits, the Intuitive Budget Optimizer would warn you too ensuring you never run out of money.
So, throw away your pens and papers and un-bank it with digibank.