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

Saturday, November 12, 2016

10521 - One platform, multiple benefits - Business Standard


Financial institutions can attract customers at a low cost by using the IndiaStack platform. Being entirely paperless, an individual can also quickly open a new account

Naveen Kukreja 
October 8, 2016 

The government and a digital think-tank called i-Spirit (comprising people who built the government's Aadhaar initiative) are working together on a technology called IndiaStack. This has the potential to bring down costs involved in financial transactions, make account opening with banks, mutual funds, etc, easy, and also make the process paperless and quicker. The technology platform also has the potential to bring down cash transactions in the economy.

How it works

IndiaStack is structured as a four-layered pyramid, where all or a combination of these can work together.

Aadhaar-based digital identity: The first layer will provide a universal biometric digital identity, based on your Aadhaar details. This will enable online authentication through the fingerprint or iris.

Digital locker: The second layer provides a safe deposit locker for storing critical documents. These can include your Aadhaar details, PAN details or even your child's school report cards. An individual can access these documents from anywhere and digitally send these to a bank or to any other financial institution for documentation and verification.

Digital signature: The third layer is the digital signature. This will eliminate the need to physically sign documents for opening bank accounts, applying for loans or credit cards, or even for investing in mutual funds. Instead, you will be able to sit in the comfort of your home or office and sign the documents without actually printing them. These three layers will help create a paperless and presence-less banking system.

Payment interface: The fourth layer consists of the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) built by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). This layer is aimed at making money transfers as simple as sending a text message or an e-mail. Unlike the current money transfer systems, where you have to type your card details, user names or net banking/wallet password, UPI system only requires your bank-provided virtual payment address (like amit@xyzbank) and a mobile banking PIN (MPIN). UPI enables seamless movement of funds between people, banks and mobile wallets, thereby incentivising use of digital payments, rather than cash.

Makes your life easy

Consider the case of Saurabh Bhatia, a grocery store owner, who wants to open a bank account. He has been postponing this task, as he will need to visit a bank at a time when he is needed at his shop. He will also need to carry original and photocopies of documents to provide proof of identity and address, then wait for the bank to process his request. It will take him at least a couple of working days to get an operational account.

His store being small, Bhatia's customers pay in cash for mostly small-value transactions. He doesn't use card-based payment as it is an added cost to his business. But, he will need to visit the bank every time he needs to deposit money. Hassles like these cause entrepreneurs like Bhatia to prefer cash over formal banking channels. It also means they don't have a proper banking history, a hindrance for accessing bank credit. IndiaStack has the potential to manage all the worries of someone like Bhatia.

First of all, the platform will do away with the requirement of presenting original documents for KYC processing. The system will allow Bhatia to directly produce the documents from his digital locker to the banks. The digital locker will further solve his problem of safekeeping and allow anytime access to important documents. With the digital signature feature, he can sign-off on loan documents or KYC-related documents without worrying about visiting bank branches.

The ease of payments because of UPI will encourage more customers to make payments to Bhatia using the banking channel. The frequent transactions through his bank account will also help create a banking history, which could help him secure bank loans in the future. The integration of e-KYC, e-sign and UPI layers will also enable banks to instantly process his loan application and disburse loans.

IndiaStack also has the potential to reduce the costs involved in other financial transactions. At present, the cost of acquiring a customer for a mutual fund or a bank is Rs 1,200-1,500. Most of this goes into document collection, verifying these, going back to customers if there are errors, and so on. If a fund house spends that kind of money to get a customer, it uses commissions to cover the cost. IndiaStack will allow fund houses to do all these tasks online for as little as Rs 10. Fund houses can pass on this benefit to the investor. All the information is pulled with the consent of the customer. Similarly, banks can lower processing fees on a loan.

Better financial products

However, it is not only Bhatia who will benefit from this open digital infrastructure called IndiaStack. The platform has the potential to transform the financial landscape by enabling product innovation, reducing customer acquisition and operating costs, and enabling larger sections to access financial products.

The data created from bill payments, digital identity, social media and customer transaction history can be used to develop customised solutions like daily insurance policies, intra-day loans and mobile credit cards. Lower customer acquisition and operating costs will reduce the cost of servicing banking consumers and allow banks and non-banking financial companies to improve credit access for the unbanked population.
The writer is CEO and co-founder, Paisabazaar.com

INDIASTACK TO REDUCE COSTS
  • Send documents using DigiLocker for identity and address proof
     
  • Get KYC done instantly online
     
  • Documents can be signed online using digital signatures
     
  • Once on-boarded, instantly transact using UPI
     
  • Institutions pay a fraction of current cost they incur for customer acquisition
     
  • Lower costs can be passed on to customers in form of lower commissions and processing fee