AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 10574 - Moving Towards A Cashless Economy

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

Monday, December 12, 2016

10574 - Moving Towards A Cashless Economy - Money Control

Nov 04, 2016, 10.40 AM | Source: Moneycontrol.com

Moving Towards A Cashless Economy

The following article is an initiative of Bank Bazaar & CNBC-TV18 and is intended to create awareness among the readers. The explosion in use smart phones and digital transactions right from purchasing groceries to buying electronic goods online has heralded the beginnings of a cashless economy in India. With 220mn smart phones, India is the second biggest smart phone market, in terms of active, unique smart phone users, surpassing the U.S. market. The click, swipe, and order syndrome has drastically changed the way businesses are done and the result is that ‘digital’ is within everyone’s means today. From digital wallets to Demat accounts, the results of this ubiquitous digitalization are for the whole world to see. Besides making transactions less cumbersome and saving on time by as much as 70% in certain cases, banks and companies are also saving on transaction costs. The conversion rates, too, are almost three times higher – a huge plus for the financial companies. It’s a win-win situation for consumers too. Quit the long queues to pay bills; online is the new way forward. What’s beautiful about paperless processes is its ability to deliver and empower people at the same time. The best example of this is the JAM trinity – or the Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar, and mobile connectivity, in the wheel of economic policies that are meant to drive the financial inclusion measures to bring about an overall empowerment. For the first time, we are seeing market forces and social goals come together because of paperless finance. With a view to further paving the roads to strengthening the digital drives, BankBazaar.com, in association with CNBC-TV18, held a digital banking summit. This event saw some of the biggest names in the BFSI industry come together on one platform and give their view on the way forward and the enormity of decisions based on digital disruptions in the near future. There were speakers like Amit Agarwal, VP & Country Manager, Amazon India and Nandan Nilekani, Former Chairman of the UIDAI who dwelled on the future of #Paperless economy. In addition, there were two panel discussions to discuss this at length. The first one was on the Impact of Regulatory Decision Making on Digitalization of BFSI Sector. The buzzwords here were online transactions, mobile banking, banking apps, and making financial transactions a paperless process as a part of moving towards a digital future of paperless banking. Digital banking is the need of the hour, and the regulators’ stance to focus on cashless transactions has led to new technologies being adopted in the BFSI space. Many banks are now collaborating with these firms to introduce products for payments, loans, and remittances. Regulators are encouraging paperless and technology is enabling a seamless experience. The ability to take advantage of the regulatory encouragement and technology advancement will be a game-changer in the coming days. The second panel discussion was on making financial product purchases 100% paperless and secure especially in the non-banking and insurance sector. The panelists discussed the role of Aadhaar-based eKYC for KYC verification and its implementation keeping in mind the regulatory and other additional requirements to take the first step towards a completely paperless financial product. The BFSI sector on the whole is focusing on strategies to make services available on the online platform. Banking apps, SMS banking, and digital wallets are gaining popularity and make way for safe and secure banking. The catch here is in enabling consumers to believe in the digital experience – read digital banking and at the same time tackling valid concerns of online fraudulent transactions. It’s a tightrope walk, and one that most banks have mastered. Yet, these are just the first set of digital footprints collectively taken and a lot more needs to be done to strengthen processes and make them more robust and transparent. Though baby steps in the larger scheme of things, enabling online digital banking and Aadhaar-based eKYC for verification are, nevertheless, steps in the right direction in making India more digitally viable and sustainable.