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

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

12930 - Aadhaar Articles dated 6th March 2018



The Hindu
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has asked all telecom operators to work on a system that allows subscribers to know the mobile numbers linked to their Aadhaar. The system, which can either be SMS-based or IVR-based, needs to be put in place by March 15, UIDAI CEO Ajay ...



Livemint
Now, the Supreme Court (SC) is considering whether it should be “game over” for Aadhaar. As with many contentious policy debates, each side has its preferred narrative: Supporters claim that linking Aadhaar with social programmes has helped to reduce leakage and improve targeting of benefits.






Times of India
"Further, he (central public information officer of the PMO) stated that the information relating to Aadhaar card/Voter I.D. of the Prime Minister cannot be revealed to the appellant as per the exemption available under Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act, 2005," the order by chief information commissioner R K ...






Times of India
Pillai, who is in-charge of recruiting youths from four districts, including Dadri, Mahendergarh, Rewari and Bhiwani, says they have found many cases of impersonation and cheating by local youths keen to join the army, but making corrections in Aadhaar details is a new way to deceive authorities.






Live Law
In a significant development in the matter of Unique Identification (UID)/Aadhaar numbers, the Punjab & Haryana High Court has passed an order saying, “Linking Aadhaar Number to direct recruitment should not prima facie be a mandatory condition as it by result in violation of equal opportunity clause ...



Business Line
The UIDAI has directed all telecom operators to provide a facility that will enable their subscribers to check the mobile SIMs linked with their Aadhaar number, a step to guard against any unauthorised use. The decision was taken after the UIDAI came to know about some retailers, operators and agents ...






Economic Times
"For applicants L-2/ L-14 A which are retail vends, Aadhaar card has been made mandatory. It will help in conducting the verification of applicants and check any shortcomings," said Haryana Additional Chief Secretary (Excise and Taxation) Sanjeev Kaushal while talking to reporters here today.








Economic Times
Industry body Assocham today urged the government to relax the deadline for linking bank accounts, particularly those in the PSBs to Aadhaar, saying ... may find it hard and challenging to complete the task of linking Aadhaar with the accounts of all the customers by March 31, 2018 thus necessitating ...



Livemint
As per the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, every 'resident' is entitled to get an Aadhaar number by submitting demographic and biometric details. A resident for this purpose has also been defined in the Aadhaar Act itself. Such a 'resident' is ...






Outlook India
PM Narendra Modi's Aadhaar, Voter ID Details Will Not Be Disclosed, CIC Upholds PMO's Decision ... The Central Information Commission has upheld the decision of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) that the Aadhaar and voter ID details of Prime Minister Narendra Modi cannot be disclosed as they ...



Daily Pioneer
A month before the expiry of the deadline, around 80 per cent of bank accounts and 60 per cent of mobile connections have been linked with national biometric identifier Aadhaar, according to a senior official at Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). The government has mandated submission of ...






Oherald
The Aadhaar fiasco is beyond my imagination. Fingerprints not being displayed in some machines, failures in the internet services, faulty computers and the list of excuses goes on. The ridiculous answer by the government spokespersons is that no one is denied rations or services due lack of Aadhaar ...






Hindustan Times
Application for driver's licence, change of printed address, transfer of vehicles, and other processes related to the Regional Transport Offices (RTO) will soon become easier if the applicant has an Aadhaar card. Maharashtra's transport department, which signed a Memorandum of Understanding with ...






Trak.in (blog)
Considering that the case related to Right to Privacy is still sub-judice, and a bench of Supreme Court is hearing the please, this judgement by a High Court has raised eyebrows, all around. Meanwhile, UIDAI, the nodal authority on Aadhaar, has ordered all telcos to devise a tool, via which everyone can ...






Scroll.in
The mood in India's e-wallet industry is sombre as firms face a potential loss of up to 80% of their business due to a new regulation. The deadline to complete the mandatory know-your-customer process and link e-wallets to a government-approved identity proof was February 28. Since then, people who ...






Free Press Journal
Soon applicants can apply for driver's license, change of printed address, transfer of vehicles, and other processes related to the Regional Transport Offices (RTO) through Aadhaar card. The transport department of Maharashtra has signed a MoU with Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) in ...






News18
CBSE UGC NET 2018 Online Application Process Begins Today at cbsenet.nic.in; Aadhaar Mandatory. Candidates must keep a close tab on the official ... CBSE has made Aadhaar authentication mandatory for UGC NET July 2018 online application submission. Candidates must keep their Aadhaar ...






The New Indian Express
BENGALURU: The jury for the Chameli Devi Jain Award for Outstanding Woman Journalist has commended Suraksha P, senior reporter of The New Indian Express, with an Honourable Mention for her Aadhaar-related series on leprosy patients who had no access to social benefit schemes. The award ...








Times Now
After a brief reprieve, mobile service providers and banks have started hounding customers again to link their Aadhaar number to phone numbers and bank accounts if they wish to enjoy uninterrupted services. Citizens have complained about numerous text messages, emails and calls regarding the ...






Economic Times
Allaying all misconceptions regarding procedural (Aadhaar) formalities in the DBT system hampering timely distribution of fertilizers in some states, Singh informed that the sale of all subsidised fertilizers to farmers is being made through Point of Sale (PoS) devices installed at each retailer shop and the ...






The News Minute
Lastly, Paytm has also come up with a solution to make the transfer of cash from Paytm e-wallets even without the Aadhaar KYC verification. For this, the users will have to subscribe to UPI, by downloading the BHIM app and linking their bank accounts with Paytm via UPI and they are good to go.






Financial Express
However, with the bulk of ration cards already Aadhaar-seeded, it is safe to assume most, if not all, the food subsidy—Rs 170,000 crore in FY19—will be given via the in-kind DBT route. If 75-80% of Union government subsidies are given through DBT, that in itself would be a big achievement. Add to this ...