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, July 1, 2019

14184 - Aadhaar Articles Dated 30th June 2019


GRP mulls using Aadhaar to track unidentified victims

The Hindu
Nearly 30% of the people who die in train-related accidents on the Mumbai suburban railway network remain unidentified, leaving police officials ...

Good news! Your Aadhaar card can help you win Rs 30000
News Nation
Your Aadhaar card can help you win Rs 30,000. Unbelievable, right? No this actually is true. UIDAI has organised a contest for Aadhaar card holders ...

How to link Aadhaar card with IRCTC account
Times Now
According to IRCTC, a user can book up to 12 train tickets from the IRCTC e-ticketing website after verifying the Aadhaar card number and have at ...

'One nation one ration card' scheme from July 1, 2020
The Hindu
Aadhaar linkage needed for it to work; States given one more year to use point of sale machines in ration shops, says Food Minister Ram Vilas ...

64% Aadhaar-Ration Cards linkage in Nagaland
Morung Express
Nagaland is one of the states with lowest number of ration cards linked with Aadhaar seeding, according to data provided in the Rajya Sabha on June ...

[Statistics]: Have Social Media companies helped TN Police combat Cyber Crimes? Affidavit in ...
Bar & Bench
A plea filed last year to link Aadhaar with email has effectively culminated in the Madras High Court coordinating efforts by law enforcement agencies ...

Village Benefits as India Links Welfare, Digital Economy | Voice of America - English
Voice of America
Although glitches remain and some controversy dogs the biometric program called “Aadhaar” which means foundation, it is helping root out graft from ...

Akshaya entrepreneurs get tablet computers
The Hindu
The free tablet computers sanctioned by the State government as part of promoting digital literacy programmes and e-Aadhaar enrolment of children ...

India surrenders to US pressure on 'data localisation' : Piyush Goyal & RBI send out confusing ...
National Herald
This may include information such as customer name, mobile number, email, Aadhaar number, PAN number; payment sensitive data such as ...

Cashless ration facility likely by July
The Tribune
The beneficiaries, who have their bank accounts linked with their Aadhaar cards, will be able to make cashless transactions. After having a thumb ...

This Budget, Focus on Water Crisis
The New Indian Express
Author of Aadhaar: A Biometric History of India's 12 Digit Revolution, and Accidental India. The air is heavy with precipitation of expectations.

Spice Money's Micro ATM: How Noida-based FinTech company is helping small merchants
DNA India
The Spice Money has already started issuing cash across its 2,00,000 merchant points through AadhaarEnabled Payment System. This system has ...

Arrangements ready for Athi Varadar darshan in Kanchi from 1 July
News Today
All have been requested to carry Aadhaar cards with them. Special darshan for Rs 500 could be made online through the website: www.tnhrc.org.

Govt to make e-ticketing more stringent with verification of IRCTC IDs: Piyush Goyal
Millennium Post
Further, it is to ensure that "at least one of the passengers in the passenger list is verifiable through Aadhaar," the rail minister Piyush Goyal said in a ...

Vijayawada railway officers fall prey to cyber cons
Gadgets Now
“The caller asks our name, designation, Aadhaar number and seeks information from a message that comes to our phone as a means of confirming ...

Budget 2019 expectations: Tax sops for Fintech firms and Startups, roadmap for Digital India 2.0
Zee Business
"After the Aadhaar verdict, we hope that the government brings more clarity in the e-KYC process. A policy framework and budget allocation, if placed, ...

State has 803 common service centres promoting Digital India
The Sangai Express
... officials said that there are 803 Common Service Centres (CSCs) which are providing services like Aadhaar Enrolment & updation, digital literacy, ...

No data on action against Central govt officials coming late to office
The Sunday Guardian
After coming to power in May 2014, the Narendra Modi government had executed the Aadhaar-enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS) in ...

To begin with 15 districts in next kharif season: Pilot scheme for rice fortification on cards
The Indian Express
Addressing the media on Saturday, Paswan said that work on linking all the ration cards across the country with Aadhaar cards and organising the ...

LIC ADO Admit Card 2019: Get ready to download prelims exam hall tickets for 8581 vacancies today
Catch News
... photo identity proof such as PAN Card/Passport/Driving License/Voter's Card/Bank Passbook with photograph/Aadhaar Card/Photo Identity proof.

Checking Activities of Brokers in E-Rail Ticketing
IBG NEWS (satire) (press release) (blog)
... user ID with their respective Aadhaar number and ensured that at least one of the passengers in the passenger list is verifiable through Aadhaar.

Three NSS volunteers nominated Under the International Youth Exchange Programme-2019
Punjab News Express
The nominated youth must possess Aadhaar number and be a regular member of the organization with excellent track records in the recommended ...

Youth From Uttar Pradesh Help Elderly Access Government Benefits
The Quint
“There were mistakes in my Aadhaar and I was not able to produce my income certificate due to problems beyond my understanding. I gave up on the

Thiruvananthapuram: Transgender persons – It's official
Deccan Chronicle
“Whenever we visit a government office for Aadhaar, officials humiliate us calling us third gender. Unfortunately, it is the educated class that keeps ...

MCC introduces Yogalakshmi scheme for poor families
citytoday
Parents should compulsorily have Aadhaar card or voter's ID,” she added. “A committee led by the Commissioner of MCC will verify the applications ...

Embarrassing: Killed Two wives and then absconded with the third wife
News Track English
The bodies were rotten in the case and the police found the Aadhaar card of a man named Jamshed from the room on which the Khadda colony was ...