15th Sept 2009
Indian National ID project - 11:31pm
10 posts - 3 authors - Last post: 15 Sep 2009
Unique ID number will not be proof of citizenship, but will verify ..... he replied “We certainly don't want to take away money from ...
NEW DELHI: A single random number will establish your identity. It will carry no "intelligence" but do away with use of ration cards, passports and
driving licences as ID proofs. It could save Rs 20,000 crore by eliminating fake and duplicate identities under various government schemes.
In a presentation to the PM's council on the unique identity project, its chairman Nandan Nilekani said the authority would aim to provide 600 million people, or about half the population, ID numbers in four years. The first UIDs will be issued in 12-18 months. Though covered by a legal framework, it would not be mandatory to have a unique ID number.
The Council "in principle" approved the draft strategy and though UIDs will not be mandatory, the IDs would ultimately be made compulsory by implementing agencies of various schemes. People would require ID numbers as benefits may be mandatorily linked to numbers.
With the authority offering a strong online authentication where agencies can compare demographic and biometric information, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told the council that the government attaches high priority to the project. Lack of ID proof results in harassment and denial of services. It would specifically improve delivery of flagship schemes.
It also argued that once numbers are rolled out, the internal security scenario in the country will improve as tracking of crime and criminals will become easier. Similarly, it will help banks to increase their revenues
The Council decided that ministries, departments and other associated agencies having a public interface will provide databases to the UID authority to facilitate rolling out of the numbers. Authentication of this data will be done through biometrics.
Counting on the sheer utility of such a number, the authority feels that the demand-driven scheme will find ready takers. It will network with major registrars like the NREGA, PDS and Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, to provide accurate information of beneficiaries and nip fraudulent claims. Nilekani informed the Council that new PAN cards can be linked to UID numbers. Every year approximately one million PAN cards are issued.
The ID will not be a card, but just a number issued to a "resident of India", a defination that means that it is not proof of citizenship. This allows the authority to skirt around the politically sensitive issue of identifying non-citizens like Bangladeshis, but on the other hand its processes might make it difficult for a non-Indian to get hold of a unique ID number.
The data base maintained by the authority will contain, for the first time, biometric information by way of a fingerprint. The central data base will have your name, the names of your parents, their UID numbers, an expiry date and a photograpgh. The authority will answer queries about identity in a yes or no format while agencies utilising the facility can store data only if authorised to do so.
Since the UID data will be carefully validated by a technology-driven system, it is not expected to suffer from deficiencies caused by people providing differing personal information while applying for say a ration card and a driving licence or even re-applying for the same document multiple times. The scheme, it is hoped, could stem losses like the Rs 1,200 crore estimated to be siphoned off by way of duplicate or ghost identities.
The authority will regularly update information and its data will provide the government a clearer picture of India's population. It is envisaged that central, state and private agencies will partner the UIDA and will process UID applications, connect to the central facility to "re-duplicate" resident resident information and issue numbers.
The UID chief informed the Council that he had held parleys with home minister P Chidambaram, Chief Election Commissioner Navin Chawla and RBI Governor D Subbarao to source data from their organisations.
Interestingly, residents below 16 years of age will also have biometric details of their parents. The system will be developed in a way, which automatically converts their UID numbers independent of their parents once they become majors.
* Unique ID number will not be proof of citizenship, but will verify identity. It will help clean up delivery of social sector services and subsidies.
* It will help verify IDs for accessing loans, verifying documents. The numbers will help do away with duplication and fake person information.
* It will not be a card but a random number which will link to data base which will store biometric information like fingerprints. It will have a photo too.
* UID authority may not use Election Commission data as it is not fully verifiable. But it will partner central and state agencies to collect and process data.
*Tech systems will have a major role across the UID structure. Data will be stored in a central server and authentication of residents will be online.
Why this Blog ? News articles in the Wide World of Web, quite often disappear with time, when they are relocated as archives with a different url. Archives in this blog serve as a library for those who are interested in doing Research on Aadhaar Related Topics. Articles are published with details of original publication date and the url.
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
