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

Thursday, July 8, 2010

254 - UIDAI plans to use 'Aadhaar' number to improve PDS



UIDAI plans to use 'Aadhaar' number to improve PDS
7th July 2010
New Delhi: UIDAI has come out with a working paper on the role of 'Aadhaar' (unique identification) number in Public Distribution System, which envisions to change the way the present system works.

It outlines how the 12-digit 'Aadhaar' number can be leveraged to make the PDS more efficient and transparent.

The authority said it recognises that implementing the Right to Food is a priority today for the Indian government and the functioning of the PDS- the mainstay of India's food programs- is critical to the implementation of Right to Food in India.

It said the government and the Department of Food and Public Distribution have pinpointed critical aspects of the PDS that need reform and for the program to function more effectively.

The paper said 'Aadhar' would address the critical aspects by exclusion of errors, diversions and leakages, managing foodgrain storage and ensuring timely distribution, effective accountability and monitoring and enabling community monitoring, mechanisms for grievance redressal and ensuring food security.

"Aadhaar enables remote, online biometric and demographic authentication of identity. Such Aadhaar-based authentication can take place in real time, and can even be performed through a mobile phone. Using Aadhaar for real-time identity verification at the Fair Price Shops (FPS), when beneficiaries collect their entitlements, will help governments verify that the benefits reached the person they were meant for," it said.

It added, one challenge would be to ensure that such authentication is carried out at the FPS and that the government can ensure that Aadhaar-based authentication is implemented by the FPS owner by linking future FPS allocations to authenticated off-take by beneficiaries.

The Authority said implementing such authentication while leveraging the portability of 'Aadhaar' can bring significant benefits.

"Today, beneficiaries in a particular block or district can collect their rations only from their allotted ration shop. However, since the Aadhaar would be recognised across ration outlets, the number would help residents collect entitlements from any FPS within the state.

"Governments would then replenish FPS stocks based on authentication-linked off-take, which would give them real-time information on how many beneficiaries collected their entitlements from which outlet," the paper said.

It said these two aspects of the Aadhaar-enabled system ”linking grain allocation to authenticated off-take and choice of FPS for the beneficiary” would enable a significant shift from the present approach, where foodgrain allocations within the PDS are static, supply-led and divorced from beneficiary demand and choice.

PTI
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