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

Friday, August 27, 2010

463 - CT For People’s Empowerment under Mahatma Gandhi NREGA - Northern Voices on Line







Mahatma Gandhi NREGA, the visionary tool to mould the fortune of rural India is now on way to get Tech Savvy. Courtesy the use of ICT (Information and Communication Technology) tools to ensure that the benefit reaches out to the needy and the poor in rural areas in yet another step towards transparency. The process of National consultation with different stakeholders has gathered momentum and the deliberations with Planning Commission, Universal Identification Authority Of India (UIADAI) and National Knowledge Commission have provided a fillip to the move. It has the foresight of the Minister of Rural Development Dr. C.P. Joshi who has been at the forefront to ensure effective implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act and its processes.
The emphasis in MGNREGA is now on ensuring public accountability, strengthening transparency and encouraging activities that tap the productive potential of works undertaken so that it becomes a platform for sustainable development. In order to enforce transparency at the grass root level, the Ministry Of Rural Development intends to use ICT devices, especially Biometrics and integration with UIADAI to introduce biometric attendance on site and to improve the overall delivery system in the implementation of MGNREGA by capturing all the processes right from registration, demand of work, issue of dated receipt, allocation of work, attendance at worksite with GPS coordinates, measurement of work and wage payments.
Initiatives
Pilot initiatives were undertaken for field test and evolve biometric based ICT enabled workers’ transactions in Andhra Pradesh (Rangareddy and Visakhapatnam); Kerala (Palakkad and Wayanad); Orissa (Cuttack and Mayurbhanj); Uttar Pradesh (Unnao) and Rajasthan (Bhilwara). Another pilot project has been implemented in Tamil Nadu (Cuddalore) that is – low-cost ATMs with finger-print authentication and local language interface. These pilots demonstrate the feasibility of the use of biometric enabled ICT applications for enabling transactions from registration to wage disbursement and capturing the data in real time on the MIS.
Roll Out Plan
Based on the feedback from the pilots a Nationwide roll out plan has been envisaged which includes Nationwide Introduction of Biometric database and the use of ICT devices for improving the over-all delivery system.
The Primary objective is to ensure through use of biometric and GPS enabled ICT devices on work sites, biometric attendance to eliminate ghost workers and the problem of the local leadership appropriating the job cards. In the long term integrating MIS with the bio-metric data will create an integrated process of capturing demand in real time, generating date receipt, allocation of work and reducing delays in measurement and payments.
This would require the Collection of Biometric data (UID compliant) of all MNREGA workers and create a State Data Warehouse; Verification of real time attendance for MGNREGA workers at the work-site through hand held devices and its transmission through GPRS, CDMA, PSTN or internet connectivity whichever is available to update muster roll records and MGNREGA web based MIS; and Supporting bank’s business correspondent with micro mobile ATM devices to deliver wages payments at the workers doorstep.
Use of ICT
The ICT enabled system would go a long way in promoting transparency and accountability. It would be of great help in reducing the delays in Measurement & Payments. In addition, the data so created could also be used by UIDAI for generating the UID number. The Banks and Post Offices can use it for the purpose of servicing MGNREGA accounts through the Business Correspondent Model.
The large scale of operations, the limitations of outreach of various services and the need to handle large volumes of information in a transparent manner have made the use of ICT in program delivery. ICT facilities both to support GP and block office of Programme Officer (PO) as well as public access to information and online transactions are being promoted.
Benefits of ICT Technologies
Gram Panchayat can use ICT technologies with immediate effect, thus enabling all transactions in real time for MGNREGA processes. ICT enabled solutions provide the last mile connectivity and will trigger innovations at the grass root, helping workers to assert their Rights and hold implementation agencies accountable.
Mahatma Gandhi NREGA is a landmark social security legislation that epitomises the right to employment on demand. It aims to enhance livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a year to every household. Ever since its launch in February 2006, MGNREGA has now reached out to 619 districts, 6400 Blocks, six lakh villages and around 2.35 lakh village Panchayats. It has generated 777 crore person days since its launch in 2006, in which women have half the share and SC/ST more than half. Minimum wages have risen across the country because of MGNREGA intervention. Out of the total expenditure of Rs.95496 crore, 68% has been spent on wages. Over 9.19 crore bank/post office accounts of workers have been opened, encouraging savings among the poor. Over 45 lakh works have been completed with more than 50% work on water conservation, making MGNREGA an ecological act.
The introduction of ICT in the implementation of MGNREGA would go a long way in promoting transparency and accountability in its implementation.
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