By Gopal Krishna
22 January, 2011
Countercurrents.org
22 January, 2011
Countercurrents.org
To
Dr Manmohan Singh
Cabinet Committee on Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)
Subject-NIAI Bill, Wikileaks, World Bank & L-1 Identities Solution
Sir
This is with reference to the proposal of Unique Identification (UID) Number for all Indian residents, National Identification Authority of India (NIAI) Bill, 2010 and other related proposed Bills.
The Bill which was introduced in your name has been referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance headed by Shri Yashwant Sinha, Member, Lok Sabha but the Bill is related to other Parliamentary Committees like Home, External Affairs, Public Accounts, Agriculture, Information Technology, Commerce, Health, Human Resource Development, Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice, Defence, Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Labour, Rural Development, Social Justice and Empowerment & others besides States and Election Commission of India as well. Therefore, it would be apt if all the existing Parliamentary Committees submit their considered views on the NIAI Bill.
The UIDAI document leaked by Wikileaks discloses, “UIDAI will have to ensure that resident data is not shared or compromised.”
I submit that the leakage of electronically stored data is inevitable. The UID Number project is going to do almost exactly the same thing which the predecessors of Adolf Hitler did, else how is it that Germany always had the lists of Jewish names even prior to the arrival of the Nazis? The Nazis got these lists with the help of IBM which was in the 'census' business that included racial census that entailed not only count the Jews but also identifying them. At the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC, there is an exhibit of an IBM Hollerith D-11 card sorting machine that was responsible for organising the census of 1933 that first identified the Jews.
Our Government cannot guarantee that in future, when the Nazis or such sort of people come to power in India, they would not have access to UID Number Database for vindictive measures against certain sections of the citizenry. This is evidently the journey of 'identification' efforts from January 1933 to January 2011.
The NIAI Bill seeks to provide statutory status to the UIDAI which has already been functioning without backing of law since February 2009.
The point to note is that besides pre-existing voter Identity card, Election Commission of India recognizes fourteen alternative documents as proof of identity. (The list of 14n alternative documents available: (http://ceobihar.nic.in/14%20Alternative%20Documents.pdf).
I submit that the non-existence of any compelling and sane logic for 16th document as an identity proof is quite manifest. Aren't these pre-existing 15 identity proofs (based on which government claims its legitimacy after democratic election) sufficient! It appears that the UID Number scheme is an opposite of Right to Information. The fact is becoming clearer that UID scheme is a naked declaration of war on civil liberties and natural resources.
Neither the Prime Minister nor the Planning Commission has taken cognisance of abandonment of such UID Number scheme in countries like the US, Australia and now in the UK. In the UK, their Home Secretary abandoned the project because it considered it `intrusive bullying’ by the state, and that the government intended to be the `servant’ of the people, and not their `master’. In the late 1990s, the Supreme Court of Philippines struck down the President’s Executive Order A.O 308 which instituted a biometric based national ID system calling it unconstitutional on two grounds – the overreach of the executive over the legislative powers of the congress and invasion of privacy. The same is applicable in India. The statement of concern issued by the eminent citizens including former judges, jurists, educationists stated, “UIDAI has been constituted on the basis of a GoI (Government of India) notification and there is a fundamental risk to civil liberties”
The proposed NIAI Bill is linked to the recent announcement by Union Finance Minister voluntarily seeking a full-fledged Financial Sector Assessment Programme to audit our financial institutions must be looked at in the backdrop of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between L-1 and the World Bank at a World Bank Spring Meeting attended by many Ministers of Finance and Communications to improve the way governments in developing countries deliver services to their citizens as part of the launch of the World Bank eTransform Initiative (ETI). The World Bank has a long history of promoting similar initiatives and is currently funding 14 projects related to e-government and e-ID around the world.
Robert V. LaPenta, Chairman, President and CEO of L-1 Identity Solutions who came to India as part of US President's delegation says, "...identity management solutions and services can make a significant contribution to society and undocumented citizens in developing countries, bringing them out of anonymity and helping establish their place and participation in society and affirming their rights to benefits they are entitled to receive as citizens." Coincidentally, L-1 Identity Solutions works with US intelligence agencies as is revealed by its own website. This company has signed a MOU with Unique Identification Number Authority of India (UIDAI) on 30 July, 2010. It is claimed, “The UID will serve as a universal proof of identity, allowing residents to prove their credentials anywhere in the country.”
Dr Manmohan Singh
Cabinet Committee on Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)
Subject-NIAI Bill, Wikileaks, World Bank & L-1 Identities Solution
Sir
This is with reference to the proposal of Unique Identification (UID) Number for all Indian residents, National Identification Authority of India (NIAI) Bill, 2010 and other related proposed Bills.
The Bill which was introduced in your name has been referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance headed by Shri Yashwant Sinha, Member, Lok Sabha but the Bill is related to other Parliamentary Committees like Home, External Affairs, Public Accounts, Agriculture, Information Technology, Commerce, Health, Human Resource Development, Personnel, Public Grievances, Law and Justice, Defence, Food, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Labour, Rural Development, Social Justice and Empowerment & others besides States and Election Commission of India as well. Therefore, it would be apt if all the existing Parliamentary Committees submit their considered views on the NIAI Bill.
The UIDAI document leaked by Wikileaks discloses, “UIDAI will have to ensure that resident data is not shared or compromised.”
I submit that the leakage of electronically stored data is inevitable. The UID Number project is going to do almost exactly the same thing which the predecessors of Adolf Hitler did, else how is it that Germany always had the lists of Jewish names even prior to the arrival of the Nazis? The Nazis got these lists with the help of IBM which was in the 'census' business that included racial census that entailed not only count the Jews but also identifying them. At the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC, there is an exhibit of an IBM Hollerith D-11 card sorting machine that was responsible for organising the census of 1933 that first identified the Jews.
Our Government cannot guarantee that in future, when the Nazis or such sort of people come to power in India, they would not have access to UID Number Database for vindictive measures against certain sections of the citizenry. This is evidently the journey of 'identification' efforts from January 1933 to January 2011.
The NIAI Bill seeks to provide statutory status to the UIDAI which has already been functioning without backing of law since February 2009.
The point to note is that besides pre-existing voter Identity card, Election Commission of India recognizes fourteen alternative documents as proof of identity. (The list of 14n alternative documents available: (http://ceobihar.nic.in/14%20Alternative%20Documents.pdf).
I submit that the non-existence of any compelling and sane logic for 16th document as an identity proof is quite manifest. Aren't these pre-existing 15 identity proofs (based on which government claims its legitimacy after democratic election) sufficient! It appears that the UID Number scheme is an opposite of Right to Information. The fact is becoming clearer that UID scheme is a naked declaration of war on civil liberties and natural resources.
Neither the Prime Minister nor the Planning Commission has taken cognisance of abandonment of such UID Number scheme in countries like the US, Australia and now in the UK. In the UK, their Home Secretary abandoned the project because it considered it `intrusive bullying’ by the state, and that the government intended to be the `servant’ of the people, and not their `master’. In the late 1990s, the Supreme Court of Philippines struck down the President’s Executive Order A.O 308 which instituted a biometric based national ID system calling it unconstitutional on two grounds – the overreach of the executive over the legislative powers of the congress and invasion of privacy. The same is applicable in India. The statement of concern issued by the eminent citizens including former judges, jurists, educationists stated, “UIDAI has been constituted on the basis of a GoI (Government of India) notification and there is a fundamental risk to civil liberties”
The proposed NIAI Bill is linked to the recent announcement by Union Finance Minister voluntarily seeking a full-fledged Financial Sector Assessment Programme to audit our financial institutions must be looked at in the backdrop of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between L-1 and the World Bank at a World Bank Spring Meeting attended by many Ministers of Finance and Communications to improve the way governments in developing countries deliver services to their citizens as part of the launch of the World Bank eTransform Initiative (ETI). The World Bank has a long history of promoting similar initiatives and is currently funding 14 projects related to e-government and e-ID around the world.
Robert V. LaPenta, Chairman, President and CEO of L-1 Identity Solutions who came to India as part of US President's delegation says, "...identity management solutions and services can make a significant contribution to society and undocumented citizens in developing countries, bringing them out of anonymity and helping establish their place and participation in society and affirming their rights to benefits they are entitled to receive as citizens." Coincidentally, L-1 Identity Solutions works with US intelligence agencies as is revealed by its own website. This company has signed a MOU with Unique Identification Number Authority of India (UIDAI) on 30 July, 2010. It is claimed, “The UID will serve as a universal proof of identity, allowing residents to prove their credentials anywhere in the country.”
What about the questions regarding the credentials of US companies? Does India fall in the category of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, U.S. Territories and Outlying Areas?
Wikileaks released a 41 page document titled “Creating a unique identity number for every resident in India” marked “Confidential-Property of the UIDAI” on 13th November, 2009. This confidential document reads, “The Government of India undertook an effort to provide a clear identity to residents first in 1993, with the issue of photo identity cards by the Election Commission. Subsequently in 2003, the Indian Government approved the Multipurpose National Identity Card (MNIC).” This assertion is factually incorrect and has deliberately been made. The photo identity cards issued by the Election Commission are for citizens of India, not for any resident. For it says, “All residents in the country can be issued a unique ID. The UID is proof of identity and does not confer citizenship.” In this very document, it is mentioned that “UIDAI will be created as a statutory body under a separate legislation to fulfill its objectives.” Without this promised legislation, UIDAI has functioned and signed MOUs with national, multinational companies, state governments and other ministries from February 2009 till January 2011.
It appears to be a case of contempt towards our Parliament. Without the permission of the Parliament, it says, “UIDAI will be regulatory authority managing a Central ID Data Repository (CIDR), which will issue UID numbers, update resident information, and authenticate the identity of residents as required.”
The UIDAI will seek demographic and biometric information like Name, Date of birth, Place of birth, Gender, Father’s name, Father’s UID number (optional for adult residents), Mother’s name, Mother’s UID number (optional for adult residents), Address (Permanent and Present), Expiry date, Photograph and Finger prints. Now it also includes Iris scan etc. “The Authority will offer a strong form of online authentication, where agencies can compare demographic and biometric information of the resident with the record stored in the central database.” Whatever gets stored electronically will be leaked to the global public domain sooner or later. UIDAI makes utopian promise: “The UIDAI will not share resident data”. It claims that through UID Number “Eliminating duplication under various schemes is expected to save the government exchequer upwards of Rs. 20,000 crores a year.” It does not reveal how this figure arrived at? The UIDAI has not disclosed its estimated budget so far so one does not know at what cost the claimed saving will be made.
“The UIDAI will start issuing UIDs in 12-18 months, and the Authority plans to cover 600 million people within 4 years from the start of the project”. This has commenced without the NIAI Bill having been passed. The UIDAI document disclosed by Wikileaks is attached.
Corroborating the relationship between World Bank, L-1 Identities Solution, UIDAI and NIAI, Mohsen Khalil, Director of the World Bank's Global Information and Communication Technologies Department says, "The speed and precision with which developing countries administer services is dependent upon many factors, not the least of which is the ability to verify the identities of those receiving service". It may be noted that World Bank Chief, Robert B. Zoellick met the Chairman of the UID Number project on December 4, 2009.
Prior to the introduction of the NIAI Bill on 29th September 2010, the Prime Minister has already distributed UID Numbers (Aadhaar) among the villagers of Maharashtra. “The Aadhaar number will ease these difficulties in identification, by providing a nationally valid and verifiable single source of identity proof. The UIDAI will ensure the uniqueness of the Aadhaar numbers through the use of biometric attributes (Finger Prints and Iris) which will be linked to the number,” according to the Press Brief for national launch of Unique Identification Numbers (Aadhaar) issued by UIDAI.
It admitted that “India will be the first country (in the world) to implement a biometric-based unique ID system for its residents on a national scale.”
It is noteworthy that even before the passage of the National Identification Authority of India (NIAI) Bill from the parliament, the authority has embarked upon:
• taking biometric and demographic data of Indian residents
• entering into MOUs with multiplicity of institutions including Banks, LIC, State governments to acts as Registrars,
• setting a process by which a large amount of data about the individuals will be collected and aggregated on the files of these Registrars,
• entering into contracts with corporations predominantly from the technology and biometric industry including those with close links with intelligence agencies in other countries: for instance, Accenture (which is working with US Homeland Security in their Smart Borders Project) and L1 Identity Solutions (whose main market, and recruitment ground, is the Central Intelligence Agency) . Their website reads: “American and foreign military services, defense and intelligence agencies rely on L-1 solutions and services to help determine ally from enemy”. The same US company was hired for “Implementation of Biometric Solution for UIDAI” from 30 July 2010
• another US company, Accenture Services Pvt. Ltd., has been hired for the “Implementation of Biometric Solution for UIDAI”. This company is “committed to helping the (US) Department of Homeland Security”. Its “solutions include developing prevention tactics, streamlining intelligence gathering and maximizing new technologies.”
The core idea is to ensure convergence of all the residents and institutions underway through Project UID, a Silicon Valley initiative (dominated by Information Technology companies) passing off as “Planning Commission initiative” without consultation at district and panchayat level and within the political parties to create a central database of residents and generate a unique identification number (UID) for all such residents which is proposed to be “used as the basis for identifying and authenticating a person's entitlement to government services and benefits”. This initiative is being steered by the Department of Information Technology (as the Line Ministry) through National Informatics Centre Services Inc/ National Informatics Centre (NIC), as the technical solution provider and a consultant for “linking of existing databases, as well as providing for future additions, by the user agencies.” This entails tracking and profiling residents electronically through some 53 departments of the Government of India, 35 State/UT Secretariats and 603 District collectorates. NIC was formed in 1975.
Wikileaks released a 41 page document titled “Creating a unique identity number for every resident in India” marked “Confidential-Property of the UIDAI” on 13th November, 2009. This confidential document reads, “The Government of India undertook an effort to provide a clear identity to residents first in 1993, with the issue of photo identity cards by the Election Commission. Subsequently in 2003, the Indian Government approved the Multipurpose National Identity Card (MNIC).” This assertion is factually incorrect and has deliberately been made. The photo identity cards issued by the Election Commission are for citizens of India, not for any resident. For it says, “All residents in the country can be issued a unique ID. The UID is proof of identity and does not confer citizenship.” In this very document, it is mentioned that “UIDAI will be created as a statutory body under a separate legislation to fulfill its objectives.” Without this promised legislation, UIDAI has functioned and signed MOUs with national, multinational companies, state governments and other ministries from February 2009 till January 2011.
It appears to be a case of contempt towards our Parliament. Without the permission of the Parliament, it says, “UIDAI will be regulatory authority managing a Central ID Data Repository (CIDR), which will issue UID numbers, update resident information, and authenticate the identity of residents as required.”
The UIDAI will seek demographic and biometric information like Name, Date of birth, Place of birth, Gender, Father’s name, Father’s UID number (optional for adult residents), Mother’s name, Mother’s UID number (optional for adult residents), Address (Permanent and Present), Expiry date, Photograph and Finger prints. Now it also includes Iris scan etc. “The Authority will offer a strong form of online authentication, where agencies can compare demographic and biometric information of the resident with the record stored in the central database.” Whatever gets stored electronically will be leaked to the global public domain sooner or later. UIDAI makes utopian promise: “The UIDAI will not share resident data”. It claims that through UID Number “Eliminating duplication under various schemes is expected to save the government exchequer upwards of Rs. 20,000 crores a year.” It does not reveal how this figure arrived at? The UIDAI has not disclosed its estimated budget so far so one does not know at what cost the claimed saving will be made.
“The UIDAI will start issuing UIDs in 12-18 months, and the Authority plans to cover 600 million people within 4 years from the start of the project”. This has commenced without the NIAI Bill having been passed. The UIDAI document disclosed by Wikileaks is attached.
Corroborating the relationship between World Bank, L-1 Identities Solution, UIDAI and NIAI, Mohsen Khalil, Director of the World Bank's Global Information and Communication Technologies Department says, "The speed and precision with which developing countries administer services is dependent upon many factors, not the least of which is the ability to verify the identities of those receiving service". It may be noted that World Bank Chief, Robert B. Zoellick met the Chairman of the UID Number project on December 4, 2009.
Prior to the introduction of the NIAI Bill on 29th September 2010, the Prime Minister has already distributed UID Numbers (Aadhaar) among the villagers of Maharashtra. “The Aadhaar number will ease these difficulties in identification, by providing a nationally valid and verifiable single source of identity proof. The UIDAI will ensure the uniqueness of the Aadhaar numbers through the use of biometric attributes (Finger Prints and Iris) which will be linked to the number,” according to the Press Brief for national launch of Unique Identification Numbers (Aadhaar) issued by UIDAI.
It admitted that “India will be the first country (in the world) to implement a biometric-based unique ID system for its residents on a national scale.”
It is noteworthy that even before the passage of the National Identification Authority of India (NIAI) Bill from the parliament, the authority has embarked upon:
• taking biometric and demographic data of Indian residents
• entering into MOUs with multiplicity of institutions including Banks, LIC, State governments to acts as Registrars,
• setting a process by which a large amount of data about the individuals will be collected and aggregated on the files of these Registrars,
• entering into contracts with corporations predominantly from the technology and biometric industry including those with close links with intelligence agencies in other countries: for instance, Accenture (which is working with US Homeland Security in their Smart Borders Project) and L1 Identity Solutions (whose main market, and recruitment ground, is the Central Intelligence Agency) . Their website reads: “American and foreign military services, defense and intelligence agencies rely on L-1 solutions and services to help determine ally from enemy”. The same US company was hired for “Implementation of Biometric Solution for UIDAI” from 30 July 2010
• another US company, Accenture Services Pvt. Ltd., has been hired for the “Implementation of Biometric Solution for UIDAI”. This company is “committed to helping the (US) Department of Homeland Security”. Its “solutions include developing prevention tactics, streamlining intelligence gathering and maximizing new technologies.”
The core idea is to ensure convergence of all the residents and institutions underway through Project UID, a Silicon Valley initiative (dominated by Information Technology companies) passing off as “Planning Commission initiative” without consultation at district and panchayat level and within the political parties to create a central database of residents and generate a unique identification number (UID) for all such residents which is proposed to be “used as the basis for identifying and authenticating a person's entitlement to government services and benefits”. This initiative is being steered by the Department of Information Technology (as the Line Ministry) through National Informatics Centre Services Inc/ National Informatics Centre (NIC), as the technical solution provider and a consultant for “linking of existing databases, as well as providing for future additions, by the user agencies.” This entails tracking and profiling residents electronically through some 53 departments of the Government of India, 35 State/UT Secretariats and 603 District collectorates. NIC was formed in 1975.
While UIDAI has been misleading the citizens and the media about the UID Number scheme being voluntary, the ‘Legal Framework For Mandatory Electronic Delivery of Services’ of Union Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, refers to “UIDAI – UID based authentication for services” as an enabler, thus making it compulsory.
An industry document titled “HOMELAND SECURITY IN INDIA” underlines the connection between UID number and National Intelligence Grid which has not been disclosed either by the UIDAI or in the NIAI Bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha on 3rd December.
The 22 page document says, “Given its increasing focus on Homeland security, the Government of India has initiated several steps...(one such) significant initiative is the ongoing drive to provide UID Number to all Indian citizens which is also aligned to the wider cause of intelligently networking the Indian ecosystem.”
This document has been prepared by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) with a membership of over 300,000 companies and KPMG, a transnational firm that operates in 140 countries which is affiliated to KPMG International, a Swiss agency.
Revealing the motive of the UID Number, Captain Raghu Raman, Chief Executive Officer, National Intelligence Grid under Union Home Ministry in his paper titled ‘A NATION OF NUMB PEOPLE’ says, “If the commercial czars don’t begin protecting their empires now, they may find the lines of control cutting across those very empires.” Raman who was the CEO of Mahindra Special Services Group and is the Chairman of ‘Safety and Security Committee’ of Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry has been entrusted the task of establishing the grid by May 2011. UIDAI has hired Accenture, Mahindra Satyam-Morpho and L1 Identity Solutions for implementation of the core biometric identification system. UID Number proposes to undo constitutional amendment on right to property by creating common land market and federalism by centralising the all the information.
This proposed NIAI Bill must be looked at along with other Bills in the offing such as Draft Land Titling Bill, 2010, Draft Paper on Privacy Bill, 2010, Draft DNA Profiling Act, 2007 and Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations (PIII) for a National Knowledge Network. Besides this National Intelligence Grid (Natgrid), meant to integrate existing 21 databases with Central and state government agencies and other organisations, and National Population Register (which is quite different from Census) will end up undertaking surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting of Indian residents.
PIII reveals the plot emphasizing digital network to process all kinds of information at all levels saying, “For government, PII is very important to first identify all beneficiaries, essentially people.
We also at the same time need to identify all our physical assets all over the country, like primary schools, railway stations, hospitals. Then we also need to tag all our programes-and government typically would have hundreds of programs for public delivery systems. Once you tag people, places, and programs, then it is easier to really organise information for delivering public services. Hopefully, with new focus on PIII, where we could essentially tag people, tag places, tag programs, we will be able to structure delivery systems to get lot better productivity, efficiency, reduced cost.
The starting point for this nationwide network of fiber optics, wireless systems to connect 2, 50, 000 Panchayats all over the country especially in rural areas where ultimately information data gathering would begin. This is where beneficiaries are.” All this information will be in the hands of a few ‘trustworthy’ people in the government and few select companies. Such a situation is fraught with both unintended and intended consequences impacting monetary and non-monetary aspects of citizens’ life.
It may be noted that the Draft Land Titling Bill makes a provision for “Unique property identification number”, linking UID Number with property.
While such legislations are underway, the Draft Discussion Paper on Privacy Bill states, “There is no data protection statute in the country.” On UID Number, the Draft Paper on Privacy Bill states,
“Data privacy and the need to protect personal information is almost never a concern when data is stored in a decentralized manner. Data that is maintained in silos is largely useless outside that silo and consequently has a low likelihood of causing any damage. However, all this is likely to change with the implementation of the UID Project. One of the inevitable consequences of the UID Project will be that the UID Number will unify multiple databases. As more and more agencies of the government sign on to the UID Project, the UID Number will become the common thread that links all those databases together. Over time, private enterprise could also adopt the UID Number as an identifier for the purposes of the delivery of their services or even for enrolment as a customer.”
It quite menacing to note that the Draft Paper on Privacy Bill asserts, “Once this happens, the separation of data that currently exists between multiple databases will vanish.” This poses a threat to the identity of citizens and the idea of residents of the state as private persons will be forever abandoned.
UIDAI wishes to establish a cost-effective, ubiquitous authentication infrastructure to easily verify these identities online and in real-time. The UIDAI has been set up unmindful of grave concerns expressed in the government’s own Draft Paper on Privacy Bill, and NIAI Bill appears to be meant to justify UIDAI’S acts of omission and commission.
Meanwhile, UIDAI has also hired a public relations agency with an objective to “Provide consistent flow of information across all mediums to create the right perception of UIDAI and Aadhaar throughout the country”; one such agency has created a stalemate in the Parliament. This is an attempt to convert a resident into a number, Indian population into a market and then citizens in to subjects. It is an attempt to convert a resident into a number, Indian population into a market and then citizens into subjects.
With regard to these gnawing concerns, I seek an appointment to meet you at the earliest to share how among other things how UIDAI is entering into contracts with corporations having intimate links with intelligence agencies in other countries and the inter-linkages with other proposed Bills and initiatives which has not been disclosed.
Please suggest a possible date and time so that I can meet you to share relevant documents and concerns for your consideration.
Yours Sincerely
Gopal Krishna
Member
Citizens Forum for Civil Liberties
New Delhi
E-mail:krishna2777@gmail.com
Cc
Members of Cabinet Committee on Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)
related issues
Shri Pranab Mukherjee
Shri Sharad Pawar
Shri P. Chidambaram
Shri S.M. Krishna
Shri M. Veerappa Moily
Shri Mallikarjun Kharge
Shri Kapil Sibal
Shri C.P. Joshi
Kumari Selja
