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

Sunday, April 10, 2011

1213 - New ways of doing business with Nandan Nilekani's UID-Source-Economic Times

10 APR, 2011, 11.27AM IST, 
NEHA BHATIA,ET BUREAU

UID's mandate is to issue every resident a unique identification number linked to the resident's demographic and biometric information, which they can use to identify themselves anywhere in India, and to access a host of benefits and services.

According to Nandan Nilekani , the Chairperson of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), "The only information that we want is the name, sex, age and address of the applicant. And once registered, residents will be verified through a biometric scanning of ten fingerprints and iris." This will be followed by them being photographed and then issuing of an enrolment number upon completion .

Nilekani was delivering a lecture on Envisioning India-The Potential of Aadhaar, a part of the National Lecture Series on 'Analysing and Envisioning India' organized by Centre for Media Studies.

Addressing the major challenges faced by the country and how the UID project will help tackle them, Nilekani, explained "The major problem is the population of the country. There are a large number of residents whose existence is not even acknowledged by the Indian State as they do not have an identity as a proof. The UID will help give them an identity of their own. The purpose of the UID project is to make development more inclusive."

Another major purpose behind the UID is to address the problem of mobility in the country. With urbanization, the rate of migration too is on a high in India. And it is further expected to take a leap. By having the aadhar number, these migrants, be it the rural or urban migrants, will have a portable identity.

Nilekani further emphasized that UID will make public spending more transparent , equitable and effective . By making no duplication or diversion possible, the UID project will aim at ensuring public service delivery more convenient. "The whole concept is based on the inclusion point of view and not exclusion.

With biometric verification, generating one number per person is only possible, so the scope for duplication does not exist. This in itself acts as a motivation to ensure correct information is given by the applicant. The randomly generated 12- digit number will be used for identification and authentication after which services will be delivered to the beneficiaries .

The identification process will address the question 'Who are you?' A database which is online will provide the answer whether the person carrying the UID number is authentic or genuine . The UID number is portable nationally and can be verified anywhere," he added.

Talking about how UID will change the financial dynamics in the country, Nilekani assessed, "Over the last one decade, the verification process has become more onerous. This has raised several challenges in financial inclusion. The policy of KYC (Know Your Customer) has become a hindrance for poor to open bank accounts or have mobile connections . Even delivery of financial subsidiaries has become complexed.

Nonetheless, with online authentication made possible by UID, not only will these people be able to have their bank accounts and mobile numbers but also the transaction cost to open the account will go down. In fact, out of the 2 million enrolments we have done till now, 80 percent have said that they want to open bank account."

The UID Project will also make banking services more accessible to remote areas. Business correspondents like village level shopkeepers will be established in villages and will be provided with micro-ATMs (handheld devices). Through which they can offer the villagers, having the UID no., the money needed by them (after verification).

This process of decentralized banking via business correspondents will help in financial inclusion . Also the UID system can be used for giving direct subsidy on food, fuel (kerosene) and fertilizers. The monetary transactions in this case will be electronically maintained by the UID system.

Moreover, the whole UID project is based on an open programming interface. This ensures that depending on the need, more and more application can be built with time. It will not only encourage innovation but will also ensure enrolment of more and more people with less corruption.

Allaying all possible fears of privacy associated with the UID, Nilekani ensured, "The project would in no way put at risk citizens' security and rights. The data collected of the individual by means of biometric system will only be for the sake of their identification and access to other facilities like availing bank loans, being part of the PDS system and others. Aadhaar scheme will provide welfare that far outweighs the risks anticipated ." There are checks and balances and infrastructure for privacy and data.