AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 1978 - ACCESS Development Services Announces the 8th Microfinance India Summit ‘Microfinance India Summit commences on December 12-13, 2011 in New Delhi’

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

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

1978 - ACCESS Development Services Announces the 8th Microfinance India Summit ‘Microfinance India Summit commences on December 12-13, 2011 in New Delhi’

11-15-2011 09:30 AM CET

ACCESS Development Services announced their 8th Microfinance India Summit on “Bridging the Hiatus, Building Trust”, in New Delhi today. The Summit, which is a two day event, will be held at The Ashok Hotel, on the 12th and 13th December 2011.

The Microfinance India Summit 2011 is a global event, which captures current debates, issues and challenges that a growing microfinance sector in India faces as it strives to reach the poor with access to financial services. This event will see eminent personalities and noteworthy speakers from various sectors coming together to present, discuss and debate on relevant topics related to the microfinance industry.

As the core assumptions of the Microfinance industry are being challenged, this year’s Summit will provide a timely platform for stakeholders to come together and discuss the current debates of client protection and social performance, the implications of a regulatory environment, the new thrust of the SHG movement and obstacles of financial inclusion. Over the years, the Microfinance India Summit has emerged to become among the most important sectoral platforms globally, bringing together thought leaders to delve into and debate key current issues in the sector.
Mr. Vipin Sharma, CEO, ACCESS Development Services said, “The last 18 months have been tumultuous for the microfinance sector in India. The heady growth that the sector saw in the past decade came to a screeching halt by the Andhra Pradesh crisis in October 2010. The state model of SHG lending and the private sector model of joint liability groups came head to head. Several issues like unethical behaviour with clients, lack of transparency, excessive profiteering, investor greed and mission drift brought significant discredit to the sector, precipitating the need for greater regulation. Given these schisms that have emerged between the two dominant models of delivery, the drift between mission and practice and the polarization between the State and the Sector, the Summit theme for 2011 is “Bridging the Hiatus, Building Trust.” Across the two-day Summit the sessions will analyze and introspect on the issues that have led to the erosion of trust within the sector and will attempt to build consensus on how the sector can move forward. Discussions will take place on the delivery of responsible finance to the unbanked poor, how better social performance management helps institutions align with the mission of microfinance and a need to refocus on the client and her needs to deliver appropriate products and services in a more transparent and efficient manner.”

The Microfinance India Summit will witness the following panel discussion on both the days.

Day 1- December 12th, 2011

Inaugural Session: Welcome address would be delivered by Mr. Y. C. Nanda, Chairman, Microfinance India Advisory Group and Chairman, Agriculture Finance Corporation

Plenary Session I: State of the Sector – Beyond the Impasse: The lead presenter for this is Mr. N. Srinivasan, Author, State of the Sector Report

Plenary Session II: The SHG Movement: Recasting the Strategy: This session would be chaired by Mr. Y. C. Nanda, Chairman, Microfinance India Advisory Group and Chairman, Agriculture finance Corporation

Five Break Out Sessions will follow: (i) Doing it Differently, New Business Models, (ii) Responsible Growth, Informed Growth: Driving the Sector with Data, (iii) Beyond the Buzz, Embedding Social Performance within Practice, (iv) Savings First: Options for Low Income Segments and (v) Community Managed Microfinance, Enabling and Empowering.

Plenary Session III: Aadhar – The Foundation for Financial Inclusion? The lead presenter for the session will be by Nandan Nilekani, Chairman, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

Microfinance India Awards Presentation Ceremony: The 2011 awards will be presented to the selected awardees for Microfinance Institution of the Year, Microfinance Individual of the Year and Enabling Organization of the Year.

Day 2 – December 13th, 2011
Plenary Session IV: Financial Inclusion: Taking Stock of the Challenge: This session will be have Bob Annibale, Global Director, Microfinance, Citigroup, as one of the panel speakers.

Plenary Session V: New Arrangements for SHG Financing? : The lead presenter will be B. Rajsekhar, CEO, Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty.

Plenary Session VI: Social Performance: Need to Move Beyond the Buzz: Ms. Girija Srinivasan, Editor, Microfinance India SPM Report.

The break out sessions that will follow are (i) Evidence from the Field: Informing and Influencing, (ii) Client protection and Code of Conduct: From Principles to Practice and Compliance, (iii) Health Plus Microfinance – A Winning Combination for MFIs and Clients and (iv) Reducing Vulnerabilities, Securing the Future, Reaching the Poor with Micro-insurance and Pensions.

Plenary Session VII: Microfinance in a Regulatory Regime: Will Rein the Sector? : This session will be moderated by Dr. Rajiv Lall, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC) and Co- Founder, Lok Capital

The Microfinance India Summit 2011 will conclude on the 13th December 2011 with the Valedictory Session and Jairam Ramesh, Hon’ble Rural Development Minister, Government of India will deliver the closing remarks. The Microfinance India Summit will be followed by the Livelihoods India Conference organized by ACCESS on December 14-15 at the The Grand in New Delhi.

About Microfinance India Summit

Over the last seven years, the Microfinance India Summit, organized by ACCESS Development Services, has established itself as an international conference dedicated to Indian microfinance. As the single most important platform for dialogue and learning in the sector, the two-day event attracts approximately 1000 delegates from India and abroad. Policy makers, practitioners, promoters, academics, researchers and thought leaders share their experiences on panel discussions and analyze current trends, challenges and opportunities in the sector.

About ACCESS Development Services:

ACCESS is a not-for-profit organization whose overall aim is to incubate new institutions to enable their self-sufficiency and self-sustainability. To this end, it offers specialized technical assistance under two verticals: microfinance and livelihoods. ACCESS assists the growing microfinance sector through streamlined and structured services to emerging MFIs and supports the enabling environment through the Microfinance India platform.

Under the Livelihoods Program Unit, ACCESS impacts the lives of the poor by developing sustainable solutions for scaling-up their income generation activities. To optimize its resources and maximize the results of its interventions, ACCESS believes in partnering with key stakeholders in the sector in order to develop mutually reinforcing strategies, bring convergence of competencies and build consensus on key issues.