OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
New Delhi, Jan. 25: The Planning Commission and the home ministry appeared headed for a compromise on the unique identity project after the Prime Minister stepped in today to end the smart card versus identity number battle.
Sources said Nandan Nilekani, who is chairing the unique identification authority, would be given a free run and the home ministry would be allowed to continue its work even if it means some duplication
“The overall message is that Nilekani’s project will not be stymied. The home ministry can continue its work but it would not be at the cost of the project of Nilekani, who was invited to lead the scheme,” a source said. The source added that the Prime Minister stressed this point.
The understanding seems to have been reached at an “informal” meeting Manmohan Singh held with several senior colleagues to resolve differences over security concerns, costs, authenticity of data and duplication.
“I think we have come to an agreement on how both the projects (unique identity number and the National Population Register) can proceed together without any difficulty,” plan panel deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said after the meeting.
“The cabinet committee (meeting on extending the Unique Identification Authority of India) was rescheduled and will happen on Friday. We are quite hopeful that we will have a resolution of these issues in that meeting.”
Ahluwalia conceded there were “different” views at the meeting but appeared optimistic about a resolution. “We are moving towards a very satisfactory conclusion.... I think there is agreement that… ways can be found that will avoid avoidable duplication. That was the key issue. I will send the supplementary note (to the cabinet),” he said.
Others who attended today’s “informal” gathering were Nilekani, home minister P. Chidambaram, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and national security adviser Shivshankar Menon.
The controversy is over collecting bio-metric data, which include fingerprinting and scanning of iris. While the Planning Commission’s unique identification authority has been collecting the data from resident Indians, the registrar general and census commissioner, under the home ministry, has been collecting similar information for its national population register (NPR).
The registrar general has the mandate to collect data for 1.2 billion people to be included in the NPR. This includes registration of residents above 18 and giving them smart or resident cards with electronically stored personal data.
Nilekani’s UIDAI has the mandate to collect biometric data of 20 crore people, of whom 17 crore have been covered, for the unique identity numbers, called Aadhaar. It now needs an extension, which Chidambaram’s home ministry has been opposing.
Ahluwalia had recently said Aadhaar was a more practical option when it comes to electronic transfer of benefits to the rural poor. The smart card, he pointed out, would need a reader while the identity number could be used “even through” mobile phones.
The home ministry has two major arguments: security of data and costs. The ministry feels the data collected by the UIDAI is not secure as the information is gathered by hired organisations.
On expenses, sources in the Registrar General of India (RGI) said the average cost per head for biometric collection by the UIDAI was around Rs 50. “When we collect it comes to an average of about Rs 28,” said a source. “So you calculate: for a billion people the cost of biometrics is Rs 50 billion.”
However, the UID project, which started after the smart card project, is likely to complete its mandate of 20 crore numbers before the March 31 deadline.
Till now, the home ministry has prepared 5 lakh resident cards after collecting biometric data of 10 million people.
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Why this Blog ? News articles in the Wide World of Web, quite often disappear with time, when they are relocated as archives with a different url. Archives in this blog serve as a library for those who are interested in doing Research on Aadhaar Related Topics. Articles are published with details of original publication date and the url.
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
