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

Saturday, January 26, 2013

2806 - From Aadhaar to mobile banking, strategies for India's war on cash take shape



From Aadhaar to mobile banking, strategies for India's war on cash take shape


Mayur Shetty, TNN | Nov 25, 2012, 11.40AM IST
MUMBAI: Very soon bank account holders can access their accounts, transfer funds, check balances and request cheque books by simply punching in *99# from their mobile phones including the most basic GSM handsets.
On Saturday at the annual Banker's Conclave ( Bancon) in Pune finance minister P Chidambaram outlined the government's strategy to shift most transactions to electronic mode. The mainstay is to have Aadhaar-enabled bank accounts for all and to transfer government benefits such as pension, scholarships and subsidies directly to individual accounts. The government has set December 2013 as the deadline to banks to ensure that all beneficiaries have Aadhaar numbers linked to bank accounts are immediately given an account if they do not have one.
Another part of the initiative is the electronification of Kisan Credit Cards. Although KCCs were launched way back in '98 until now they were more like identity cards. On Saturday Bank of Maharashtra, hosts of the Bancon2012, became the first to issue a Rupay KCC -India's answer to Visa and Mastercard. This will provide KCC holders access to 1.04 lakh ATMs and enable merchant payments as well.

Besides ensuring speedy transfers and reducing leakages banks have a collateral benefit of these measures to eliminate cash. "The total cash in circulation is almost Rs 11 lakh crore, even if Rs 1 lakh crore would come into bank accounts it would go a long way in augumenting resources of banks" said Pratip Chaudhuri, chairman, State Bank of India.
What sets apart the *99# initiative from other mobile telephony services presently offered is that the *99# connectivity is under the Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) platform where each dial-in results in a live connection with the banks server. This is similar to the system used in pre-paid phones to check balances and numerical literacy would be enough to operate the account. Also since it is not based on SMS or GPRS connectivity and there is no charge on the user.
The government is pushing mobile banking also because it will provide those in remote areas an opportunity to access their Aadhaar accounts even if banks are not around nearby.
The service is the first time banks and telecoms have come together at industry level is the brainchild of the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI). According to AP Hota, MD & CEO, NPCI the new service best suits India as it is simple and secure as no information is stored in the mobile device. " Ninety percent of phones used in the country are GSM phones and this service works on all GSM phones irrespective of handset make, cost, operating system or even the telecom service provider" said Hota.
MTNL and BSNL have been the first to get on board and are offering fund remittance facilities. Twenty-three banks including ICICI Bank, Punjab National Bank and Canara Bank have already gone live. The other telecom operators and banks are also coming on board.
CLICK ON TITLE TO SEE ORIGINAL ARTICLE - Posted by