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

Thursday, February 28, 2013

3093 - Government admits problems over Aadhaar



New Delhi:
The government admitted Wednesday that a large number of Aadhaar cards had not been delivered by post offices.

Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev Shukla said in the Lok Sabha: “Complaints of a large number of Aadhaar letters not delivered from post offices have been received.”

The minister also admitted to problems because the Aadhaar portal had earlier a capacity constraint. PTI

He said the government had taken various measures and also instructed all the postal circles in the country to ensure their “smooth and timely delivery”.

The minister also admitted to problems because the Aadhaar portal had earlier a capacity constraint.

“The capacity was enhanced, which took some time,” he said. “Technological enhancement has now been put in place to enable it to function properly.”

3092 - Aadhaar numbers sought


Bangalore, Feb 27, 2013, DHNS :

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation has requested the employers to furnish the Aadhaar numbers of their existing PF subscribers to embed the information in the bank accounts of beneficiaries.  

The schemes of the EPFO involving transfer of benefits to beneficiaries have been identified for implementation of direct cash transfers from January 1, 2013.

The Organisation has asked the employers to maintain the information in excel format till the facility to capture/upload information on employer portal is made available.

 It has also requested the employers to furnish the core banking account number of all the contributing members.

3091 - India’s Aadhaar a step to ensure financial inclusion: FATF


Project will help strengthen anti-money laundering steps, combat terror financing, says inter-governmental body
PTI 

The Aadhaar number is intended to allow individual identification anytime, anywhere in the country through online identity verification from a central database.

Paris: India’s Aadhar programme has been praised by the FATF here which said the initiative will not only ensure “financial inclusion” for its teeming population but also tighten anti-money laundering measures in the country.
“If successfully implemented, it (Aadhar project) would be the first biometrically verified unique ID implemented on a national scale and would provide the ‘identity infrastructure´ for financial inclusion as well as for strengthening anti-money laundering and combating terrorist financing implementation,” the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) said in its updated report for bringing together anti-money laundering measures and ensuring financial inclusion amongst its member countries.

It said Aadhar will provide for delivery of social services, subsidies and other programs and national security and anti-corruption efforts.

India became a full-member of the FATF in 2010, at a time when the country was witnessing an increased concern to address the issues of black money and combating crimes like tax evasion and money laundering derived from corrupt practises.
The FATF is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 by the G-7 countries and all the major economies of the world are its members.
“Currently, many of India’s poorest citizens do not have any ID cards, bank accounts or even addresses that they can use to obtain social services.”
“The Aadhaar number is intended to allow individual identification anytime, anywhere in the country through online identity verification from a central database,” the FATF said in its reference to the Aadhar. The plenary session of the FATF was held here recently.

3090 - Voter registration centers in Delhi to add Aadhaar enrollment




February 27, 2013 - 
The Revenue department of the Congress-led Delhi government has asked the State Election Commission introduce Aadhaar enrollments at Voters’ Registration Centers across the city.

Reported in The Indian Express, including VRCs, Delhi has 200 venues where people can enrol for Aadhaar cards. Currently, only the Revenue department has linked their services to Aadhaar accounts, though it’s anticipated that more departments and government agencies will also begin to require enrolment.
“More and more services will eventually be linked to Aadhaar,” Principle Secretary (Revenue) Dharam Pal told said in an interview with the Indian Express. “While over 90 percent of the population is already enrolled, we have looked into the requirement for enrolment centers.”

State election offices have previously proposed Aadhaar inclusion to the election commission of India, to check voter and election fraud, though according to the Indian Express report, there is a long way to go before institutionalising Aadhaar.

Reported in BiometricUpdate.com, Aadhaar enrolment has now reached 286.66 million, owed mostly to the launch of the direct transfer scheme.
Though there are positive signs that enrollment is going well, and adoption and coverage are increasing, Aadhaar continues to hit speed bumps complicating the process along the way, as the scale of this project is immense.

Also reported in BiometricUpdate.com, enrollment, as well as the opening of bank account and the distribution of unique identity numbers had previously slowed and could take at least four months to complete the process in the five districts where the direct benefit transfer was initially launched.

In Delhi, the government has had to come up with a temporary solution to ensure that those who have enrolled for Aadhaar numbers but have not yet received cards are able to print a temporary card, as the need to have a physical Aadhaar card is increasing.

3089 - Registration for Aadhaar is just a phone call away


DC | M. Roushan Ali | 27th Feb 2013


Hyderabad: Aadhaar registration problems will ease up for citizens as the authorities are set to introduce a “phone-in” facility to book slots for registration.

From March 1, one can dial the toll free number 1100 from any service and book a slot for registration. They will have to visit the centre with the necessary documents at the scheduled time given.
Officials added that priority would be given to LPG connection holders while allocating slots keeping the March 15 LPG subsidy deadline in mind.
One can also book a registration slot on the Internet from March 1 at www.meeseva.gov.in.

Trial runs will be conducted on February 28 and both online and phone-in booking facilities will be simultaneously implemented from March 1.

Online Aadhaar slot bookings soon
Hyderabad district collector Syed Ali Murtuza Razvi said that priority would be given to LPG connection holders. “With March 15 being the last date to avail LPG subsidies through Aadhaar, there is an on-going concern among people as slots have been given as late as June in some centres.

There is a long waiting list at the existing 60-odd centres. We are setting up 12 new centres in Hyderabad, which will be used exclusively for phone-in slot bookings for LPG connection holders. Even the online booking facility will come into effect from March 1,” he said, adding that each new centre would have four kits, so that four persons can be photographed simultaneously.
The list of new Aadhaar centres that will be set up in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts will be published on Wednesday and those who book a slot on the 1100 toll free number, will be given a slot at the nearest Aadhaar centre, he said.

Citizens will have to give their LPG consumer number and mobile number to book a slot and the details of date, time and registration confirmation of Aadhaar will be sent via SMS. Those calling from landlines will have to note down the details that will be given by the operators, personnel at 1100 said.

3088 - NAC against making Aadhaar mandatory



Ruhi Tewari : New Delhi, Wed Feb 27 2013, 01:05 hrs

The National Advisory Council continued to remain sceptical about the implementation of Aadhaar scheme and Direct Benefits Transfer project even as Unique Identification Authority of India chairman Nandan Nilekani made a presentation during its meeting on Tuesday to address concerns.

While divisions persisted within the NAC about the projects, it was unanimous in agreeing that the government should refrain from rushing through with them or making Aadhaar mandatory. The NAC was of the view that the DBT should not be used as a substitute for services.

"There was general consensus that Aadhaar and DBT need to be debated much more before we can roll them out. Also, Aadhaar should be voluntary rather than being a compulsion," a member said.

Sources said Nilekani seemed to confer with the view that UID should not be mandatory. He admitted there were some technical glitches which needed to be addressed first and agreed that Aadhaar should have a legal framework.

Some members like Aruna Roy, have been opposing the projects at a fundamental level. "We are against Aadhaar and DBT per se... even if they have to be implemented... the government should not rush through with them," said Roy.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

3087 - New Year Aadhaar of embarrassment

New Year Aadhaar of embarrassment
OUR BUREAU


Jan. 1: Complete confusion ruled the much hyped inauguration of the Centre’s ambitious direct cash transfer scheme via Aadhaar-linked bank accounts today in all the four pilot districts — Ranchi, Ramgarh, Seraikela-Kharsawan and Hazaribagh — with one clocking a zero success rate.

Across India, too, Aadhaar (literally foundation in Hindi) was found to be on shaky ground. Instead of the stipulated 51 pilot districts, cash transfer could begin only in 20. As of now, Jharkhand’s quartet alone corners 20 per cent of districts under Aadhaar, making the state a pilot showpiece for arguably the biggest public welfare of UPA II that proved to be casebook studies of bureaucratic mess and technology gone wrong.

For instance, in industrial belt Seraikela-Kharsawan, 20 pregnant women were left disappointed. Till the filing of this report at 5.40pm, not a single beneficiary could get direct cash transfer. In Ramgarh and Hazaribagh, officials claimed 36 per cent Aadhaar enrolment rate but could not say how many actual cash transfers took place today. In Ranchi, cash was transferred directly to 244 beneficiaries of National Child Labour Project and 99 of National Merit-cum-Means into their bank accounts through their Aadhaar cards as a symbolic start to the central scheme.

But even in Ranchi, against the original target of 29 lakh Ranchi district residents, only 15 lakh so far have received Aadhaar. The deadline to cover all 1.1 lakh beneficiaries of schemes has been now extended to January 28.

In Seraikela-Kharsawan, network problems and bureaucratic preoccupation with chief minister Arjun Munda’s visit were equally to blame for the flop show. The target of 20 was modest and each lady was to get Rs 1,400. Seraikela-Kharsawan DC K.N. Jha said he asked the district civil surgeon to start direct cash transfer scheme with Janani Suraksha Yojana as this was the only one for which they had received cash allotment.

But the cash transfer process began after 4pm as the babus were busy the whole day with Munda’s tribute to Kharsawan martyrs. Then, the lead bank (Bank of India) technical official apparently failed to get the real time gross settlement (RTGS) process in motion due to the network snag. Under RTGS, transfer of money for security takes place from one bank to another in real time.

In sole passable performer Ranchi, though the launch event hosted by district administration was a bland affair without any beneficiary, the efficiency was visible. Deputy commissioner Vinay Kumar Choubey emailed scanned copies of the cheque and a beneficiary list to Ranchi district’s leading Bank of India.

Original cheques and list were handed over to the bank representative in person. The entire process took less than 15 minutes, after which Choubey was told that the due sums had been credited in respective personal bank accounts.

While a total payment of Rs 1,09,800 was made towards the National Child Labour Project, youngsters under National Merit-cum-Means Scholarship got Rs 500 each.

“Children are happy to know they are among the first beneficiaries of the central direct cash transfer scheme. Some said they would soon withdraw money from their account,” said Dr Ira, principal of National Child Labour Project School in Hindpiri, Ranchi city.

The school has 50 students — all of whom enrolled under Aadhaar — who got cash transferred directly.

“This scheme will bring about revolutionary changes in Jharkhand,” an elated deputy commissioner Choubey told The Telegraph. “Our January target is transferring cash directly via Aadhaar to bank accounts of 1.1 lakh beneficiaries in the 13 out of 34 schemes currently running in our district. Completing their UID enrolment in the next few days is a major challenge before us,” he said, adding that from January 4, special camps would be set up in different schools and colleges for Aadhaar enrolment. Ranchi district has 323 enrolment machines in 53 camps.

But glitches are many. “At least 40 per cent impression is mandatory, but here we usually get barely 20 per cent of most candidates,” said a senior official engaged in the enrolment process. Whether it is due to faded fingerprints in work-worn hands or faulty machines is open to question.

In both Ramgarh and Hazaribagh, officials said glibly that 36 per cent target of Aadhaar enrolment had been achieved. Hazaribagh has to implement direct benefits transfer in 15 schemes with 21,500 beneficiaries, whereas Ramgarh in seven with 8,000 people.

Ramgarh, which received the National Aadhaar Governance Award, cut a sorry figure. “I am not sure of the figures but some have definitely happened,” said deputy commissioner Amitabh Kaushal.

A highly placed official in Hazaribagh refused to comment, only saying the deadline was extended till March 1. “Off the record, it is a mess,” he said.

North Chotanagpur Commissionerate commissioner Nitin Madan Kulkarni told The Telegraph that wages under different schemes including MGNREGS and Samajik Suraksha Pension were going directly into accounts of beneficiaries but had not been linked to Aadhaar yet. But he refused to entertain the question — why the delay.

Ramgarh at least knows how many people — 5,500 — have Aadhaar cards. Hazaribagh doesn’t. Seraikela-Kharsawan has at least completed formalities for 11,000 tribal and OBC students to receive scholarships and are awaiting funds allotment.

Babus also have an excuse ready. “The central government exerted political pressure to start Aadhaar in a hurry,” said a bureaucrat not wishing to be named, in an indirect admission that they weren’t ready.

In Garhwa today, Union rural development minister Jairam Ramesh said he would exhort Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to speed up Aadhaar enrolment. “Direct cash transfer scheme is related to Aadhaar. In some districts, the enrolment process is slow. I will speak to the UIDAI authorities,” Ramesh, who ended his three-day visit of Maoist-hit Latehar, Palamau and Garhwa districts covering about 700 km to and from Ranchi, said.

Back to basics. On today’s glitch, Seraikela-Kharsawan civil surgeon Shiv Shankar said: “We shortlisted 4,393 beneficiaries under Janani Suraksha Yojana for 2012-13 fiscal. These 20 beneficiaries had all papers like Aadhaar card, bank passbook and others. But we failed to get cash transferred to their accounts as the network tripped. We will distribute them tomorrow morning.”

Tomorrow is another day.

3086 - Morpho (Safran) signs agreement with the State Bank of India during official visit of French President François Hollande to India


Companies referenced in this item: Safran Group
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During the official visit of French President, Francois Hollande to India, Morpho (Safran) through its Indian subsidiary Smart Chip, signed an agreement with the State Bank of India for the provision and maintenance of a biometric authentication solution. The agreement was signed yesterday in New Delhi by N Jambunathan, Chief General Manager, State Bank of India and Sanjeev Shriya, Managing Director of Smart Chip, in the presence of French President François Hollande and Jean-Paul Herteman, Chairman and CEO of Safran.

Under this agreement, Smart Chip will implement a biometric authentication solution comprising fingerprint sensors and biometric matching software to verify the State Bank of India’s employee credentials before granting them access to the Core Banking System of the bank. This solution will enhance security of the entire banking infrastructure. The system will be implemented across State Bank of India and its Associate Banks to provide biometric verification in over 21,000 branches.

“We are happy to embrace Morpho’s biometric technology. The users of our core banking system are extremely confident of the enhanced system security with the introduction of biometric authentication,” stated N. Jambunathan, Chief General Manager, State Bank of India.

“We are pleased to be selected once again to deploy our world-class biometric technology in the Indian banking market,” said Sanjeev Shriya, Managing Director of Smart Chip. “With Morpho’s strong local presence, heavy investments and foundational role in the Aadhaar project, we believe that we are contributing significantly to the large-scale adoption of biometrics for the Indian market.”

In addition to its involvement in the Aadhaar project, Morpho is also a leading provider of biometric terminals, smart cards and SIM cards in India. Morpho has also deployed more than 500 explosives, narcotics and chemical detectors across India to protect people and property in some of the most challenging environments.

Morpho, a high-technology company in the Safran group, is one of the world’s leading suppliers of identification, detection and e-document solutions. Morpho is specialized in personal rights and flow management applications, in particular based on biometrics, a sector in which it is the world leader, as well as secure terminals and smart cards. Morpho’s integrated systems and equipment are deployed worldwide and contribute to the safety and security of transportation, data, people and countries.

For more information: www.morpho.com - www.safran-group.com

3085 - European Commission Selects Consortium of Accenture, Morpho and HP to Maintain EU Visa Information and Biometric Matching Systems



Wed  Feb 20   2013

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BRUSSELS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The European Commission Directorate General for Home Affairs has awarded a consortium of Accenture (NYSE: ACN), Morpho (Safran) and HP, a contract to maintain the European Visa Information System (VIS). The contract is for three years with a possible one-year extension to a maximum value of €70 million (approx.US$93 million).

The project will support the exchange of visa data across border management authorities by ensuring the processing capacity of the system and the availability of high levels of search and matching capabilities required for visa applications. The VIS system went live, on schedule, in October 2011 and has since experienced increased usage by consulates in non-EU countries and external border crossing points of Schengen states.

 “Accenture has in-depth experience working with border agencies around the world in helping them meet the challenges of managing the growing numbers of travelers and increased visa application complexity,” said Mark Crego who leads Accenture’s global Border and Identity Management business. “We are pleased to have been chosen by the European Commission to lead this consortium of suppliers over the coming years.”

 As consortium lead, Accenture will assume overall project responsibilities, overseeing the integration of functional, technical and operational maintenance to the VIS, and Morpho will provide biometric matching services. Accenture and Morpho (as the Bridge Consortium) have worked with the European Commission since 2007 on the development and support of the biometric matching engine of the VIS.

 “Morpho is proud to have been chosen, once again, to supply the biometric matching services for the VIS,” said Jean-Paul Jainsky, chairman and chief executive officer of Morpho. “Biometrics has become a key element for effective border management, and as the world leader in biometric technology, we are committed to developing state-of-the-art solutions to meet the current and emerging needs of this market.”

 HP has worked with the European Commission since 2005, deploying the HP Converged Infrastructure solution and associated technology services for the VIS as well as the archiving and back-up solution. Under the new contract, there is the potential for additional HP network support with associated consulting and IT support services. Subcontractors to Accenture are Daon and WCC Smart Search and Match who will provide IT support and services.

 Border security and citizen protection is becoming increasingly important,” stated Peter Ryan, senior vice president and managing director, HP EMEA. “HP’s mission-critical Converged Infrastructure is key to delivering multi-national IT projects in the public safety domain.”

 VIS is at the core of the visa application process to the Schengen area and enables Schengen States to store and exchange alphanumeric and biometric data relating to visa applications of third-country citizens. As a subcomponent of VIS, a Biometric Matching System (BMS) enables the accurate identification of visa applicants through matching biometric data, such as fingerprints, to identities to establish and verify visa applications.

Learn more about Accenture’s Defense & Public Safety industry, Turning Insights into Outcomes, Accenture Border and Identity Services and Delivering Public Service for the Future.

 About Accenture
 Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with approximately 259,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$27.9 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2012. Its home page is www.accenture.com.

About HP
HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. The world’s largest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT Infrastructure to solve customer problems. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.

Morpho, a high-technology company in the Safran group, is one of the world’s leading suppliers of identification, detection and e-document solutions. Morpho is specialized in personal rights and flow management applications, in particular based on biometrics, a sector in which it is the world leader, as well as secure terminals and smart cards. Morpho’s integrated systems and equipment are deployed worldwide and contribute to the safety and security of transportation, data, people and countries.
For more information: www.morpho.com - www.safran-group.com

 Contacts
Accenture: Joe Doyle, + 353 87 2507583, joe.x.doyle@accenture.com
HP: Anneleen Holleweg, + 32 475804006, anneleen.holleweg@hp.com
Morpho: Christelle Kinkead, + 33 0 1 58 11 87 44, christelle.kinkead@morpho.com

3084 - NAC members raise concerns over direct benefit transfer scheme



Concerns raised over the efficiency of banking networks and on-the-ground preparations for the scheme
     
First Published: Tue, Feb 26 2013. 09 52 PM IST



NAC members argue that public services should not be denied to those who do not have an Aadhaar number. Photo: Ramesh Pathania/Mint

Updated: Tue, Feb 26 2013. 09 59 PM IST
New Delhi: A section of the Sonia Gandhi -led National Advisory Council (NAC) is not happy with the government “rushing into” the direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme, expected to be the flagship programme of the ruling Congress party in the national election scheduled for next year.

At a meeting of the NAC on Tuesday, where Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) chairman Nandan Nilekanimade a presentation on Aadhaar and DBT, some members flagged concerns on the efficiency of banking networks and on-the-ground preparations for the scheme. They argued that no public services should be denied to those who do not have an Aadhaar number.
According to five members in the 11-member committee, the members warned the scheme cannot be implemented in a hurried manner without proper mechanism and preparations.

“State governments, ministries and departments should not rush into direct cash transfers without assessing whether or not they are appropriate and whether the preconditions are in place,” said A.K. Shivakumar, NAC member, adding that a legal framework within which the identity numbers are being issued needs to be in place.

The United Progressive Alliance government, which has been in election mode for some time now, recently launched the DBT, which aims to directly transfer cash subsidies using Aadhaar to beneficiaries of several government welfare schemes. A pilot was rolled out in 20 districts for 26 schemes on 1 January. Finance minister P. Chidambaram and rural development minister Jairam Ramesh announced that programme from a party platform, which indicated the Congress’ intention to use it as an election plank. Party leaders also coined a slogan for the scheme, “Aapka paisa aapke haath” (your money in your hands), an indirect reference to Congress’ election symbol.

Nilekani told the members that 280 million Aadhaar numbers have been issued so far and by 2014, the authority expects to enrol 600 million people. DBT is expected to plug leakages, reduce wastage and bring down discrepancies in the beneficiary list. 

However, the members also raised questions about making Aadhaar compulsory. “The council appreciated UID as a concept but some issues were raised. The main concern was that while UID was voluntary, the interpretation made at the state level was that it was mandatory for access to certain social service schemes. While it is not intentional, it is playing out differently on the ground,” said Mirai Chatterjee, member of the council.

Another NAC member N.C. Saxena said that while in general there was a view that Aadhaar was a “good scheme”, there were transition problems and the ministries should not be in a hurry to make it compulsory.

Another member who did not want to be identified said that concerns over the banking network and linkages to it were also raised.

NAC member Aruna Roy was critical of the scheme, saying in the meeting that the idea of DBT was an “experiment on the poor” and a “failed experiment being pushed through”. “The new architecture of using the UID to access existing cash benefits through the bank has only added an extra layer of complicated and complex procedures and has burdened both the programme as well as the beneficiary with little apparent advantage,” a release from Roy’s office quoted her as saying.

In response to concerns that UIDAI had not been given legal sanction by Parliament, Nilekani’s presentation highlighted that the authority has been functioning under executive notification issued by the Planning Commission in 2009, which is valid under law, the same member said. The Bill pending before Parliament is just to strengthen the authority by giving it statutory status in order to impose obligations and penalties, Nilekani said in his presentation.

A senior government official aware of the development, who did not want to be identified, said most of the NAC members were supportive. However, concerns raised by some on operational issues related to cash transfer were legitimate. “They are being addressed,” the official said.

The Congress is pushing the DBT scheme as one of its key achievements. In the presidential address last week listing the government’s agenda for the coming year, Pranab Mukherjee said it will be a “trendsetter” and will “cut leakages, bring millions of people into the financial system and lead to better targeting of beneficiaries”.

Surabhi Agarwal contributed to this story.

3083 - Railways to use Aadhar database for passenger validation


Tuesday, February 26, 2013, 13:10 Hrs  [IST]

By TBM Staff | New Delhi
Presenting his maiden Railway Budget 2013-14 in the Parliament today, 
Pawan Kumar Bansal, Minister for Railways, Government of India, said that
Railways will use the Aadhar database for bookings and validation of passengers,
and that special air-conditioned coaches would be introduced in select Shatabdi
and Rajdhani trains with commensurate fares.

The Minister added that bookings on the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism
Corporation (IRCTC) website would be strengthened with an e-ticketing system
to prevent delays. Also, internet booking hours would be increased and e-booking
would be made available on mobile phones.

3082 - हाथों की लकीरें मिट गईं तो कैसे बने आधार कार्ड?



मजदूर जिसने बयां की 'आधार' की कहानी

नवभारत टाइम्स | Feb 25, 2013, 06.52PM IST
एसपी रावत

कुरुक्षेत्र।। कंप्यूटर ने एक ओर जहां इंसान के कई कामों को आसान बना दिया है, वहीं दिन-रात मजदूरी करके अपने परिवार का पेट पालने वाले हजारों मजदूरों के लिए यह मुसीबत बन गया है। कंप्यूटर मजदूरों के हाथों की उन लकीरें को नहीं पढ़ पा रहा है जो रात-दिन मजदूरी करने के बाद धुंधली पड़ गई हैं।

हरियाणा के यमुनानगर जिले के मजदूरों को उस वक्त निराशा हाथ लगी जब अधिकारियों ने कहा कि जब तक कंप्यूटर उनके हाथों की लकीरों को नहीं पढ़ेगा तब तक उनका 'आधार कार्ड' नहीं बन सकता।

गौरतलब है कि आजकल पूरे देश में आधार कार्ड बनाए जाने की प्रक्रिया चल रही है। उसी के तहत यमुनानगर जिला में भी जगह-जगह पर आधार कार्ड बनाने का काम चल रहा है। आधार कार्ड बनाने वाले अधिकारियों और कर्मचारियों का कहना है कि काम करते-करते मेहनतकश लोगों के हाथों की रेखाएं ही मिट गई हैं। इन हस्तरेखाओं को ही पैमाना मानकर आधार कार्ड बनाया जा रहा है।




अधिकारियों का कहना है कि बार-बार मजदूरों की हस्तरेखाएं लेने की कोशिश की गई, लेकिन कंप्यूटर पर रेखाएं न दिखने की वजह से उनका आधार कार्ड नहीं बन सकता। अब इसे मजदूरों की किस्मत का खेल कहें या मजबूरी? क्योंकि दिनरात मेहनत कर जो हाथ झोंपड़ी से लेकर महल तक का निर्माण करते हैं आज उन्हें ही उनके हक से महरूम रखा जा रहा है।

आधार कार्ड बनाने वाले कर्मचारी कहते हैं कि जब इन मजदूरों के हाथ की उंगलियों के निशान लेने के लिए इनके हाथों को कंप्यूटर पर रखा जाता है तो कोई रेखा नजर नहीं आती है। मजदूर दर्शन सिंह और राजेंद्र प्रसाद का कहना है कि इसमें हमारा तो कोई कसूर नहीं है। हम तो अपना और अपने परिवार का पेट पालने के लिए मेहनत मजदूरी करते हैं। देश भर में चल रहे निर्माण कार्यों में मजदूरों की अहम भूमिका है। अगर हम अपने हाथ की रेखाओं को देखेंगे तो हमें कोई मजदूरी पर नहीं रखेगा।

उन्होंने कहा कि सरकार को कोई ऐसी व्यवस्था करनी चाहिए जिससे उन्हें भी आधार कार्ड का लाभ मिले सके। उधर, यमुनानगर के डीआईओ रमेश गुप्ता का कहना है कि यूनिक आइडेंटिफिकेशन के लिए आधार कार्ड बनाए जा रहे हैं और इसके लिए आइब्रोज़, फिंगरप्रिंट और आईडी प्रूफ की जरूरत होती है। मजदूरों के आधार कार्ड बायॉमैट्रिक्स स्कैन न होने के कारण नहीं बन पा रहे हैं लेकिन यूआईडी के दूसरे वर्जन में यह कमी दूर कर ली जाएगी। भारत में सबके आधार कार्ड बनेंगे, हां इसमें कुछ समय लग सकता है।

उन्होंने बताया कि यमुनानगर में 10 से 12 जगहों के अलावा कई इंस्टिट्यूट में भी आधार कार्ड बन रहे हैं। भविष्य में डायरेक्ट ट्रांसफर स्कीम के तहत एससी और ओबीसी बच्चों का स्टाइपेंड उनके खाते में आएगा। उन्होंने बताया कि यमुनानगर में अब तक लगभग डेढ़ से दो लाख आधार कार्ड बन चुके हैं। खासतौर पर यमुनानगर और पानीपत में मजदूरों की संख्या काफी अधिक है। फ़ॉरेंसिक एक्सपर्ट्स का कहना है कि अपराध के मामले में 15-20 प्रतिशत लकीरें आने से भी काम चल जाता है लेकिन आधार कार्ड के मामले में यह नियम लागू नहीं है।

इस स्टोरी पर टोटल कॉमेंट्स (10)  दूसरे रीडर्स के कॉमेंट्स पढ़ें और अपना कॉमेंट लिखें.

Comments below 

loot machi hai, loot का कहना है :

26/02/2013 at 07:56 AM
अंधा पीसे कुत्ता खाए , एह बात तो जग जाहिर है की मेहनतकश मजदूरी करने वेल लोगों के फिंगर प्रिंट बदल जाते हैं , पता नहीं सरकार और इसके करमचारी और सलाहकार सोते रेहटे हैं या किसी भी प्रॉजेक्ट की लागत बढते रेहटे हैं . धन्या हो इन सरकारी और प्राइवेट कोम्पनियों का जिनको इतनी छोटी सी जानकारी नहीं 


Izhar H. Khan, Riyadh का कहना है :
25/02/2013 at 11:27 PM
हाथों की लकीरें तो क़िस्मत बताती हैं. भारतीय मज़दूर की इतनी क़िस्मत कहन की उसके हाथ में किस्मत की लकीरें भी हों.


ram lal, dilli का कहना है :
25/02/2013 at 09:19 PM
कार्ड बनाने का भी बडिया गोरख धंदा है. कभी ए कार्ड कभी वो कार्ड. इसमे जम के चांडी होती है कार्ड बनाने वालो की.

सहमत(16)
असहमत(1)
बढ़िया(4)
आपत्तिजनक

Vinay, Durg का कहना है :
25/02/2013 at 08:59 PM
वो कहते थे तुम्हारी किस्मत का 'आधार' हम बनाएँगे, तकदीर तो उनकी भी होती है जिनके हाथ नही होते.


balkrishna vyas, ratlam alote का कहना है :

25/02/2013 at 08:56 PM
आज अगर स्वामिविवेकानंदजी जिवित होते तो शायद उनका भी आधार कार्ड अभी विचाराधीन ही रहता ! 


mohd nazim ansari, new delhi का कहना है :
25/02/2013 at 08:36 PM
कुदरत का यही तो करिश्मा है उनके हाथों में तो पहले से ही आधार रेखा नहीं है तभी तो बे चारे द्र दर की ठोकर खाते फिरते हैं


ashok kumar dhir, phagwara---punjab का कहना है :
25/02/2013 at 07:57 PM
काँच के महलों मे रह कर आज तो हो खुश हो बहुत,,,,क्या करोगे कल अगर पत्थर उछाले जायेंगे ,,,,गुमशुदा इंसानियत को ढूंढने के वास्ते ,,,,,,,सुन रहे हैं अब समंदर भी खंगाले जायेंगे,,,,,रोटियाँ सूखी इन्हें दें आप शर्मिन्दा ना हों,,,,इतने भूखे हैं कि ये पत्थर पचा ले जायेंगे 


Vijay, Ranchi का कहना है :
25/02/2013 at 07:42 PM
बुजुर्गों और मेहनतकशों के साथ यह समस्या आ रही है. वैसे भी हाथ की रेखाएं या आँखों की पुतलियों का रेकॉर्ड रखने का कोई औचित्य नहीं बनता है. सरकार जिस ढर्रे पर चल रही है इन का दुरुपयोग कभी भी कर सकती है. आधार कार्ड के बहुत सारे पैमाने अतार्किक और स्वभाविक न्याय के विरुद्ध हैं. 


jp, ncr का कहना है :
25/02/2013 at 07:24 PM

इस मशीन में आग बॉल दो, शायद गर्म होकर पढ ले. अरे किसान-मजदूरों जागों और इस देश से भ्रष्ट/ निकम्मे शासन को उखाड़ दालों नहीं तो ए तुम्हें मज़दूरी कम देकर, तुमहारा खून चूसते रहेंगे और अभी तक तो भाग्य की लकीर ही मिटी थी अब हाथ की लकीर मिटाने की बारी आ गयी है. तुमारी मज़दूरी मारकर सब्सिडी के बतौर त्तुमहारी झोली में भिक्षा डाल रहे हैं. अगर किसान-मजदूर को उसकी मेहनत का पैसा मिला होता तो आज किसी सब्सिडी की उन्हें जरूरत न होती, हाँ लेकिन कॉर्पोरेट्स और पॉलिटिशियन्स की तिजौरी ठूस-ठुसकर न भरी होती, न ही देश का 1456 बिलियन डॉलर्स स्विस बैंक में भारत का काला धन जमा होता. अबकि बार चुनाव में तय करा लो कि इस ग़ुलामी से बाहर निकलना है कि हाथ की लाईनें ही मितवाणी हैं.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

3081 - Over 8000 eunuchs received Aadhaar numbers in 2012


INDIA, Posted on Feb 25, 2013 at 04:41pm IST


New Delhi: 8,805 eunuchs living across the country were issued Aadhaar numbers in 2012 by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). Only 96 Aadhaar numbers were issued to eunuchs in 2010.
The figure rose to 12,554 in 2011, the UIDAI said in reply to an RTI query. Over ten crore such numbers were issued to individuals between January and October 9 in 2012 by the authority, it said.
The UIDAI launched the Aadhaar scheme in 2010 with a mandate to issue every citizen a 12-digit unique identification number linked to the resident's demographic and biometric information. People can use their Aadhaar numbers to identify themselves anywhere in the country as well as to access a host of benefits and services.
Only 96 Aadhaar numbers were issued to eunuchs in 2010.



About 7.71 lakh Aadhaar numbers were issued in 2010, 10.21 crore in 2011 and 10.19 crore in 2012 (till Oct 9), the reply said. The UIDAI was also facing a manpower crunch as nearly 40 per cent posts of its total sanctioned strength of 383 were lying vacant.
"The total sanctioned strength of UIDAI is 383. Out of 383, 230 officers or staff are in place. Appointment for remaining vacancies is in progress," the authority said in reply to an RTI query. The UIDAI, which acts as an attached office of the Planning Commission, has also paid Rs 51.90 lakh as emoluments to four consultants engaged by it between 2011 and 2012 for various purposes.

3080 - WHOSE SON IN LAW ARE YOU ? CARTOON BY MANJUL


3079 - Goof ups galore in Aadhaar cards



By Express News Service - JAGATSINGHPUR
25th February 2013 11:52 AM

The State Government claim of 100 per cent unique identity numbers (UID) through enrolment in Aadhaar project in Jagatsinghpur district, has fallen flat.
With complaints of errors in final cards residents of Jagatsinghpur remain apprehensive about the efficiency of Aadhaar project.

Pointing out glaring mistakes in the already issued UID cards, individuals in the city have demanded a facility to rectify them. In most UID cards, the name and address of the card holder are often misspelt and in some, religions have been erroneously changed.

Balram Das of Sanpur village said his Aadhaar card reads the name of his village as Allipingal, which is 12 km from Sanpur. Another Sulochana Behera said her surname has been written as Begum instead of Behera. Similar cases have been reported at Jagatsinghpur, Raghunathpur and Biridi.

Protesting the errors, villagers of Sanpur recently stormed the Sanpur Majurai Primary School demanding correction in the cards. There are mistakes in the names of surnames, villages and post offices.

Jagatsinghpur Tehsildar Amber Kumar Kar said measures are being taken to rectify the errors in Aadhaar cards.

Aadhaar is a 12 digit individual identification number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India on behalf of the Government of India.


3078 - UID Cartoon in Hindu by Surendra

http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/00667/26TH_UID_COL_667042f.jpg


3077 - A.P. to feed Aadhaar numbers in revenue records



Our Bureau

Hyderabad, Feb. 24:  

After the Union Government insisting on Aadhaar numbers for consumers to claim subsidy gas, the Andhra Pradesh Government has decided to feed the unique identity numbers in all the revenue cards.

This is among the several major changes mooted by the State Revenue Ministry. The Government would link the records of the Registration Department with that of the Revenue Departments to check malpractices in land registrations.

“We are going to pilot this in three districts. At a later stage, we will expand to the rest of the State,” State Revenue Minister N. Raghuveera Reddy said.

The Ministry would enumerate the availability of Government land and identify the arable land in the next few months. “We will take stock of the availability of Government land and distribute it to the poor in the seventh phase of land distribution,” he said.

Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, he said these and other measures will be discussed at the three regional Revenue Sadassus (conferences) scheduled to be held from next week.

The first in the series will be held at Tirupati on February 26, followed by meetings at Hyderabad on March 2 and Vijayawada on March 5. While the Tirupati meet covers six districts, Hyderabad and Vijayawada conferences would cover 10 and 7 districts respectively.

After the State-level meets, the Ministry would hold meetings in 27,000 revenue villages from March 11. Besides, it would set up an academy to hone the skills of 87,000 employees of the department.

The conferences would discuss the new land allotment policy, protection of the land allotted to the poor, regularisation of unauthorised layouts and disbursal of 10-15 lakh more loan eligibility cards (for tenant farmers).

Under the Mee Seva (the e-governance window), the Revenue Department would take the total of services available to 171 from the present 50. “Revenue is the major interface. Of the 1.20 crore applications received by the Mee Seva centres, 1.13 crore applications were addressed to the Revenue Department,” he said.

3076 - Aadhaar-linked salary scheme a no-show as yet




    Sunday, 24 February 2013 21:37 
    Mukesh Ranjan | Ranchi 

The ambitious Aadhaar-linked payment project for State Government employees and pensioners in Jharkhand seems to be in limbo, given the fact that enrolment of only 50 per cent of employees has been completed so far, after crossing the October 31 deadline.

In August 2012, the Government had issued a circular directing all departments to put in place the Aadhaar payment system and ensure Aadhaar registration of employees and pensioners.

“We were directed to set up camps at all treasuries in the State, which we had done. Those who came were enrolled. When people stopped coming to us, we closed those camps,” said the ADG of media, information, education and communication of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)-Ranchi PK Upadhyaya.

“Progress is very slow and the directive could not be implemented,” said IT Secretary NN Sinha. “We had expected that the enrolment agencies will increase their numbers covering everyone in the Government, which could not be done,” he added.

However, highly-placed Government officials say that in a mid-project review meeting, it was decided to put the project on the backburner for now, as one school of thought was that State Government employees are already getting their salaries through bank accounts, where there is minimum chance of forgery.

The directive had been issued on the initiation of the then Chief Minister Arjun Munda, who wanted to bring all State Government employees under the UID ambit.

According to Government data, there are 2.25 lakh State Government employees and merely half of them have been enrolled so far for the Aadhaar numbers.  

3075 - Aadhaar a ploy to deny subsidies: Left




Special Correspondent

The two left parties, CPI (M) and the CPI, along with their frontal units, have expressed anguish over the spate of problems confronting residents and the working class living under Tirupati Municipal Corporation and in its outlaying colonies.

CPI’s State committee member, P. Harinadha Reddy, district party secretary, A. Rama Naidu and other leaders while addressing a workers’ meeting here on Sunday highlighted the non-distribution of ‘Aadhaar’ cards, though the fate of poor and middle class hinged heavily on it to get their LPG cylinders, social security payments in to their bank accounts and what not.

The CPI leaders also criticised the UPA government saying they were using ‘Aadhaar’ card as a ploy to deny citizens their social security benefits, subsidised cooking gas and other benefits.

It was in this context that the leaders renewed their call for a ‘joint fight’ by the two left parties against the ‘indifferent attitude’ of the Central and State governments against the problem of people. City party unit leaders, R. Venkaiah, Chinnam Penchalaiah and others spoke.

Meanwhile, CPI (M) expressed concern not only over the gross understaffing of the wing manning the Underground Drainage System (UDS) in the city (barely 20 to cover 50 divisions) but also on the problem of ‘erratic levels’ in the Underground Drainage System network which cause sewage water to be flooding the roads daily somewhere in the city.

3074 - Kochi has highest number of UID card holding students, Kasaragod lowest




KOCHI: Majority of students in the schools in Ernakulam district have
Aadhar cards. While the highest number of students having UID cards
was in Kochi at 97.09 %, the lowest was at Kasaragod with just about
40% students having UID cards. The figures are based on the data entry
made by schools.

As per the latest report generated from schools by IT@School project,
of the 1,040 schools in Ernakulam district, 1,009 schools have entered
data of 285,880 students. Of these, 277, 562 students have Aadhar
cards. In contrast, of the 576 schools in Kasargod district, 571
schools have entered data of 170, 214 students. But of these, only
68,181 students have Aadhar cards.

There are 12,987 schools in the state, of which 10,698 schools have
made the data entry of students. In other words, of the 34,80,941
students studying in state syllabus schools, the data entry of
29,24,937 students has been completed. However, with only 74.08%
students getting Aadhar cards, not all students have received Aadhar
cards in the state.

Data entry is poorest in schools located in Malappuram district. Of
the 1,523 schools in the district, only 806 schools have entered data
of students. 717 schools are yet to start the data entry. There are
more than 5 lakh students in Malappuram schools. Of the 3 lakh plus
students whose data entry is completed by the schools, 71% has Aadhar
cards.

The state government aims to ensure that the students are issued
Aadhar cards by this academic year as "no more benefits such as
scholarship, grants, issue of certificates, participation in
competitions, etc, will be extended from the next academic year to
those children who are not enrolled by end of March 31, 2013". The
district education officers and heads of schools were instructed to
take all possible steps to complete the enrollment of schoolchildren.

"Schools have also been asked to maintain a list of students who
receive Aadhar cards and this should continue till each and every
student gets the card", added an official at IT@School project.

3073 - Aadhaar must be basis for direct benefit transfers


ET Bureau Feb 25, 2013, 04.00AM IST

The Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) scheme commenced with the initial rollout in 20 districts covering seven scholarship schemes. Another 23 districts will be covered by March this year. The intention is to link all government benefits to Aadhaar-based identification of beneficiaries and to channelise the cash benefits through Aadhaar-enabled bank accounts.

Irrespective of the merits of translating some benefits delivered in kind like in PDS into their cash-equivalent, for the DBT scheme of routing cash benefits through Aadhaar-enabled bank accounts to succeed, some things are essential prerequisites: an electronic database of beneficiaries to be maintained on a continuing and regular basis by the concerned line departments and seeding of the database of beneficiaries with Aadhaar numbers.

Since there is no way to electronically integrate the Aadhaar numbers into the existing database of beneficiaries of the concerned line departments, there is always a chance of digitisation error while seeding the Aadhaar numbers.

Any digitisation error in seeding the 12-digit Aadhaar number in the database of beneficiaries of the line departments will lead to denial of benefits. Aadhaar identification numbers play no role in the right selection of beneficiaries, other than ensuring that the benefits do not flow more than once to the same person. The departments will continue to be responsible to ensure that the ineligible are not included or the eligible are not excluded from any programme of benefits transfer.

Assuming the list of beneficiaries seeded with Aadhaar numbers as given, the most important requirement for DBT to succeed through Aadhaar-enabled bank accounts is to ensure that there is adequate access to banking infrastructure in the unbanked areas to serve the beneficiaries. Without accessibility, even if the benefits are credited into bank accounts, the beneficiary will not be able to withdraw the cash balance from his account at his convenience as a normal customer of the bank.

The scholarship schemes rolled out in a few districts do not test the adaptability of DBT scheme on actual mass scale. To carry out Aadhaar-enabled payments, the DBT scheme envisages three distinct steps to be carried out: first, to authenticate the beneficiary using the 12-digit Aadhaar number and the fingerprint biometrics captured on the spot and transmitted over mobile phone connection and matching with the biometrics stored in the Aadhaar server; second, after successful authentication from the Aadhaar server, to retrieve the name of bank and account number of the beneficiary from the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) server; and third, to linkwith the bank server for customerend transaction.

The linkage with the bank server for customer-end transaction occurs after biometricsbased authentication at the Aadhaar-end server and retrieval of the bank name and account number from the NPCI server. Though this may be technologically feasible, but its smooth operationalisation on a mass scale in the rural unbanked areas of the country where mobile connectivity is poor is in doubt.

In this respect, the experience of Haryana is relevant. The Social Justice and Empowerment Department of the state administers various social security benefit schemes for senior citizens, widows and destitutes, persons with disability and scholarship schemes. The direct benefits transfer to the bank account was implemented for five monthly cycles in 2011, in which almost two million bank accounts were created and bank account numbers seeded into a database of beneficiaries maintained online.

The bank accounts were operated using smart cards at the micro ATM terminals of the business correspondents (BC) employed by the bank and authenticated by fingerprint biometrics. In the process of creating bank accounts, the department benefited by weeding out one lakh bogus beneficiaries, who were either duplicates or ineligible. A total of Rs 600 crore was routed into two million bank accounts for five cycles in 2011.

One micro ATM terminal deployed by a BC could carry out 50 customerend transactions on an average during the course of a day, each transaction taking 5-6 minutes on average. To enable a customer-end transaction, the customer was first authenticated offline using the fingerprint biometrics stored in the smart card. After offline authentication of the customer, the connection with the bank server was used for carry-ing out customer-end transaction.

The offline biometrics-based authentication of the customer and the single communication with the bank server for carrying out customer-end transactions took 5-6 minutes on average. The experiment in Haryana had to be suspended because the level of deployment of micro ATM terminals by banks was grossly inadequate. For the BC model to succeed, at least one customer-end transaction must be enabled each month as per a predetermined, fixed schedule to allow the customer to withdraw cash from his bank account.

Two million bank accounts and one customer-end transaction required the deployment of 40,000 terminaldays per month. Two customer-end transactions a month require double this number, or 80,000 terminaldays per month. Against this, the actual deployment was 7,000-8,000 terminal-days a month, leading to gross non-accessibility of banking services for months, even though government money stood transferred into the bank account of the beneficiary.

Since three communications are required for each customer-end transaction in Aadhaar-enabled payment system, one each with the servers of Aadhaar, NPCI and the bank, the transaction would take more time than the Haryana model, particularly where connectivity is poor in unbanked areas.

This entails even greater deployment of banking infrastructure for the DBT scheme to succeed. Another problem encountered was fingerprint-based biometrics authentication, where there were 10-15% false positive, or Type-I, errors.

That is, the customer was wrongly denied access to his bank account on wrong rejection based on fingerprint mismatch, i.e., the fingerprints of the account holder did not match with those stored on the smart card. The denial of service in 10-15% cases on the basis of fingerprint mismatch led to tremendous customer dissatisfaction about the quality of service of the BCs deployed by the banks. But in the Haryana model, this mismatch was easily remediable on the spot by recapturing the fingerprints.

However, a fingerprint mismatch in Aadhaar-enabled payments can only be remedied after the recapture and storage of fresh fingerprint biometrics on the Aadhaar server. The delivery of cash benefits through Aadhaar-linked bank accounts is desirable, provided adequate banking infrastructure is in place. Substitution of normal branch or ATM banking by "low-cost" BC model may not be the panacea as thought.

A regulatory mandate of a lowcost bank branch for every 1,000-2,000 customers providing elementary customer-end transactions in unbanked areas and making it mandatory for all licensed banks seems to be the only feasible alternative for DBT scheme to succeed. The initial establishmentof lowcost branches in unbanked areas can be financed from a specially-created Financial Inclusion Infrastructure Fund, by imposing a Tobin tax type of levy on all financial transactions above a certain threshold level.

All existing bank accounts can be Aadhaar-enabled by seeding them with Aadhaar numbers. There is no easy short cut to success. Adopting hard steps only would ensure that the DBT scheme is a real game-changer.

(The author is an IAS officer. Views are personal)



3072 - Aadhaar enrolment up to 25 mn in Jan




Santosh Tiwari  |  New Delhi  February 23, 2013 Last Updated at 22:37 IST

After seeing a sluggish restart in May 2012, Aadhaar enrolment saw a jump in January, when the direct benefits transfer (DBT) scheme was launched across 20 districts.

In January, enrolments stood at 24.79 million, against 23.05 million in March 2012. In May 2012, it stood at 4.76 million, rising to 12.56 million in November and 19.47 million in December, owing to the government’s push before the DBT launch on January 1 this year.

The latest figures indicate so far this month, enrolments stand at only 9.01 million. Overall, Aadhaar enrolment now stands at 282.66 million.

According to Unique Identification and Development Authority of India (UIDAI) officials, the government’s strategy has been aimed at enrolling about 20 million people a month. However, with the help of agencies and departments running particular DBT schemes, enrolment is set to pick up pace, primarily owing to DBT expansion.

In January, DBT was rolled out in only 20 districts across 16 states. The scheme also accounted for seven scholarships. By March 1, this would be extended to 43 districts. It would also cover other schemes.

In the coming Budget, Finance Minister P Chidambaram is expected to outline the road map for DBT coverage after the completion of the first phase by March. Budget 2013-14 is also likely to spell out the government’s strategy pertaining to the coverage of critical food, fertiliser, diesel and kerosene subsidy under DBT. Currently, these are out of DBT’s ambit.

Though the government has initially allowed cash transfer to the bank accounts of beneficiaries even without Aadhaar numbers, it is expected all such transfers would be shifted to the Aadhaar platform once Aadhaar coverage is substantial and DBT is extended to most schemes across the country.

Aadhaar numbers would be seeded with bank accounts and, in due course, these would become unique identifiers, said a senior finance ministry official.

Earlier, the government had planned to launch DBT in 51 districts, covering 34 identified schemes, from January 1. However, in the first phase, DBT primarily covers scholarship schemes. By the end of this year, the government plans to extend DBT to all schemes across the country.

3071 - Aadhar: C.M. fixed 31st March as deadline to complete the target


New Delhi, Sat, 23 Feb 2013


Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has reviewed the implementation of Direct Benefit Transfer Scheme and Aadhar enrollment in the Capital City in a high level meeting which was attended by the Food and Supplies Minister Haroon Yusuf, Chief Secretary D.M. Spolia, Chairman (UIDAI) Nandan Nilekani, Divisional Commissioner and other senior officers of the city government, banks, UIDAI.

It was reported that 94% population has been enrolled for Aadhar numbers and only 6% are to be enrolled yet. Dikshit instructed the Divisional Commissioner to complete cent per cent enrollment by 31st March, 2013.
She exhorted people to get themselves enrolled at DC offices, SDM offices, GRCs, EPIC Centres as Aadhar number is going to be essential for availing benefit under various social sector schemes of the city government. Those persons will not have Aadhar number would not be able to avail the benefits under various government schemes, hence they are advised to get them enrolled at the earliest.

The implementation of nine centrally sponsored schemes under Aadhar based Direct Cash Transfer mode were also discussed in detail. While reviewing the status, Smt. Dikshit directed the Revenue Department to extend this implementation in all 11 Revenue Districts. It may be recalled that on 1st January, 2013, nine schemes were implemented under Aadhar based Direct Cash Transfer mode in two districts of the Capital city. Smt. Dikshit also directed the department concerned to bring improvement keeping in view the experience and evaluation of results of implementation in these two districts.

The issue of opening of no-frill bank accounts was also discussed in the meeting. The bank representatives were asked to open such account without any hindrance. The representative must avoid insisting submission of residence proof alongwith Aadhar number. It was stated that Aadhar number alone is sufficient for such proof.

She exhorted all departments and agencies concerned to work in tandem and in effective coordination so that the motive of Aadhar-based Direct Cash Transfer could be made successful to ensure benefit of schemes to the real beneficiaries without any difficulty, delay, leakage, corruption and cuts by middlemen.

3070 - Aadhaar cards dumped in Faridabad drain



SATURDAY, 23 FEBRUARY 2013 16:57 STAFF REPORTER | FARIDABAD

In an apparent case of administration’s negligence, over thousands Aadhaar Card (Aam Admi ka Adhikaar) were found dumped in a drain near a graveyard in Sector -22 of Faridabad.

The cards were found scattered by some children who were playing near the drain on Thursday, some elderly people of the locality informed the police.

During investigation, police found that all the Aadhaar cards belonged to Ward number-6 of Sanjay Colony at Sector-22, 23. Some local residents also alleged that a local resident was involved in buying the Aadhaar cards. When the local residents heard the news of Aadhaar card lying in an abandoned position, they gathered there and started looking for their cards.

“We have found about thousands number of Aadhaar cards in a drain. We are investigating the matter and are inquiring with the local postman of the area as to how these cards reached the spot. Earlier the postman of Sector-22 had registered a complaint that a packet containing Aadhaar cards was stolen from the post office. All the cards have been collected and submitted at the area post office” the officer said.

Police registered a case against unidentified persons in this connection and are investigating the matter.

3069 - 29 Signs That The Elite Are Transforming Society Into A Total Domination Control Grid



 By Michael, on November 21st, 2012


The elite want to tightly control almost everything that we do, say and think.  When most people think of "tyranny", they think of thugs with guns and little dictators running around barking orders at everyone.  But that is not how the elite are accomplishing their goals these days.  They want us to actually believe that we have freedom and that we are choosing our own leaders, but in the background they are exerting "soft power" in a way that is absolutely ruthless.  

They fund the political campaigns of our politicians, they own nearly all of the large corporations and financial institutions, they exert very tight control over the media and their agenda is being promoted through the education systems of virtually every nation on the planet.  What the elite are doing is not illegal.  In fact, they use the government and they use the law to accomplish their purposes.  That is one reason why the elite love big government.  For them, it is an instrument of control.  The larger the government is, the easier it is to watch, track, monitor and control the rest of us.  As you read this, a "total domination control grid" is being constructed all around us that is far beyond anything that George Orwell ever dreamed of.  This system is advancing on hundreds of different fronts, and it is getting tighter and more restrictive with each passing day.  We may think that we still have a certain degree of liberty, but if you start doing things that the system does not like, the system has a way of getting you back in line very quickly.  In the end, it is all about control.  There are many among the elite that actually believe that a tightly controlled society that is dominated by government institutions that they control is what is best for humanity.  Many of them honestly believe that society would descend into chaos without a strong hand guiding it.  Many of them truly are convinced that those that are "enlightened" are doing a noble thing by guiding humanity into the "bright future" that the elite are designing for them.  But of course the freedoms and the liberties of the common people must be greatly limited in order to get us to that "bright future".  We are like cattle that need to be penned in for our own good.  This is how the elite actually think.  I spent many years being educated by them and rubbing shoulders with them.  They should not be trusted.  Once our liberties and freedoms are gone, they will be nearly impossible to get back.  And once the elite have total control, we will be faced with a tyranny unlike anything humanity has ever seen before.

The following are 29 signs that the elite are transforming society into a total domination control grid...

1. A new bill in the U.S. Senate would allow more than 20 different government agencies to read your email without a search warrant.

2. Next generation facial recognition cameras that can identify a person in less than a second and "send authorities all known intelligence about anyone who enters a camera’s field of vision" are being put up in southern California.

3. A highly sophisticated surveillance grid known as "Trapwire" is being installed in major cities and at "high value targets" all over the United States.  Unfortunately, most Americans do not even realize that it exists.

4. Police departments all over America are beginning to deploy unmanned surveillance drones in the skies over their cities.  But don't think that a drone is not watching you just because you don't live in a major city.  The truth is that the federal government has been using unmanned surveillance drones to spy on farmers in Iowa and Nebraska.  There could be a drone over your house right now and you might not ever know it.

5. Individual politicians know more about you than they ever have before. The amount of information that the Obama campaign has compiled on potential voters is absolutely frightening...

If you voted this election season, President Obama almost certainly has a file on you. His vast campaign database includes information on voters’ magazine subscriptions, car registrations, housing values and hunting licenses, along with scores estimating how likely they were to cast ballots for his reelection.

6. The UK is often five or ten years ahead of much of the rest of the world in implementing "Big Brother" police state measures.  Over there it is now against the law to insult someone with your speech.  If you say something that is "likely" to insult a Muslim or a homosexual you could end up being dragged in front of a judge.  It is only a matter of time before we see these kinds of laws all over the planet.

7. Could you imagine the government telling you what the temperature inside your own home can be?  A new law in France would do exactly that...

Heating a French home could soon require an income tax consultation or even a visit to the doctor under legislation to force conservation in the nation's $46 billion household energy market.

A bill adopted by the lower house this month would set prices that homes pay based on wages, age and climate. Utilities Electricite de France and GDF Suez will use the data to reward consumers who cut power and natural gas usage and penalize those whom regulators decide are wasteful.

8. Control freak bureaucrats love to tell others how to run their lives.  For example, one man down in Orlando, Florida was recently ordered to rip out the vegetable garden that he was growing in his front yard.  Will we eventually get to the point where even the smallest details of our lives are micromanaged by the government?

9. Most Americans don't realize this, but the DNA of almost every newborn baby in America is collected and stored by the government.  What plans do they have for all of this DNA?

10. All over America, schools are beginning to require students to carry IDs with RFID microchips in them wherever they go.  Fortunately, some students are fighting back...

The San Antonio sophomore who opposed microchipping student IDs that would track their every movement has inspired a groundswell of 300 students in her huge district who now refuse to wear the identification chips over religious, personal privacy, safety and civil liberties concerns. In addition, some 700 other people have signed petitions opposing the microchipping program.

11. There is more crossover between our education system and our law enforcement system than ever before.  An increasing number of schools in the United States have police officers roaming their hallways, and today there are more than 70,000 children behind bars in America.

12. When you rely on FEMA to take care of you, it can literally feel like you are in prison.  The following is a description of what life is like in one FEMA camp that was set up in New Jersey in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy...

“Sitting there last night you could see your breath,” displaced resident Brian Sotelo told the Asbury Park Press. “At (Pine Belt) the Red Cross made an announcement that they were sending us to permanent structures up here that had just been redone, that had washing machines and hot showers and steady electric, and they sent us to tent city. We got (expletived).”

Sotelo said Blackhawk helicopters patrol the skies “all day and night” and a black car with tinted windows surveys the camp while the government moves heavy equipment past the tents at night. According to the story, reporters aren’t even allowed in the fenced complex, where lines of displaced residents form outside portable toilets. Security guards are posted at every door, and residents can’t even use the toilet or shower without first presenting I.D.

“They treat us like we’re prisoners,” Ashley Sabol told Reuters. “It’s bad to say, but we honestly feel like we’re in a concentration camp.”

13. Your cell phone collects information about you wherever you go, and law enforcement authorities in the United States requested that cell phone data be turned over to them more than a million times in 2011 alone.

14. The federal government has created an iPhone app that is designed to encourage all of us to take photos of "suspicious activity" and report our neighbors to the authorities.

15. The U.S. government is increasingly using spyware to monitor the behavior of their employees while they are at work.

16. According to three NSA whistleblowers, the agency "has the capability to do individualized searches, similar to Google, for particular electronic communications in real time through such criteria as target addresses, locations, countries and phone numbers, as well as watch-listed names, keywords, and phrases in email."

17. Private corporations are gathering every shred of information about you that they possible can. One of the largest companies involved in "mining our data" is known as Acxiom.  It turns out that Acxiom has compiled information on more than 190 million people in the United States alone…

The company fits into a category called database marketing. It started in 1969 as an outfit called Demographics Inc., using phone books and other notably low-tech tools, as well as one computer, to amass information on voters and consumers for direct marketing. Almost 40 years later, Acxiom has detailed entries for more than 190 million people and 126 million households in the U.S., and about 500 million active consumers worldwide. More than 23,000 servers in Conway, just north of Little Rock, collect and analyze more than 50 trillion data ‘transactions’ a year.

18. We are being trained to give up our privacy and our dignity in the name of "security".  For example, what the TSA did recently to one woman who was dying of leukemia was absoutely shameful...

A dying woman says a a security pat-down at Sea-Tac Airport left her embarrassed in front of crowds of people.

Michelle Dunaj says screeners checked under bandages from recent surgeries and refused to give her a private search when she requested one.

19. According to one recent survey, nearly one-third of all Americans would be willing to submit to a "TSA body cavity search" in order to fly.

20. Law enforcement authorities all over the United States will soon be driving around in unmarked vehicles looking inside your cars and even under your clothes using the same backscatter technology currently being used by the TSA at U.S. airports…

American cops are set to join the US military in deploying American Science & Engineering’s Z Backscatter Vans, or mobile backscatter radiation x-rays. These are what TSA officials call “the amazing radioactive genital viewer,” now seen in airports around America, ionizing the private parts of children, the elderly, and you (yes you).

These pornoscannerwagons will look like regular anonymous vans, and will cruise America’s streets, indiscriminately peering through the cars (and clothes) of anyone in range of its mighty isotope-cannon. But don’t worry, it’s not a violation of privacy. As AS&E’s vice president of marketing Joe Reiss sez, “From a privacy standpoint, I’m hard-pressed to see what the concern or objection could be.”

21. A company known as BRS Labs has developed "pre-crime surveillance cameras" that supposedly can identify criminal activity before it happens.  These cameras are being installed at major transportation hubs all over San Francisco.

22. According to Gizmodo, the Department of Homeland Security will soon be using laser-based scanners that can scan your body, your clothes and your luggage from 164 feet away...

Within the next year or two, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will instantly know everything about your body, clothes, and luggage with a new laser-based molecular scanner fired from 164 feet (50 meters) away. From traces of drugs or gun powder on your clothes to what you had for breakfast to the adrenaline level in your body—agents will be able to get any information they want without even touching you.

And without you knowing it.

The technology is so incredibly effective that, in November 2011, its inventors were subcontracted by In-Q-Tel to work with the US Department of Homeland Security. In-Q-Tel is a company founded “in February 1999 by a group of private citizens at the request of the Director of the CIA and with the support of the U.S. Congress.” According to In-Q-Tel, they are the bridge between the Agency and new technology companies.

Their plan is to install this molecular-level scanning in airports and border crossings all across the United States.

23. A complex network of automated license plate readers carefully track the movements of millions of vehicles as they move in and out of Washington D.C. and the surrounding suburbs.  Most people do not even know that they are there.

24. The FBI is spending a billion dollars to develop a biometric identification system that will reportedly be far more sophisticated than anything that law enforcement in the United States has ever had before….

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation has begun rolling out its new $1 billion biometric Next Generation Identification (NGI) system. In essence, NGI is a nationwide database of mugshots, iris scans, DNA records, voice samples, and other biometrics, that will help the FBI identify and catch criminals — but it is how this biometric data is captured, through a nationwide network of cameras and photo databases, that is raising the eyebrows of privacy advocates.

Until now, the FBI relied on IAFIS, a national fingerprint database that has long been due an overhaul. Over the last few months, the FBI has been pilot testing a facial recognition system — and soon, detectives will also be able to search the system for other biometrics such as DNA records and iris scans.

25. If the government decides that you are a "bad guy", they can put you on a "no fly list" that will ban you from flying indefinitely.  This can be done to you at any time, without any notice, and you won't be told that it has happened.  In fact, as one prepper discovered recently, you might only find out that you are on the list when you try to board a flight.

26. Those that revere individual liberty are now being labeled as "potential terrorists" in official U.S. government documents.

27. A National Guard whistleblower recently revealed that members of his unit were told that "doomsday preppers" will be treated as "terrorists" when civil unrest breaks out.

28. One family in Idaho recently had their home raided by a SWAT team because a computer identified them as "constitutionalists" after someone had phoned in and complained about a domestic disturbance at their address.

29. Today, the mainstream media in the United States is totally dominated by just six giant corporations.  Those corporations own television networks, cable channels, movie studios, newspapers, magazines, publishing houses, music labels and large numbers of popular websites.  The way that almost every American looks at the world is being constantly influenced by these media corporations every single day.

Please share this list with as many people as you can.  We desperately need to wake people up while there is still time.