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

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

3056 - Beneficiaries of cash transfers to get priority for UID registration


18 Feb 13
The Times of India

Beneficiaries of cash transfers to get priority for UID registration
BySarang Dastane, TNN | Feb 18, 2013, 01.26 AM IST

PUNE: Faced with the uphill task of beefing up unique identification number (UID) enrolments, the district administration has now prioritized its work, focusing first on the beneficiaries of the 13 schemes identified for direct cash transfer, following which it would enroll LPG customers, school children and common citizens in a phased manner.

Pune district is among the five districts in the state identified for direct cash transfer project. And of the 34 schemes identified by the government under the project, beneficiaries of 13 schemes are listed in Pune district. The administration has been asked to completeUID enrollment of these beneficiaries by March-end.

Officials say that there are 72,000 beneficiaries listed under these 13 schemes of which 35,000 people (about 49%) have already been registered for UID. Most of the beneficiaries are students who will be receiving their scholarships through direct cash transfer.

An official from the district administration said, "Enrolment work has been prioritized as per the government's instructions. Till now we were accepting applications in a random manner. Now, priority is being given to complete enrolment of citizens who are listed under the government-run schemes identified for direct cash transfer."

To meet the enrollment target in the stipulated period, the administration has in the last couple of months increased the number of enrollment machines in the city and rural parts. More than 120 machines have been deployed in the city, while 119 and 7 machines have been activated in rural parts and cantonment areas respectively. The administration has approached a couple of private agencies to provide additional machines.

"We are expecting about 100 more machines from a couple of agencies. Of these, 50 will be deployed in the city area and the remaining in rural parts. The agencies have already initiated steps to complete the formalities of registering themselves with the government," said an official.

Deputy commissioner of Pune Municipal Corporation, Mangesh Joshi, said, "Enrolment has increased in the city areas in last couple of months. About 94 machines have been deployed for enrollment of beneficiaries, while 30 machines have been deployed to undertake registration of common citizens and school children. We are expecting at least 50 additional machines in the next few days. This will take total number of UID machines to around 175. We are planning to distribute additional machines to every ward."

Joshi said that the centers have been instructed that they can continue with enrolment of common citizens if the identified beneficiaries fail to turn up.

According to PMC's latest statistics, of the total target beneficiaries of 31.15 lakh, about 16.30 lakh have been enrolled for UID so far, which is more than 50%. About 4 lakh citizens have registered in the second phase that has started from July 2012. About 12.30 lakh city residents had enrolled in the first phase of UID.

District collector Vikas Deshmukh said that the beneficiaries will continue to receive subsidies or scholarships in their bank accounts even if they are still to receive their UID numbers. "The administration has not stopped disbursement of subsidies or scholarships to students. The citizens need not panic as the administration is initiating steps to increase enrolment," he said. Deshmukh also warned of strict action against agencies or persons found indulging in illegal practices like charging money for enrolment.

Meanwhile, MLA Girish Bapat and Madhuri Misal conducted a meeting at the district collectorate to discuss issues pertaining to UID work in the city and rural parts. The meeting was attended by the district administration officials and deputy resident district collector Anil Pawar.

Misal pointed out mismanagement in UID work. She said that the administration should prepare a report on UID status and make it available to citizens. She said that the administration should clarify doubts of common citizens pertaining to UID registration and issuing of UID number.
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