3272 - LPG subsidy directly in bank accounts from October 1

LPG subsidy directly in bank accounts from 

October 1

By PTI | 28 Apr, 2013, 03.49PM IST

NEW DELHI: The government plans to provide subsidy to 14 crore LPG subscribers directly in their bank accounts from October 1, using the Aadhaar payment platform.

The government, official sources said, has decided to launch "Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) for LPG throughout the country tentatively from October 1".

"This (transfer of LPG subsidy) would require a much larger number of beneficiaries to be covered for opening of bank accounts and linked to Aadhaar and banks have been asked to get ready for the launch," said one official.

A consumer will have to get his or her bank account seeded with Aadhaar number for getting the LPG subsidy. The annual subsidy per consumer is estimated at Rs 4,000. The supply of subsidised LPG cylinder has been capped at 9 cylinders per year for a consumer.

While about 32 crore Aadhaar cards have been issued by UIDAI, only 80 lakh bank accounts have linked to the unique identity numbers so far.

Under a pilot project for LPG subsidy transfer, 20 districts in the country will be covered by May 15.

While the exact procedure to transfer the subsidy is being worked out, sources said subscribers will have to buy the LPG bottle at prevailing market price (currently Rs 901.50 per 14.2-kg cylinder in Delhi) and subsequently the subsidy amount will be transfered to the bank account.

The Finance Ministry has asked the public sector banks to speed up the process of linking accounts with Aadhaar.

The government expects that the DBT will eliminate all ghost LPG connections and diversion of cylinders.

Under the DBT scheme, subsidies and other benefits are transfered directly into the Aadhaar linked bank account of the beneficiary.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Planning Commission Deputy ChairmanMontek Singh Ahluwalia, Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily and Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh would review the DBT scheme with state officials on Monday.

3271 - Don't operationalise Direct Benefits Transfer scheme in Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa tells PM

Don't operationalise Direct Benefits Transfer scheme in Tamil Nadu, Jayalalithaa tells PM

Reported by Sam Daniel, Edited by Mala Das | Updated: April 27, 2013 20:39 IST

     

Chennai: Ahead of the national elections in 2014, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has taken on the Centre over its highly-ambitious Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) scheme that the latter is counting on a potential vote-getter. The populist programme aims at directly transferring money, meant for social welfare schemes, directly into the accounts of the poor, thus eliminating middlemen. The government has said that scheme will help reduce delay in delivery of benefits besides curbing wastage and leakages.

In a strongly-worded letter to the Prime Minister, Ms Jayalalithaa has alleged that the scheme, in its present form, is an "infringement" on the authority of state governments and goes against the principles of federalism.

"Are the State Governments expected to look on as mere bystanders, far removed from the process of administering the scheme, after having placed their entire field machinery at the disposal of the Government of India?" the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister said. (Read Jayalalithaa's letter to PM)

She also expressed strong reservations over the monetisation and disbursement in cash of subsidy for essential commodities like kerosene and cooking gas as well as in the Public Distribution System (PDS). Ms Jayalaithaa also cited the direct transfer of cash to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries would only lead to more confusion and affect accountability. The Chief Minister, instead, asked the Centre to route the desired funds through the state government for faster and efficient rollout of the scheme.

The DBT scheme provides for cash transfer of subsidy from the government directly to the beneficiary through an Aadhar-linked bank account. Three districts of Tamil Nadu are proposed to be included in the rollout of the first phase of the scheme from July 1.

Last year, Ms Jayalalithaa had taken on the government over the setting up of the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), accusing it of overstepping on the federal rights of states.

3270 - Don't worry, Aadhaar is not mandatory for now

Don't worry, Aadhaar is not mandatory for now

Wednesday, Apr 24, 2013, 8:38 IST | Place: New Delhi | Agency: DNA

Ashutosh Kumar  

Neeraj Thakur  

One need not necessarily have an Aadhaar number as of now for availing of monetary benefits under government schemes such as Employees Provident Fund, insurance and pension or for booking railway tickets and opening bank accounts. As far as the current status of Aadhaar number – meant for direct transfer of subsidies to beneficiaries to plug leakages — is concerned, it is not mandatory for any of the government schemes.

An official from the Unique Identification Authority of India told dna, “As of now Aadhaar number has not been made mandatory for any of the schemes of the central government.

The state governments, meanwhile, may link their schemes with Aadhaar number.”

Even though Aadhaar has not yet been made mandatory for schemes such as EPF, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation, under the ministry of labour and employment, has asked its field offices to make maximum efforts to obtain the available Aadhaar number or the enrolment number of the EPF members, in a communication dated February 6.

It is clear that the government intends to make Aadhaar mandatory for schemes such as EPF and pension but the scale and time required is coming in the way.

The EPFO, vide its letter dated January 21, made it mandatory to submit Aadhaar number for new EPF members joining on or after March 1. A labour ministry official said, “During discussions with the UIDAI, it emerged that UID is not enrolled in all the states. Therefore it was decided not to make Aadhaar number mandatory. And an order was subsequently released,” said the official.

In its February letter, the EPFO observed, “In view of discussions held with UIDAI officials and some time required in the process of obtaining Aadhaar numbers, it may not be possible to obtain the number by EPF by March 1. Therefore it has been decided to not make the Aadhaar number/enrolment mandatory for EPF members from March 1, 2013.’

Similarly, in the case of railway reservations, Aadhar card is only one of the documents required. In case of opening of savings account in banks, Aadhar will work as one of the documents required, and has not yet been made mandatory. Existing bank customers as well as new customers can link their accounts with Aadhar number to avail of subsidies on LPG cylinders directly. Even this is not mandatory and is under optional head in the Aadhar application form.

3269 - Pass Bill to make Aadhaar valid: Prof

Pass Bill to make Aadhaar valid: Prof

Mysore, April 26, 2013:

Seeking a bill to ensure constitutional validity for Aadhaar cards, K C Belliappa, former Vice Chancellor, Rajiv Gandhi University, Itanagar, said that Aadhaar can be a boon for the poor.

“Aadhaar has to be made more unique. It has the capacity to prevent government funds from being siphoned off, while ensuring that the benefits reach the needy,” he said.

He was delivering the inaugural address at a one day national seminar on ‘Managerial Challenges in Implementing Aadhaar Program in India’, at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham in the city.

He was skeptical in his talk, stating that Aadhaar card and the bio-metric information associated with the card, can be misused to spy on individuals. He described Aadhaar as ‘an internal passport to avail the benefits of the government.’

S N Prasad, Professor of Physics, Regional Institute of Engineering, Mysore said that Aadhaar was affected by technical challenges and social problems of the country.

“The Home ministry, despite the progress of Aadhaar registration and Direct Cash Transfer in the country, has remained distant from the project. This is not a good sign,” he said.

Taking a dig at the poor design of cards, meant to be unique for a citizen, he said that Aadhaar cards were worse off than conventional cards. “Any form of identity card, needs to be of better quality than the Aadhaar cards which were being used currently,” he said.

He also highlighted the delays in Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) issuing cards to people who had registered under the programme.

Dharani Devi Malagatti, Deputy Director, Karnataka Police Academy said that there was a ‘credibility gap’ in governance. People have been cynical and skeptical of government initiatives. This has affected Aadhaar, she said

3268 - Banks seek Aadhaar number for payment of LPG susbsidy

Banks seek Aadhaar number for payment of LPG susbsidy

PTI Posted online: Thursday, Apr 25, 2013 at 0000 hrs

New Delhi : Following direction from Finance Minister P Chidambaram, banks have initiated the process of linking account with Aadhaar number for cash transfer of LPG and other subsidies.

Banks have started informing customers through different mode of communication including SMS about linking of Aadhaar number with the account number to facilitate subsidy transfer.

"For getting LPG, MGNREGA and other subsidies direct to your account, please get your account linked with Aadhaar number," Canara Bank said in an SMS to its customers.

Earlier this month, the Finance Minister P Chidambaram asked banks to gear up for the rollout of direct cash subsidy scheme for cooking gas (LPG) consumers throughout the country.

As a pilot project, the government has decided to give cash subsidy to LPG consumers under its ambitious Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme soon, and will cover 20 districts by May 15.

LPG consumers will get about Rs 4,000 per annum in cash from the government, and they will have to then buy LPG at market price of Rs 901.50 per 14.2-kg cylinder.

Currently, each consumer is entitled to 9 cylinders of 14.2-kg each at subsidised price of Rs 410.50. On each of these cylinder the government bears a subsidy Rs 435.

There are about 14 crore LPG consumers in the country.

The government has already capped the number of subsidised cylinders at nine per household per year and beyond that a consumer has to pay the market price. However, some of the state governments are providing more subsidised cylinders and bearing the burden themselves.

The government expects that the DBT will eliminate all ghost LPG connections and diversion of cylinders.

In the first phase of DBT that started in January, 43 districts are being covered.

Under the DBT scheme, subsidies and other benefits are transfered directly into the Aadhaar linked bank account of the beneficiary.

3267 - The Science of Delivering Online IDs to a Billion People: The Aadhaar Experience - World Bank

The Science of Delivering Online IDs to a Billion People: The Aadhaar Experience- World Bank

FEATURING

Dr. Jim Yong Kim 

World Bank Group President 

Kaushik Basu

                         Senior Vice President and Chief Economist, 

                                                 World Bank Group 

Nandan Nilekani

Entrepreneur and Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India

This event has concluded.

DATE: Wednesday, April 24, 2013

TIME: 9:00 – 10:30 a.m. (13:00 – 14:30 GMT or convert time)

LOCATION: Online and World Bank Headquarters in Washington, DC

As part of the Bank's Development Economics Lecture series, Nandan Nilekani, one of the world's leading entrepreneurs in information technology, spoke on Aadhaar, India's massive initiative to create a unique system for the biometric identification of its residents. Aadhaar has already assigned 12 digit identification numbers to over 300 million people and will eventually enroll all of India's 1.2 billion residents.

Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Kaushik Basu chaired the event, introducing the speaker, the topic, and its implications for development. World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim delivered opening remarks and commented on the importance of the subject to the World Bank Group. Questions and answers followed Mr. Nilekani's talk.

The Unique Identification Authority of India created the system with an open programmable interface so that multiple applications can be built. The first major application Direct Benefits Transfer will electronically distribute money to millions of people by the end of 2013. Over the next few years a large number of applications providing transformational benefits to residents of India are expected to be developed by public and private entities.

The Aadhaar initiative uses the most sophisticated technology (Internet class architecture, multi-modal biometrics, ubiquitous data connectivity, tablets, etc.) to solve the most basic of development challenges. The project is being implemented as an open ecosystem, where enrollment will drive applications, and more applications will drive enrollment. The Aadhaar project is an example of doing a very large development project which requires, scale, speed, quality, and low costs goals to be met.

3266 - UIDAI bill for Aadhaar number anytime, anywhere

UIDAI bill for Aadhaar number anytime, anywhere

Chetan Chauhan, Hindustan Times  New Delhi, April 24, 2013

First Published: 20:07 IST(24/4/2013) | Last Updated: 20:09 IST(24/4/2013)

The UPA seems to be a hurry to draft unique identification authority of India (UIDAI) Bill after a Parliamentary panel lashed the government for allowing the authority to function without legal backing for more than three years.

A Parliamentary panel headed by former finance minister Yashwant Sinha on Monday said it was concerned that in the last three financial years a huge sum of Rs. 2,342 crore has been spent on UIDAI despite legislative sanction of the scheme.

“In the absence of legislation, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is discharging its functions without any legal basis,” the committee said and asked the government to bring in a UIDAI bill latest by next session of Parliament. The same panel had rejected a draft UIDAI bill about 15 months ago.

A senior government official said the Planning Commission was working on firming up a draft UIDAI bill which would allow residents to seek unique identification or Aadhaar number anytime, anywhere. The authority has already decided to set up one permanent enrollment center in each district to achieve the objective.

The draft bill allows residents the seek compensation and penalty for delay in getting Aadhaar number beyond 90 days and aims to plug the authority’s slackness in issuing Aadhaar numbers.

Thousands of people across India have not received their Aadhaar number even a year after enrollment and many have been forced to enroll more than once but are still waiting for the number.

“My Aadhaar enrollment had been rejected thrice,” said 56-year-old Delhi resident Vijay Goel, who requests with UIDAI officials for redressing her grievance fell on deaf ears. “I have done whatever I could do to get my Aadhaar number except going to the court,” she said.

The proposed bill may not provide relief to residents like Goel, who are struggling to get Aadhaar number, as the government intends to introduce the proposed legislation earliest by monsoon session.

Considering the current political flux in Parliament, getting the controversial bill approved quickly would not be easy for the government. The UPA government intends to provide Aadhaar number to 1.1 billion residents by 2014.

Government officials said government also wants to provide legal backing through the bill to money transactions made through Aadhaar payment bridge mainly for UPA government’s direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme.

The bill would also prescribe the functions and responsibilities of the authority, which is not clear, since the UIDAI was created through an executive order.

The bill also prescribes penalties for offences ranging from impersonation, giving wrong biometrics and punishment with penalty for unauthorized access of data. However, it does not speak about the privacy related issues

_____________________

3265 - DBT scheme misused by Maharashtra Govt. officials

DBT scheme misused by Maharashtra Govt. officials

There have been instances where the government officials have witnessed the misuse of DBT scheme

News | by CIOL Bureau

MUMBAI, INDIA: The Maharashtra Government will add six more districts to the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) project. The six districts include Aurangabad, Latur, Jalna, Gondia, Jalgaon and Ratnagiri. The first phase of the DBT project was this year in six other districts.

There have been instances where the government officials have witnessed the misuse of this scheme, especially by officers with vested interests and bogus bank account holders.

"We had 3.20 lakh beneficiaries under various schemes including post- and pre-matric scholarships and the Sanjay Gandhi pension scheme in the six districts where the project was launched in January this year. Ninety per cent of the beneficiaries are from the social justice department as most of the scholarships to the SC/ST/OBC students are distributed through it," a Hindustan Times report quoted a Mantralaya official, as saying.

"However the department could generate Aadhaar-linked bank accounts of only 1 lakh students. We suspect that officials are wary as they have vested interests in the money, and are thus dilly-dallying the implementation," added the official.

At a time, when the Aurangabad district collector made Aadhaar compulsory, many elderly persons, who were supposed to get a monthly pension under the Sanjay Gandhi pension scheme did not come up to claim the amount. There were nearly, 5,000 beneficiaries of 18,000 under Sanjay Gandhi pension scheme.

3264 - Link Aadhaar number with bank account or lose LPG subsidy

Link Aadhaar number with bank account or lose LPG subsidy

Neha Madaan, TNN Apr 25, 2013, 04.52AM IST

PUNE: Oil companies have asked LPG connection holders to seed their Aadhaar card numbers to their respective bank accounts, failing which they stand to lose the subsidy amount.

To accelerate the process of enrolling LPG customers under Aadhaar, authorities have also planned to give Aadhaar card machines to oil companies. Accordingly, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) will get 5 machines and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) will get 10.

A BPCL official said that LPG customers who have Aadhaar cards will now have to approach banks and get their Aadhaar card number seeded to their bank accounts so that subsidy on LPG cylinders can be refunded to their accounts. "The district administration has proposed additional Aadhaar enrollment centers exclusively for LPG customers. The Aadhaar machines given to BPCL distributors will only enroll customers in whose names the connections are and not their family members," he said.

The official said that no deadline has been set for connecting Aadhaar numbers to bank accounts in Pune, but customers have been asked to do so at the earliest as other cities have already got a deadline to complete the process. "About 60% Aadhaar enrollment has been done in Pune. It has to reach 80% or more after which a deadline for seeding of Aadhaar numbers to bank accounts will be announced for Pune," he said. Those who already have the Aadhaar card will have to get the numbers linked with their bank accounts. Approximately, 80,000 BPCL customers, out of a total of 12.4 lakh in the district, have linked their Aadhaar numbers to bank accounts.

An HPCL official said that though the oil companies have received no communication regarding deadline for seeding, it may soon be announced. "Customers will have to submit a photostated copy of their Aadhaar card, other details and DGCC booklet to respective distributors and will also have to give the Adhaar number to their banks," he said.

During a recent meeting that oil companies had with the district administration, it was decided to give 10 Aadhaar card machines to select HPCL distributors. He added that of the 9.9 lakh customers that HPCL has in Pune district, 1.5 lakh customers have already seeded their Aadhaar card number with their bank accounts.

The Direct Cash Transfer (DCT) scheme aims to directly put the subsidy into consumers' bank accounts. Once implemented, customers will have to purchase non-subsidized LPG cylinders at a uniform rate (currently Rs 950 per cylinder) while the subsidy component will be transferred to their bank account annually.

3263 - ID please? - The Hindu

ID please?

August 14, 2012

CATHERINE RHEA ROY

chat Subasri speaks about her film, which questions the functionality of the UID

Subasri K. started out as a print journalist, but she has spent the last 10 years working on films after she completed her masters in filmmaking from Jamia Millia Islamia. “My first film was called Brave New Medium – about the idea of Internet censorship in South East Asia,” she says establishing some background before she starts to talk about her new film This Or That Person, that has been produced by the Public Service Broadcasting Trust.

The Unique Identity number (UID or aadhar) project was introduced in India in 2009 and through the lens of the UID, the film looks at what identity documents means to people, and how the aadhar project is perceived.

The documentary dwells on the notion of personhood as seen by the India State, or as the director puts it, “It is a conversation with the State about ideas of inclusion, exclusion, surveillance and citizenship, and it does so by interrogating the Unique Identity number project.

“The Unique Identity Number that the State will give each citizen is meant to be the solution for a lot of problems, but in a system that is already suffering from structural problems how effective will the UID be?” questions Subasri.

The film chooses to focus solely on the UID. “It is fundamentally an identity project – the UID is an identifier, something that will confirm that I am who I say I am,” she says. Her films switches between Delhi and Manipur as she shows the images associated with the UID. So while in Delhi the UID will help make it simpler to get a bank account, in Manipur we see a tool for political surveillance. “I wanted to examine the everyday versus a moment of crisis especially in border areas where identities are fluid. Manipur could just as easily have been Kashmir or Chhattisgarh or any other place that is under the gaze of the state.”

Can you pin someone’s identity on a fingerprint or an iris scan? It brings us back to the clichéd argument of how we barely have power in many States, how are we going to rely on a biometric system to help with governance?

Subasri who has been reading about the subject and speaking to people since 2009 says that her film is not just about the UID but also the relationship of a citizen and a non-citizen with the State. The UID has been severely critiqued by different quarters – there have been questions about privacy, access to government programmes, technological challenges but in the 28-minute-slot that was given to her, she says that she wanted to look at the history of fingerprints as identification and the fallacy of it.

The film will be screened at the Alternate Law Forum, Infantry Road on August 14 at 6 p.m.

CATHERINE RHEA ROY

3262 - DDA changes land use norms for construction of UID headquarters

DDA changes land use norms for construction of UID headquarters

JIBY KATTAKAYAM

The Delhi Development Authority at its meeting on Tuesday approved changes in land use that will facilitate the construction of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) headquarters at Bangla Sahib Road and an International Convention Centre at Pragati Maidan. The DDA also approved the continuance of seven temporary cinemas while making a modification in the 2021 Delhi Master Plan (MPD-2021).

The UIDAI had requested DDA for change of land use of a plot near Gurudwara Bangla Sahib measuring 4447.49 sq. mts. This was examined by the Technical Committee and as recommended by the Technical Committee, the proposal was placed before the Authority for consideration and for further processing under Section 11A of DD Act. The change of land use will facilitate increase in FAR.

For the International Convention Centre, the DDA approved the change of land use for an area measuring 49.98 hectares at Pragati Maidan in planning zone ‘D’ from recreational district park to public and semi-public facilities. The change of land use had been processed on the recommendations of Ministry of Commerce. The DDA said that though it invited objections/suggestions, none were received and therefore, the proposal was placed before the Authority for approval.

The seven temporary cinemas had non-conforming land and have been continuing on a license basis for the past many years at various locations. The 2001 Master Plan had a provision for temporary cinemas which was discontinued in MPD-2021 as cinema became a commercial activity allowed only in District and Community Centres. The DDA had deliberated and approved their continuance in a meeting held in October 2012. Thereafter a public notice was issued for objections and suggestions and a total of 39 objections/ suggestions were received. A Board of Enquiry hearing held on February 22 made some recommendations on the basis of which the Authority approved modification in Chapter 17 of MPD-2021 to facilitate the continuation of the temporary cinemas.

As per these modifications new temporary cinemas will not be allowed but the already existing temporary cinemas can continue on permanent basis subject to a seating capacity of 300 seats and parking requirements of 3 ECS (equivalent car space) per 100 square metres of built up space. The FAR allowed is 100 subject to a maximum of 3,000 sq. mts.

Several land use modifications were also made in Zone M and N in areas in and around Bawana. The modifications will ensure that several development projects can be undertaken in Outer Delhi. The changes in land use will help in creation of new district parks, commercial centres, transportation facilities and setting up of utilities like electricity substations.

3261 - Govt makes plans to recover lost UID data

Govt makes plans to recover lost UID data

HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times  Mumbai, April 24, 2013

First Published: 01:57 IST(24/4/2013) | Last Updated: 01:58 IST(24/4/2013)

Confusion over loss of personal data of Aadhaar applicants has forced the government to revise its e-Aadhaar portal.

The state's information technology department on Tuesday admitted that 'some data' (of around 1 lakh applicants) had been lost due to decryption failure and loss of laptops. This means, many applicants may have to re-enroll for the Unique Identification Number (UID) .

An official from the IT department said the state government was trying to sort out the mess.

“The applicants who have not received their cards will have to first verify from the e-Aadhaar portal [eaadhaar.uidai.gov.in] if their number has been generated. If it is ready, the card can be downloaded from anywhere. Applicants will have to apply again only if their number has not been generated,” he said.

Government officials, however, clarified that applicants who have not received their cards shouldn't re-apply immediately.

“It takes nearly four months to generate the Aadhaar card. We faced problem in the first phase [February 2012], wherein nearly 5.1 lakh cards of the 3.76 crore did not get delivered. The number is high in the second phase as well, but this doesn't mean people have to re-apply for the UID,” said the official.

According to state authorities, the lost data can't be misused as it is highly encrypted. Nearly 10 cases of loss of laptops have been registered in various parts of the state.

“This [loss of data and laptops] has happened across the country. The number in Maharashtra is not as high as 3 lakh as it being reported. The data of the applicants with the decryption failure will be re-attempted and reviewed,” said Rajesh Aggarwal, secretary, information technology department

3260 - Maharashtra loses data of 3 lakh UID cards

Maharashtra loses data of 3 lakh UID cards

Clara Lewis, TNN | Apr 23, 2013, 04.02 AM IST

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government has admitted the loss of personal data of about 3 lakh applicants for Aadhaar card, an error that has forced the inconvenience of reapplication on unwitting victims and sparked concerns over possible misuse of the data.

Containing PAN and biometric information, the data was being uploaded by the state information technology department from Mumbai to the central Bangalore server of the Unique Identification Number Authority of India when it got "lost". "The information is encrypted when uploaded. While the transmission was in progress, the hard disk with the data crashed. When the data was downloaded in Bangalore, it could not be decrypted," said an official from the state IT department, which is overseeing the enrolment of citizens for Unique Identification number (UID) or Aadhaar card. The data mostly belonged to applicants from Mumbai.

Rajesh Agarwal, secretary in the state IT department, maintained the lost data was highly encrypted and thus cannot be opened without "keys and multi-clues".

Still, fears of misuse persisted. An application for Aadhaar card requires PAN details, proof of data of birth and residence, iris images, biometric data, and, if preferred, bank account numbers.

The loss came on top of thefts of laptops with UID data from Mumbai. Though complaints were registered with the police, officials contended the crimes were not necessarily for the data. The information on laptops therefore, they said, might not have been misused.

The consequence of this multi-faceted data mismanagement is being borne by people like T V Shah. A senior citizen living in Vile Parle, he applied for Aadhaar cards for his wife and himself but has not received them yet. "For a while, they said they will send the cards soon. I even wrote to the planning commission (nodal agency), but there was no reply. It seems they have lost our personal data, including our biometric details. Now they are telling us to re-register," said Shah.

No explanations were offered to Shah as to what happened to his data.

Terrified that his personal data like PAN and SIM details may be misused, Shah is wondering if he should file a police complaint. "I remember reading news reports about a case of forgery in which one person's PAN card was misused by somebody else to obtain a SIM card. The police made the PAN holder dance from Bangalore to Delhi," he said.

As strong as his concern over data misuse is Shah's dread of re-registration. The last time, he was told on day one to bring the ration card for the enrolment form. On day two he was informed that forms were issued only from 9am to 10am. On day three he was told forms were exhausted. Days later, he was told to come before 11.30am for an appointment. The next day, he was told to come another day since the person who gave appointments was out of office.

Registration for Aadhaar cards is currently underway in Mumbai city and suburbs, Pune, Nandurbar, Amravati and Wardha.

Officials said 30 agencies are working in Maharashtra on the enrolment for Aadhaar cards. So far, 6 crore citizens have been registered and 5.25 crore UID numbers generated. In Mumbai, of its 1.24 crore residents, 90 lakh have been enrolled and 85 lakh Aadhaar cards generated.

"The data that was lost constitutes over 1% of the total data collected. We have filed police complaints," said an IT official, stressing that the department was responsible only for enrolment.

Confusion reigns over card, implementation timing 

The gradually increasing currency of Aadhaar is simultaneously exposing the confusion over the system and its deficiencies. While the card is being demanded compulsorily for several services, it is also being refused by some for ostensible errors. 

Rajan Alimchandani, a senior citizen, got his Aadhaar card without any hassle. The hassle began after its receipt. The Worli resident said: "My Aadhaar card bears my year of birth, but not the date of birth. When I produced it for a substitute debit card, the bank told me the Aadhaar card was invalid." 

Rajesh Agarwal, secretary in the state IT department, clarified that Alimchandani's card was not invalid. "All cards issued so far bear just the year of birth. Many senior citizens are unable to provide the date of birth. Hence, only the year. Even my card bears just the year," said Agarwal. 

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is mulling placing the date of birth too on the card. Those who have been issued cards, however, may not get new ones, said sources. 

T V Shah, a former hydraulic engineer with the BMC, suffered a different problem. He and his wife applied for Aadhaar cards in 2011, but were never informed of their status. In January, when he went to the BMC for continuing his pension he was told that a photocopy of his Aadhaar card was needed for the allowance to be dispensed. "The BMC finally agreed to accept the enrolment receipt. But now, I have received a letter from the UIDAI to reregister ," Shah said. 

Yasmin works as a domestic help in Bandra (W) and has two daughters who study in the local civic school. Yasmin had to hire an agent to get Aadhaar cards for the daughters since the school said that "from the next academic year we have to buy textbooks, uniforms ourselves. The money will be put directly into the children's bank accounts" . "If I had not got the cards for my children, they wouldn't have been able to study." 

Who's affected 

The lost UID data was of applications being processed; it mainly belonged to people from Mumbai. Those who have received their Aadhaar cards will be unaffected 

Dangers 

PAN details and proof of residence have been frequently misused to procure SIM cards Iris images & biometric data are identifi cation forms. They can be used to create fake identities 

Action 

Affected people should notify the police and ask them to make diary entry of the loss 

Inconvenience 

Victims will have to reapply — identify Aadhaar centre, and get an appointment, which can take many visits 

Times View 

Extreme irresponsibility 

Losing data so important - and which could be misused if it falls in the wrong hands - is an act of extreme irresponsibility; the offence is compounded when the loss happens because of the callousness of a government agency, trusted by citizens who think the data are in safe hands. Several questions arise here. What happens if the data do fall into wrong hands and citizens lose plastic money or money from their accounts? Who tracks the route of loss of data and who compensates the citizen? Government agencies must learn to act more responsibly when they have been entrusted with such valuable information.

3259 - Maharshtra – Aadhaar centres to function only on govt premises #UID

Maharshtra – Aadhaar centres to function only on govt premises #UID

Bhavika Jain, TNN | Apr 21, 2013, 02.02 AM IST

MUMBAI: The state government has now said that no Unique Identification (UID) cardenrolment centres will be allowed on private premises, like housing societies or offices, because there are too few resources to register the huge number of people who remain to be enrolled in the city. Instead, UID – or Aadhaar – card centres will be only allowed in government premises, like schools, offices etc, so that the middle-and lower-middle-classpopulation can be enrolled first.Civic officials said members of the middle and lower-middle classes need the UID card first as they are the beneficiaries of various government schemes for which the card will be mandatory.So far, 68% of the 1.25 crore population ofMumbai has been enrolled, which means approximately 70 to 80 lakh of the population has been covered and 45 to 55 lakh remains to be covered. The official deadline for registering the entire population is December 13.

“Now, with the enrolment drive picking up and resulting into a huge backlog due to the limited number of resources, the state has decided not to allow UID camps on private premises,” said a civic official. The state government had allowed setting up UID enrolment centres on private premises earlier so as to cover as much of the population as possible. At that time, the BMC had allowed camps in housing societies and private offices so that people residing or working there could be enrolled.

A UID card that is linked to a bank account would soon be required to avail of several government schemes, including getting a cooking cylinder subsidy, disbursement of provident fund for government employees and receiving free educational items for civic schools.

Currently, there are 145 BMC centres where enrolment is being conducted in the city. All are on government or semi-government premises. Over the next one month, the BMC is going to increase the number of centres to 470, as new vendors have come forward and the BMC has identified spots where new centres can be set up.

A centre in Kherwadi is being touted as the largest centre in the country, with 25 machines working simultaneously and enrolling 2,000 people a day.

The UID project is the brainchild of technocrat Nandan Nilekani. The card is expected to ensure that citizens get access to all schemes of government and local bodies. The government claims that the card will be important in the years to come as, for any dealing with the government, the card would be required to validate identity.

3258 - BMC takes note of malpractice at 3 uid centres

BMC takes note of malpractice at 3 uid centres

Apr 20, 2013 | Age Correspondent | Mumbai

Taking note of malpractices at three UID enrollment centres in the city, the BMC has asked the respective companies to blacklist their operators in these centres.

The three centres are in Govandi, Walkeshwar and Kandivali. Prachi Jambhekar, assistant commissioner, planning, said, “The civic body had received complaints of irregularities at these centres and we had asked the ward officials to look into the matter. It was found that they were demanding money to provide UID cards at these centres.” Accordingly, the civic body suggested to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) that the operators should be blacklisted. This would ensure these operators would not be able to take up the data enrollment job anywhere.

***

3257 - Food Security Bill is affordable REETIKA KHERA

Food Security Bill is affordable

REETIKA KHERA

The subsidies meant for the poor are always under attack, while the rest are able to retain their privileges.

The additional allocation in grain and money terms will neither distort the grain market nor place a burden on the fisc.

Many recent commentators have portrayed the National Food Security Bill (NFSB) as an “unbearable burden” on the exchequer. The facts, however, do no substantiate the claim.

The NFSB has been trashed from time to time in the English dailies. For instance, Business Line (March 21, 2013) published an article titled “Food Security Bill will torpedo Budget”.

Another national daily claims that the Bill has a “fundamental flaw” that places “an unbearable burden” and “distorts agriculture” (Indian Express, March 19, 2013). Quite often, the claims are partly due to a misconception that the government is making new financial and grain commitments under the NFSB.

In fact, the NFSB does little more than turning into legal entitlements pre-existing food security schemes such as the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme, Mid-Day Meal (MDM) Scheme, Public Distribution System (PDS) and maternity entitlements.

UNJUSTIFIED FEARS

Some commentators have said that it is precisely the legal commitment that will lead to problems in the future — for example, the fear of the emergence of a government monopoly in the grain market. This fear is not borne out by the facts.

Under the PDS, ICDS and MDM, the government currently allocates about 58 million tonnes of grain. To meet this commitment, the government currently procures about 30 per cent of grain. The NFSB commits 62 million tonnes, i.e., an additional 4 million tonnes.

The Budget of 2013-14 allocates Rs. 31,000 crore for two children's food schemes — school meals and the ICDS which reaches children under six. The Budget allocation for the food subsidy in 2013-14 is Rs 90,000 crore.

According to our estimates, the food subsidy will increase from Rs 80,000 crore (in 2012-13) to Rs 1,11,221 crore, under the NFSB.

Thus, the NFSB implies an increase of just over Rs 30,000 crores in financial terms and 4 million tonnes in real (grain) terms.

Can India afford this? Speaking at a panel discussion at IIT Delhi in February, Deputy Chairperson of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, said “it would be dishonest” to say that we cannot afford the Food Bill, and that the subsidies that we need to target are those enjoyed by the middle classes (e.g., fuel).

Speaking at the same discussion, Amartya Sen made a pertinent point — that the reason why it is more difficult to reduce subsidies enjoyed by the middle classes (fuels such as LPG, petrol and diesel) is that the beneficiaries of those are more vocal than the rural poor or children under six who benefit from the food subsidies.

DOUBLE STANDARDS

This point is well illustrated by the events following last year's Budget. The Budget 2012-13 announced a 1 per cent excise duty on unbranded jewellery and doubled custom duty on gold to 4 per cent. Gold is the country's second biggest import, after crude oil. This burden on the current account deficit was an important reason for doubling the customs duty.

Following this, the All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation and others initiated a strike which went on for 21 days. They argued that the industry, including the “large” number of people it employs, and buyers of gold, would suffer. A massive media campaign was launched, following which the Finance Minister withdrew the excise duty.

According to the revenue foregone statement presented along with the Budget 2013-14, the revenue foregone from the gold and diamond industry for the previous financial year was Rs. 65,000 crore.

Such tax breaks are often justified on the grounds of the employment potential of the gems and jewellery industry. According to Invest India, a website of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, “The sector provides employment to around 1.8 million people. In the next five years, the sector is expected to create additional employment for around 1.1 million people.”

According to the National Sample Survey Organisation, 2009-10, the size of the Indian workforce is between 430-471 million persons. If the gems and jewellery industry employs 3 million people as per the Ministry's target, this would be 0.7 per cent of the workforce.

An industry that employs less than one per cent of the Indian workforce is currently enjoying tax benefits amounting to Rs 65,000 crore (nearly 20 per cent of all revenue foregone). The Food Bill will benefit 67 per cent of the population at an additional cost of Rs 30,000 crore, yet it is said that it will “torpedo” the Budget.

NOT ENOUGH

If anything, the NFSB does not go far enough. The NFSB tabled in Parliament in December 2011 included special provisions for the destitute and other vulnerable groups (e.g., community kitchens and social security pensions).

These have been discarded in the version cleared by Cabinet on March 19, 2013. In many rural areas, the Block is already too far to go to complain, yet for violations of rights under the NFSB, grievance redressal only begins at the District level.

Viewed in this comparative perspective (for example, it is approximately 1 per cent of the GDP), few can question the affordability or desirability of the NFSB. In absolute terms it is not a small amount. One might argue whether such expenditure is worth it, given the “fact” that the programmes in its ambit, for example, the PDS, are “dysfunctional” (Indian Express, March 19, 2013).

However, recent data from the National Sample Survey of 2004-05 and 2009-10 suggest that while the functioning of the PDS is far from perfect, we do need to update our “facts”. In joint research with Jean Drèze, we show that the implicit subsidy from the PDS eliminates 18 per cent (14 per cent) of the “poverty gap” — or the difference between the poverty line level of income and the median income (or monthly per capita consumption expenditure) of poor households — among poor rural (urban) households.

Again, there are marked inter-State contrasts — in Tamil Nadu the corresponding figure is 60 per cent and in Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh it is nearly 40 per cent.

The real question then is not whether India can afford to have a right to food but as the Food Minister said in a recent interview, “Can we afford not to?”

(The author teaches economics at IIT, Delhi.)

3256 -

Subject: KARNATAKA ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS

Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2013 10:35:53 +0530

MOST URGENT

By E-mail including to the media

Maj Gen S.G.Vombatkere (Retd)                                                                        475, 7th Main Road

                                                                                                                         Vijayanagar 1st Stage

E-mail:<sg9kere@live.com>                                                                          Mysore-570017

Tel:0821-2515187                                                                                             April 19, 2013

To

Chief Election Commissioner <feedbackeci@gmail.com>

Election Commission of India

Nirvachan Sadan

Ashoka Road

New Delhi-110001

Subject: USE OF AADHAAR CARD FOR VOTING IN THE FORTHCOMING MAY 2013 KARNATAKA ASSEMBLY ELECTIONS

Sirs,

1. According to media reports concerning the forthcoming elections in Karnataka, voters who do not present their Elector's Photo Identity Card (EPIC) at Polling Booths, may use their Aadhaar card as identification for casting their votes. This is apparently a change in policy at the level of the Election Commission of India (ECI).

2. The ECI are requested to note that the instructions printed on the Aadhaar card read as follows:

# Aadhaar is proof of identity, not of citizenship. # To establish identity, authenticate on-line.

3. These instructions read together, indicate that the Aadhaar card bearer's identity can only be established when it is authenticated on-line by verification of the biometric parameters of fingerprints and iris scans from UIDAI's records. Therefore, for this purpose, the ECI would need to arrange for and ensure operation of fingerprint detection and iris scan devices connected on-line to UIDAI's Central ID Data Repository at every polling booth (with standby power supply), for on-line authentication of identity of voters who do not possess the EPIC.

4. If however the Aadhaar card is proposed to be accepted at the polling booth as identification without on-line authentication, then the ECI may consider accepting other documents like Ration Card, Passport or Motor Vehicle Driving Licence, all of which contain as much information as an Aadhaar card, for a Polling Booth Officer to identify the voter. Notwithstanding, the use of Aadhaar card without on-line authentication of identity at polling booths would be misuse of the Aadhaar system and perversion of the election process, since Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship, as stated on the Aadhaar card itself.

5. The ECI are requested to note that waiver of the necessity for EPIC for voting in the May 2013 Karnataka Assembly elections may result in similar waiver being demanded for other elections in the future, thus effectively making the EPIC itself redundant.

6. In view of the foregoing, the ECI are urgently requested to make public announcement to state whether or not facilities for Aadhaar on-line authentication will be provided at polling booths for the May 2013 Karnataka Assembly elections.

Yours faithfully,

Maj Gen S.G.Vombatkere (Retd)

Copy to:

The Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka <feedbackceokar@gmail.com>

Nirvachana Nilaya, Maharani's College Circle <ceo.karnataka@gmail.com>

Seshadri Road

Bangalore-560001

3255 - Biometric attendance in all govt colleges

Biometric attendance in all govt colleges

Bangalore, Ramzauva Chhakchhuak, April 15, 2013, DHNS:

The biometric face recognition system that was put in place as a pilot project in five government first grade colleges in Bangalore in February to ensure better accountability of lecturers’ attendance, will be extended to all the 360-odd government degree colleges in the State from the next academic year, despite opposition from lecturers.

“Face recognition while signing in attendance has reduced the possibility of proxy. The system has been introduced in 10 to 15 colleges in Mysore, Mangalore and Kodagu,” said Channappa Gowda, commissioner, Department of Collegiate Education (DCE). The DCE tied up with Ipomo, a Bangalore-based company that specialises mainly in mobile learning and introduced the system on a pilot basis between February 25 and March 25 in  Maharani’s Arts College, Maharani’s Science College, Government Arts College, Government Science College and VHD Home Science College in Bangalore. Following good reviews from principals of these colleges about the system, the department has decided to extend it to colleges across the State. 

The system is already in place in 16 colleges in Bangalore in addition to a few in remote areas such as Manki, Honnavar, and Somwarpet, according to the founder and managing director, Ipomo, Hari Prakash Shanbhog.     

A senior official from DCE told Deccan Herald that several colleges had come forward to adopt the system as they cannot ‘control’ their lecturers. Principals highlighted how lecturers would stay in the colleges only for a few hours and leave as soon their classes are over. According to the rules, they should be present in the colleges for at least seven hours a day and for four hours on Saturdays.   

Lecturers unhappy

However, lecturers deny these allegations terming them as ‘totally false.’ Although they are not against the system, they oppose the new move as it is an act of ‘intimidation’ and ‘punishment.’ 

“Lecturers are involved in a number of activities related to the college even after class hours. It is not as if we just run away from the premises. This measure has shaken the confidence and the trust between teachers and the principals,” said a lecturer from one of the five colleges where the system was introduced as a pilot project. 

“The system has been imposed upon us even without any consultation. It is bound to become a weapon to irritate teachers by the authorities. How can the goal of academic progress be achieved by such a measure?” the lecturer questioned.   

 H Prakash, president, Karnataka Government College Doctorate Teachers’ Association said: “A number of colleges do not have basic facilities such as toilets and drinking water. In some colleges, classes are conducted in primary school buildings. No one is against the new system. However, more urgent concerns need to addressed first,” he said.      

How the system works

Any android-based mobile phone with a camera is customised to record data such as the time of entry and exit through an application uploaded in it. 

Every lecturer gets an unique identity which he/she has to compulsorily enter in the device while entering and exiting the college premises. The device does a face recognition every time the unique identity is entered. The device then collects and consolidates the data, which can be accessed by the DCE. “We have used android-based mobile phone with a sim card. Any mobile phone network can be used and, it is much cheaper than having computers, LAN and internet connections,” said Hari Prakash Shanbhog. 

3254 - Modi poser on cash transfer plan

Modi poser on cash transfer plan

- Deputy CM raises doubts about feasibility of implementing scheme

PIYUSH KUMAR TRIPATHI

On a rough pitch

The fate of the UPA government’s much-vaunted direct cash transfer (DCT) scheme is under a cloud in Bihar.

In a tête-à-tête with The Telegraph sometime earlier, deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi said the scheme would not roll out in the state within the stipulated time. He didn’t stop there: Modi went a step ahead to state that its implementation itself wasn’t feasible.

“The ongoing process of biometric registration of around 10 crore residents in Bihar under the National Population Register (NPR) for issuance of Aadhaar numbers can take two to three years for entire coverage of the state. Even if the targeted 10 crore people are registered under NPR and an Aadhaar number is allotted to them, then also the reach of banks in the rural areas is not sufficient to open accounts of all the beneficiaries,” Modi said.

Union finance minister P. Chidambaram, in his budget speech, pledged to the nation that the DCT scheme would be rolled out throughout the country during the term of the UPA government. The next general elections are due in the first half of 2014.

Challenging the feasibility of the scheme in Bihar, Modi said: “Even if we consider a situation wherein all residents registered under NPR for Aadhaar number have bank accounts, then also the beneficiaries should be able to operate and withdraw money. The UPA government claims that this would be addressed through the business correspondent model of banking. However, I must inform here that many banks are expressing difficulties in working on this model in Bihar due to lack of accessibility and inability to set up branches at remote places owing to numerous local issues.”

A business correspondent is a person authorised by banks to open no-frills accounts — which do not require the holder to maintain a minimum balance — by visiting villages. He is also supposed to accept deposits of limited value from account holders and make payments against cheques or withdrawal forms to account holders, that too of a limited amount.

The presence of business correspondents would increase the penetration of banking services in rural areas.

Modi said that it was owing to such complexities in the banking-based schemes that the Bihar government had come up with the idea to set up camps in rural areas and directly hand over cash to the beneficiaries. “Such a system is already in place for implementation of schemes, including those for cycle and school uniform, among others,” he said.

The deputy chief minister said he wasn’t against the idea of an Aadhaar-based DCT scheme, but pointed out that it was time-taking and has limited reach in states like Bihar. “Thus, the UPA would not be able to make any electoral gains from this scheme in the upcoming general elections,” he added.

The Aadhaar-based DCT scheme is aimed at making direct transfer of cash to bank accounts of beneficiaries, bypassing middlemen and other bottlenecks.

People in Bihar would get the Aadhaar number — a 12-digit individual identification number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India — by getting registered in the NPR. The biometric registration phase for NPR was launched in Bihar on February 20.

The biometric registration is being done by the directorate of census operations, Bihar, in association with the state government. The first phase of registration comprises urban areas in 13 districts — Patna, Arwal, Nalanda, Gopalganj, Rohtas, Vaishali, Sheohar, West Champaran, Darbhanga, Saharsa, Kishanganj, Katihar and Sheikhpura.

“The first phase has to be covered within three months and we have set the target to cover the entire state by December. However, the progress till date has not been satisfactory due to various reasons. It seems doubtful that a complete rollout of NPR would be possible by the end of this year,” said a senior official of the directorate.

The NPR project comprises three steps: collection of demographic data, collection of biometric data and issue of Aadhaar numbers.

The first stage of collection of biometric data started in Bihar with the process of house-listing and enrolment for NPR carried out between May 15 and June 28, 2010. Those enrolled were issued an acknowledgement slip for NPR, which is to be shown by the residents when going for biometric registration.

3253 - DBT makes slow progress in funds transfer to Aaddhaar-seeded A/Cs

DBT makes slow progress in funds transfer to Aaddhaar- seeded A/Cs

The government had estimated that about 1.6 million beneficiaries would be covered under the phase-I

Facing teething problems, the UPA government’s flagship Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) scheme could transfer just Rs 1,285 to an Aadhaar seeded account on an average in the first three-and-a-half months of its launch in the beginning of the current calendar year. The scheme has seen only 3.5 crore transactions so far.  

The government estimated that about 1.6 million beneficiaries would be covered under the phase-I of the scheme rolled out in 43 districts. Of these about 1.3 million beneficiaries have been identified by banks, but only 5,50,000 of them have reported their Aadhaar numbers to banks.

In total, the scheme transferred only Rs 45 crore to Aadhaar seeded accounts of beneficiaries.

A finance ministry official, however, clarified transactions worth Rs 45 crore carried out by banks in the last three-and-a-half months were only towards Aadhaar-enabled accounts and that the total amount transferred by the Central government ministries to various beneficiaries was much higher.

“The data for non-Aadhaar-linked accounts has not been captured. As more accounts are seeded with Aadhaar number, the figure would go up,” said an official.

He added though Unique Identification Authority of India claimed that in most of these districts Aadhaar penetration was more than 80 per cent, the fact is that 80 per cent of bank accounts were not seeded with Aadhaar in January. However, there has been an improvement since then.

About 2,000 beneficiaries were transferred an amount of Rs 35 lakh on the first day of the launch of DBT scheme. That worked out to an average transfer of Rs 1,750 per beneficiary.

The scheme, which replaces various kinds of subsidies with direct cash transfers to the accounts of beneficiaries, will be extended to 78 more districts and three more schemes in July. This will take the scheme to 121 districts covering 29 schemes in about next three

months.

DBT of LPG subsidy would also be rolled out in 20 districts from May 15. By October, it will be transferred through DBT in the whole country. Oil companies have prepared a database of 140 million people with LPG connections and a bank account. The government is planning to

give advance subsidy to the beneficiaries so that they don’t have to shell out anything from their own pocket.

“The fear is that if the beneficiary has to give it from his pocket while buying cooking gas at the market price he may not see any benefit in it. Before DBT, they were already getting subsidised cylinders from the market. So some advance has to be given,” the official explained.

Consumers will get about Rs 4,000 a year in cash from the government, which will be used to buy LPG at market price of Rs 901.50 per 14.2-kg cylinder. At present, each consumer is entitled to nine cylinders at subsidised price of Rs 410.50.

3252 - Aadhaar card voluntary, govt says its must Bill Making It Mandatory Still Pending

Bill Making It Mandatory Still Pending 

Clara Lewis TNN 

Mumbai: Whether you are seeking government subsidy or not, both the Centre and state government are arm twisting citizens into obtaining an Aadhaar card. This, despite the fact that, a Bill making Aadhaar a statutory requirement is still pending before Parliament.

Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan himself has confessed the states inability to provide every resident of Maharashtra a Unique Identification (UID) number or Aadhaar card by December end.We will be able to achieve around 90% to 95%, he said.

V Raghavan (name changed on request),a highlevel executive with a market research firm said he along with his wife have somehow managed to register for an Aadhaar card as he needs to submit it before April-end. Legislators have been raising objections in the ongoing legislative session pointing out that there are not enough centres to register for an Aadhaar card and those who have registered are not informed for as long as three months.But unmindful of the CM himself telling the legislature that it is the Centres directive that unless a district has 80% registration,providing subsidies through Aadhaar cant be undertaken,citizens are being coerced into getting a UID number.

When we informed the school principal that Parliament is yet to pass the Bill she categorically told us where is the harm in obtaining the card.The deadline is July-end, said Maya Nair (name changed).Nairs child studies in an ICSE school in the suburbs.J S Saharia,additional chief secretary,in charge of school education said while no child will be denied admission for not having an Aadhaar card,the department has informed all government and aided schools that teachers salaries will not be paid if every child does not have an Aadhaar card by Mayend.Since we are providing funds we want to know exactly how many children are there in school, he said.

Sources in the oil marketing companies said they are being compelled by the ministry of petroleum and natural gas to fast-track the implementation of Aadhaar.We have sought clarification from the ministry as we have received objections from consumers, said sources.

For the full report,log on to www.timesofindia.com 

DEMANDS RISE 

Submit a photocopy of the Aadhaar card by April-end, or else Provident Fund will not be deposited, corporates are telling their employees Submit a photocopy of Aadhaar card with the local LPG dealer or forego the subsidy Ensure every school child has an Aadhaar card by Mayend or no salary,state tells govt and private aided schools Parents whose wards study in private schools have been told to submit a photocopy of the Aadhaar card by July-end Photocopy of Aadhaar card must for opening a savings a/c

3251 - Why is Aadhaar being shoved down our throats? by R. Jagannathan

Why is Aadhaar being shoved down our throats?

by R Jagannathan Apr 15, 2013

Electoral logic is driving the UPA towards a patent illegality: forcing people to part with sensitive private information such as biometric data or finger-prints without having any law to protect privacy in place.

As things stand, getting yourself an Aadhaar card issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is voluntary; you are not legally bound to part with this information to anyone, leave alone the UIDAI. A report in The Times of India today also flags off privacy concerns and emphasises that citizens are essentially being “coerced” to get themselves an Aadhaar number.

At last count, nearly 320 million Indian residents have been enrolled under Aadhaar – and all of it despite a warning from the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance which wanted the scheme shut down.

Driven by its own electoral compulsions, the Centre is pushing states to make Aadhaar the norm for every kind of entitlement so that it can proceed with its direct cash transfers (DCT) scheme before the next elections. Aadhaar is supposed to provide foolproof identification of subsidy beneficiaries and weed out duplications and bogus entries.

The UPA thinks DCT is a vote-winner and a game-changer. This is why late last year the Congress announced that scheme would cover the whole country by the end of 2013 after starting out with only a few schemes in 51 districts.

To convert Aadhaar into a voter ATM scheme, you need to roll it out really fast, since elections could happen either later this year or in April-May next year. To make sure that cash is given out to people using Aadhaar, you need bank accounts to be linked to this ID number, and also marry it with data from the ministries advocating these schemes.

Finance Minister P Chidambaram has already announced that cooking gas (LPG) subsidy is next on the list for coverage under Aadhaar and direct cash transfers, but the linkage to bank accounts is taking time. Banks, in fact, are not chary of depending too much on Aadhaar, and The Economic Times today reports that if money is transferred on the basis of this identification, anything going wrong should be the UIDAI’s responsibility.

Why this tearing hurry?

Cooking gas subsidy is a big ticket DCT initiative because of the amounts involved: subsidies amount to Rs 430-440 per cylinder at current international crude prices. Since each family is entitled to nine subsidised cylinders a year, a shift to DCT would mean putting nearly Rs 4,000 into the bank accounts of beneficiaries annually.

While the political advantages of giving money to voters in the name of economic efficiency is understandable, the UPA has completely lost sight of one simple thing: there is currently no legislation in place to make the Aadhaar scheme’s collection of private biometric data legal; even though the scheme is being promoted through administrative fiat, the fact that so much personal data will be obtained using private agents is giving privacy advocates sleepless nights.

In fact, there is a good reason to stop Aadhaar in its tracks—it is already supposed to have covered 320 million residents—before the project is put on a legal footing. Reason: there is simply no protection if your biometric data falls in the wrong hands and your ID has been commandeered by someone else.

A public interest litigation in the Supreme Court has challenged the constitutional validity of the UIDAI headed by former Infosys scion Nandan Nilekani. As Firstpost reported earlier, the petition alleges that “There is no regulatory mechanism to ensure that the data collected is not tampered with or remains secure. When there is no legislation, there is no offence in parting with this information. And when there is no offence, there can be security issues.”

Ankit Goel, one of the lawyers for the PIL, has gone on record to say that “the state is asking for biometrics of an individual. The mere asking of biometric data is encroaching into someone’s privacy. It is tantamount to phone tapping. Whereas in phone tapping there is legislation, there is no legislation here… In the absence of a law passed by Parliament there can’t be any collection of private information. This is against the law laid down by the Supreme Court.”

The parliamentary standing committee on finance headed by Yashwant Sinha, which looked at the National Identification Authority Bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha, also came to the same conclusion: “Despite the presence of serious differences of opinion within the government on the UID scheme…the scheme continues to be implemented in an overbearing manner without regard to legalities and other social consequences.”

The committee rejected the bill, and Mint last December quoted Gurudas Dasgupta, MP, as saying that there was no need for it: “We found that the project is not necessary as there are many other ways of identification such as BPL (below the poverty line) card, voter identification card, etc. There is no merit in the project, it is just a wastage of government money.”

The point is this: isn’t it downright irresponsible for the UPA government to ask citizens to share vital personal information when there is such little political support for it and when there is no guarantee of how the information will be protected?

3250 - Kerala makes Aadhar card mandatory for RTE admissions

Kerala makes Aadhar card mandatory for RTE admissions

by Dolashree Mysoor posted on April 14, 2013

The Kerala government has made Aadhar cards for RTE admissions mandatory, participation in events and application for scholarship under the Kerala RTE Rules (read more). The government has decided to distribute benefits to children from disadvantaged groups on the basis of a unique identification number. The Kerala State Information Technology Mission (KSITM), along with IT@schools is organizing camps to ensure that ll students obtain Aadhar cards.

As per the Kerala RTE Rules, it is mandatory for every local authority to ensure that an Aadhar card is distributed to every child in order to maintain records. These records must be maintained transparently and must be made available in the public domain. Children’s enrollment, attendance, learning assessment, and transition must be tracked within this system. Schools are also under an obligation to maintain records of unique identification number and other biometric information of all children. In fact, such records also have an impact on the grant of recognition to schools.

It is worth asking the question – will admission be denied to children from disadvantaged backgrounds for the want of a unique identification number? When the state has a duty to ensure completion of elementary education of every child, can the state deny admissions to children who do not possess an Aadhar card?  It is also noteworthy that the rules do not mention the Aadhar Card as a document for securing admission to schools. In case a child does not have a birth certificate, the Rules allow the local authorities to consider Hospital/Anganwadi/Mid-Wife/ Auxiliary Nurse register records or an affidavit from the parents.

3249 - ‘Aadhaar-based scheme can reduce corruption in PDS’

‘Aadhaar-based scheme can reduce corruption in PDS’

Politicians opposing the scheme for this reason, claims MGP founder

Social activist and founder of the Mysore Grahakara Parishat (MGP) Bhamy V. Shenoy said that the Union government’s Aadhaar-based Direct Benefit Transfer scheme would help reduce corruption in the public distribution system

In a release, he said that kerosene distributed through PDS was one of the largest generators of black money in the country. He has quantified it at Rs. 25,000 crore a year. “This amount plays a crucial role during elections and is also the main reason for the lack of reforms in the public distribution system,” he claimed.

More for less

“While the market price for kerosene is around Rs. 44 a litre, the subsidised price is around Rs. 15 a litre in Delhi. However, in Mysore for the 6-litre quota, the poor must shell out Rs. 105. It is unclear why they must pay Rs. 15 more. There were also complaints from consumers that the actual quantity they received was only 5 litres,” Dr. Shenoy said.

MGP was founded in 1989 to find solutions to consumers’ woes.

It had developed a coupon system which was first introduced in K.R. Nagar and later implemented in other parts of Karnataka. However, because of the pressure brought by the kerosene dealers, the State government dropped the coupon system, he said.

‘Up in arms’

Dr. Shenoy said the direct benefit transfer scheme had already resulted in considerable savings; but politicians are up in arms against Aadhaar, and one Parliamentary Committee has already opposed it. He said it was true that there have been umpteen problems in issuing Aadhaar cards.

There are also some technical glitches in using the biometric data associated with the system. Still, considering the benefits that Aadhaar aims to provide, people should be willing to put up with some of these problems.

Game-changer

“Anyone opposing Aadhaar is likely to change their views if they look at the benefits it can give to the poor. Aadhaar will deal with any problems in securing goods under PDS and can be successfully used to reduce the misuse of funds under MNREGA and other schemes for the poor. The direct benefit transfer system will be a game-changer. It will reduce corruption in PDS. It is for this reason that politicians will oppose any such cash transfer policy,” Dr. Shenoy alleged.

He added that the problems posed by PDS would be ameliorated once the Aadhaar-based system was in place.

Keywords: Aadhaar-based scheme, PDS, Mysore Grahakara Parishat, Direct Benefit Transfer scheme, corruption