AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 3264 - Link Aadhaar number with bank account or lose LPG subsidy

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

Friday, April 26, 2013

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.