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, September 13, 2013

4596 - India: creating a unique identity - Public Finance International

India: creating a unique identity
Guru Malladi | 10 September 2013

EY’s Guru Malladi reports on the Indian Government's project to set up an online database of personal biometric identities for nearly a billion people.

- See more at: http://www.publicfinanceinternational.org/features/2013/09/india-creating-a-unique-identity/#sthash.rk3i7v2o.dpuf

A revolution in is under way. A unique identification number is set to be given to India’s 1.2 billion residents, something that has never before been attempted anywhere in the world. Audacious, transformational and necessary — it ticks all the boxes. 

The lack of an official ID prevents individuals from accessing basic services such as opening a bank account and also means there is a lack of accountability and transparency in the delivery of social security benefits which, in turn, encourages corruption. To address these challenges, Indian policy-makers decided to create an online ID platform, overseen by a new body, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). The technology designed by UIDAI is underpinned by the latest biometric, cloud computing, encryption and search capabilities to ensure that every resident is issued a unique ID, and no resident receives more than one official identification. 

Such a task involves capturing 12 billion fingerprints, 2.4 billion iris scans and 1.2 billion photographs in a database, as well as checking the resident’s number against every other record to ensure the uniqueness of the ID. All this is being achieved with vendor-neutral technology that ensures the Indian Government is not locked in to any one particular hardware or software. 

On 29 September, 2010, Rajana Sonawane, from Tembhli village in the Indian State of Maharashtra, was issued the first 12-digit unique ID by the Indian Prime Minister. This set of numbers will serve as her identity throughout her life. Since then, UIDAI has scaled up its operations and is now issuing a million unique ID numbers every day. Its biometric database is now the largest in the world, having long since overtaken its counterpart in the US, which has only 120 million records for visa applications. As of June 2013, 364 million Indian residents have been issued with their 12-digit number and it is expected that more than 600 million will be issued by 2014. A large percentage of Indian residents will therefore leapfrog from a world of no identity to one where their identities can be validated anytime, anywhere in just a few seconds.

The 12-digit unique ID, or Aadhaar (which means foundation in Hindi), brings with it the promise of economic and social transformation. UIDAI has created digital platforms that authorize payments for a resident using a cell phone, smart phone, tablet or any other device linked to the internet, as well as systems that enable the transfer of money directly into an Aadhaar linked bank account. Pilot projects are also under way, whereAadhaar is being used by banks to deploy low cost micro-ATMs in villages that leverage fingerprint authentication to authorize banking transactions. 

In some Indian states, Aadhaar authentication is being used to deploy subsidized food grains and cooking gas. In 2012, the Indian Government also announced a Direct Benefits Transfer Program, in which various welfare benefits (scholarships, pensions, health care payments, and cooking fuel subsidies) are transferred to an Aadhaar-linked bank account, thereby boosting financial inclusion and eliminating a long trail of intermediaries. Additionally, telecom operators have also started using online Aadhaar authentication when providing new mobile connections and Indian agencies are increasingly recognizing Aadhaar as a proof of identity for multiple services, including passports, voting and train travel.

But it’s not just the government agencies that are expected to leverage Aadhaar to overhaul their delivery processes and systems. The private sector is also keen on adopting Aadhaar for advanced applications that include an individual’s credit rating, electronic medical history and education records. The platform approach and interfaces made available by UIDAI allows entrepreneurs and software providers to develop new and innovative applications in sectors such as health, education, employment and agriculture.

With UIDAI as the focal point and responsible for the ID platform, there is a thriving ecosystem of players — logistics partners, consulting firms, biometric service providers, device vendors, software solution providers — which are working alongside UIDAI to streamline service delivery by using a more datadriven and electronic approach.

EY India is proud to be working with the Indian Government and UIDAI to provide consulting services for setting up the central ID infrastructure, and on other critical projects which support the day-to-day operations at UIDAI. The biggest reward for EY, however, will come when the ID program and Aadhaar applications allows many more Indian citizens to join the mainstream population on the country’s journey of economic and social growth. 
So next time if you are in India and see a person pay their cab fare with the tap of a finger, don’t be too surprised!  

This feature was originally published in Dynamics  EY's international development magazine, in August 2013
- See more at: http://www.publicfinanceinternational.org/features/2013/09/india-creating-a-unique-identity/#sthash.rk3i7v2o.dpuf
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