In 2009, I became extremely concerned with the concept of Unique Identity for various reasons. Connected with many like minded highly educated people who were all concerned.
On 18th May 2010, I started this Blog to capture anything and everything I came across on the topic. This blog with its million hits is a testament to my concerns about loss of privacy and fear of the ID being misused and possible Criminal activities it could lead to.
In 2017 the Supreme Court of India gave its verdict after one of the longest hearings on any issue. I did my bit and appealed to the Supreme Court Judges too through an On Line Petition.
In 2019 the Aadhaar Legislation has been revised and passed by the two houses of the Parliament of India making it Legal. I am no Legal Eagle so my Opinion carries no weight except with people opposed to the very concept.
In 2019, this Blog now just captures on a Daily Basis list of Articles Published on anything to do with Aadhaar as obtained from Daily Google Searches and nothing more. Cannot burn the midnight candle any longer.
"In Matters of Conscience, the Law of Majority has no place"- Mahatma Gandhi
Ram Krishnaswamy
Sydney, Australia.

Aadhaar

The UIDAI has taken two successive governments in India and the entire world for a ride. It identifies nothing. It is not unique. The entire UID data has never been verified and audited. The UID cannot be used for governance, financial databases or anything. It’s use is the biggest threat to national security since independence. – Anupam Saraph 2018

When I opposed Aadhaar in 2010 , I was called a BJP stooge. In 2016 I am still opposing Aadhaar for the same reasons and I am told I am a Congress die hard. No one wants to see why I oppose Aadhaar as it is too difficult. Plus Aadhaar is FREE so why not get one ? Ram Krishnaswamy

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.-Mahatma Gandhi

In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place.Mahatma Gandhi

“The invasion of privacy is of no consequence because privacy is not a fundamental right and has no meaning under Article 21. The right to privacy is not a guaranteed under the constitution, because privacy is not a fundamental right.” Article 21 of the Indian constitution refers to the right to life and liberty -Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi

“There is merit in the complaints. You are unwittingly allowing snooping, harassment and commercial exploitation. The information about an individual obtained by the UIDAI while issuing an Aadhaar card shall not be used for any other purpose, save as above, except as may be directed by a court for the purpose of criminal investigation.”-A three judge bench headed by Justice J Chelameswar said in an interim order.

Legal scholar Usha Ramanathan describes UID as an inverse of sunshine laws like the Right to Information. While the RTI makes the state transparent to the citizen, the UID does the inverse: it makes the citizen transparent to the state, she says.

Good idea gone bad
I have written earlier that UID/Aadhaar was a poorly designed, unreliable and expensive solution to the really good idea of providing national identification for over a billion Indians. My petition contends that UID in its current form violates the right to privacy of a citizen, guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. This is because sensitive biometric and demographic information of citizens are with enrolment agencies, registrars and sub-registrars who have no legal liability for any misuse of this data. This petition has opened up the larger discussion on privacy rights for Indians. The current Article 21 interpretation by the Supreme Court was done decades ago, before the advent of internet and today’s technology and all the new privacy challenges that have arisen as a consequence.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MP Rajya Sabha

“What is Aadhaar? There is enormous confusion. That Aadhaar will identify people who are entitled for subsidy. No. Aadhaar doesn’t determine who is eligible and who isn’t,” Jairam Ramesh

But Aadhaar has been mythologised during the previous government by its creators into some technology super force that will transform governance in a miraculous manner. I even read an article recently that compared Aadhaar to some revolution and quoted a 1930s historian, Will Durant.Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Rajya Sabha MP

“I know you will say that it is not mandatory. But, it is compulsorily mandatorily voluntary,” Jairam Ramesh, Rajya Saba April 2017.

August 24, 2017: The nine-judge Constitution Bench rules that right to privacy is “intrinsic to life and liberty”and is inherently protected under the various fundamental freedoms enshrined under Part III of the Indian Constitution

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the World; indeed it's the only thing that ever has"

“Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.” -Edward Snowden

In the Supreme Court, Meenakshi Arora, one of the senior counsel in the case, compared it to living under a general, perpetual, nation-wide criminal warrant.

Had never thought of it that way, but living in the Aadhaar universe is like living in a prison. All of us are treated like criminals with barely any rights or recourse and gatekeepers have absolute power on you and your life.

Announcing the launch of the # BreakAadhaarChainscampaign, culminating with events in multiple cities on 12th Jan. This is the last opportunity to make your voice heard before the Supreme Court hearings start on 17th Jan 2018. In collaboration with @no2uidand@rozi_roti.

UIDAI's security seems to be founded on four time tested pillars of security idiocy

1) Denial

2) Issue fiats and point finger

3) Shoot messenger

4) Bury head in sand.

God Save India

Thursday, October 31, 2013

4905 - Nandan Nilekani hopes 60 crore Aadhar numbers would be issued by 2014 - Economic Times

PTI Oct 29, 2013, 08.04PM IST


(Nandan Nilekani said currently…)
BANGALORE: UIDAI Chairman Nandan Nilekani expressed hope that the target of issuing 60 crore Aadhaar numbers would be met by 2014, saying so far 47 crore people have already received them.


"We have issued 47 crore Aadhaar numbers till date and we will meet the target of 60 crore Aadhar enrolments by 2014," Nilekani told reporters here at an event organised by NASSCOM.

Nilekani said currently the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is issuing three crore Aadhaar numbers every month.

On Aadhaar card case pending before the Supreme Court, Nilekani said the apex court is talking about serious implications in implementation of welfare schemes.

"The court is talking about the service part of the scheme. The fact of the matter is more and more people are having these numbers ... What this does is, it helps people to use this infrastructure and create innovative applications that benefit people," he added.

The Supreme Court on Sept 24 in an interim order had said Aadhaar should not be made mandatory and asked the Centre not to link it to welfare schemes. It also had stated that illegal immigrants should not be issued UID numbers.

Replying to a query, Nilekani said UIDAI have taken all steps to ensure the system is secured and every partner was selected with due process under procurement law.

To another question, he said the next government that believed in progress of the country and giving corrupt-free government would continue with the Aadhaar project.

"This a very progressive project.It is a project of social inclusion; helps make government expenditure more efficient; reduces corruption," he said.
Earlier,NASSCOM Product Council announced the launch of the Aadhaar Diffusion Project, an effort in collaboration with UIDAI to accelerate the development of applications and services that leverage the Aadhaar identity infrastructure.

Talking about the initiative, Nilekani said the goal is to achieve widespread diffusion of Aadhaar platform knowledge across new entrepreneurial ventures and existing software companies to assist and nurture Aadhaar capabilities across a broad-range of software applications and services to benefit residents, government and enterprises.

"We are sure that this initiative with NASSCOM will go a long way to help build an innovative application ecosystem for Aadhaar and deliver widespread benefits to residents of India," he added.

4904 - INTRODUCE AADHAAR BASED ATTENDANCE IN SCHOOLS: CS - Daily Pioneer

Tuesday, 29 October 2013 | PNS | Ranchi | in Ranchi

Chief Secretary R S Sharma on Monday instructed the officials of Human Resource Development department to start Aadhaar based registration in schools. Sharma was holding a review meeting with the officials of the department.

CS said that actual strength of a student in a particular school can be known with the help of Aadhar based attendance system besides proving to be effective in planning child development scheme.  


CS also asked schools to prepare GIS mapping so that the distance between schools and population can be adjusted in a justifiable manner. Sharma emphasized on using the household survey to distribute scholarship and in other welfare schemes.   

4903 - Govt to decide Aadhaar alternatives post SC order Deccan Herald

Annapurna Singh, New Delhi, Oct 28, 2013, DHNS:

If the Supreme Court rules that the unique identification card cannot be made mandatory to avail government services, the Centre may ask for ration cards or voter identity cards as an alternative.

The Petroleum Ministry is mulling over the use of other substitutes such as ration card, voter ID card or driving licence to provide cash subsidy to LPG beneficiaries, but it is still unsure about ways to make them authentic.

“There are several other documents, and ration card may be one,” a senior government official told Deccan Herald but expressed concerns that no other document “can provide the foolproof authenticity” as Aadhaar.


“In case of other documents we will have to find some other supporting document to ascertain cent percent authenticity,” he said.

The Central government has planned to link the Aadhaar card number to all social sector schemes such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act job card, scholarships, pension ID and others. But currently only LPG is largely linked to Aadhaar.

Aadhaar provides a resident a 12-digit unique number after recording bio metric information like fingerprints and iris. Its authenticity is considered close to perfect. The government has planned to use this unique identification card for its cash transfer scheme for various subsidies to ensure the benefits reach the right person.

The Aadhaar platform, which also seeks to eliminate diversions and plug leakages, is already being used for transfer of LPG subsidy in cash to bank accounts of beneficiaries in 97 districts of the country. The government had planned to extend it to almost 265 districts by January 1, 2014.

Direct cash transfer for LPG began on June 1 in 19 districts. The government gave a three-month grace period to enable consumers to get the Aadhaar card and link it with their bank accounts.

After the expiry of this period, according to the government, cash subsidy may be provided only to consumers who had Aadhaar cards.

But the Supreme Court recently issued an order that Aadhaar could not be made mandatory for people to get government services and nobody should be deprived of facilities for want of the card. It also rejected the review petition filed by the government on this issue.

After the court’s order, Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily had said Aadhaar would not be mandatory for availing LPG subsidy till it was cleared by the Supreme Court or through legislative authorisation. However, in those districts where the three-month grace period has lapsed, the consumers are being charged at the open market rate even for their subsidised LPG refills, the official said.

The Supreme Court will hear the argument in Aadhaar case again on Tuesday.

4902 - UIDAI, Nasscom to push Aadhaar app development


Shilpa Phadnis, TNN | Oct 29, 2013, 07.28AM IST

BANGALORE: IT industry body Nasscom and the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) will together launch what they call the 'Aadhaar ecosystem diffusion project' on Tuesday to encourage startups to develop an app economy around the Aadhaar platform.

The initiative will be unveiled by UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani at the Nasscom Product Conclave that begins in Bangalore on Tuesday.


India has over 3,000 companies in the software product space, and some 500 new firms are established every year. The software product revenues from India have doubled to touch $2.2 billion in the 2013 financial year. This product talent can potentially develop powerful new apps.

The Aadhaar ecosystem diffusion project will open up the platform to entrepreneurs to build applications in areas like education, healthcare and payments. Using Aadhaar's cloud-based technology would make delivery of services scalable and effective.

Nilekani had said at an event in Bangalore, "When the US government launched global positioning system (GPS) in the 1990s, it was only for military purposes. It was only in the 2000s that it was made available for commercial purposes and today the GPS economy has become a half-a-billion dollar economy. We are trying to do the same thing with Aadhaar that will provide a new platform for building apps."

The government's direct cash transfer scheme is an instance of how money is credited directly into the beneficiaries' account using Aadhaar as an authentication tool.

UIDAI has launched a pilot for microATMs using the Aadhaar Enabled Payments System (AEPS), a payment mechanism that uses online Aadhaar authentication for customer identification. The UIDAI website says that it has already conducted a proof of concept for microATMs in Jharkhand that allow customers to perform basic financial transactions (deposit, withdrawal, funds transfer, balance enquiry and mini statement) using the Aadhaar number and their fingerprint as identity proof (along with a bank identification number for inter-bank transactions).

India's e-commerce market crossed $800 million with 13 million online shoppers last year.

But this is relatively a small base in a country of 1.2 billion people. Many customers are excluded from online transactions as they are unable to verify their identity online.

Aadhaar's verifiable identity and its payment platform could help millions of people board the e-commerce bus and make electronic payments.


Sunday, October 27, 2013

4901 - Need Aadhaar cards, pay more - Deccan herald

Mangalore, Akshatha M, Oct 26, 2013, DHNS:

Cyber cafes located adjacent to Aadhaar centres in the district encashing loopholes in the system

An inordinate delay in delivery of Aadhaar cards and urgency among the people to obtain the cards, has made the citizens unnecessarily shell out extra bucks to get the temporary printouts of their unique identity cards. Though UIDAI started the provision of issuing cards electronically in a bid to help people in a hurry to get the cards, it has not gone down well with people.

With a large number of Aadhaar cards not despatched for months and years due to the delay in printing and obstacles in postal system, majority of not so tech-savy residents in Dakshina Kannada district, who approach Aadhaar enrolment centres enquiring about the card, are directed by the centre’s staff to visit the cyber cafes located nearby and obtain the temporary card by paying Rs 50.

This has made the citizens, who are already in a state of confusion over the status of Aadhaar, to wonder why they have to shell out money to get the card, when they are supposed to get it for free.


It could be noted that a few states have made arrangements to provide temporary Aadhaar card printouts to the people, through the gas agencies at a nominal cost of Rs 5 or 10. In fact, the government run website, apna.csc.gov.in, has declared that print of Aadhaar cards is available through the Common Service Centres (CSCs) and they are made available in three formats including black and white or colour print at Rs 10, depending on the infrastructure available at the CSC.

With no such arrangements made in the district, people who are in a hurry to get the card to avail government services, blindly rush to the cyber centres to get the coloured printout with lamination.

Cyber cafes located adjacent to the Aadhaar enrolment centres are encashing this loophole in the system, and are involved in the business of getting the printouts of the card done for the needy.

Long wait

Retired medical professor based in Mangalore, Dr A M Bhat said that he had enrolled for Aadhaar in December 2012, but he has not received the card yet.

“Recently, I visited Aadhaar enrolment centre at Aadhaar enrolment centre in Mallikatta enquiring about the delay in receiving the card. A staff in the centre pointed at a cyber cafe adjacent to the enrolment centre, asking me to get the Aadhaar card printed and laminated by paying Rs 50,” he told Deccan Herald.

The professor alleged that the staff in enrolment centres were misguiding people to get the colour printout with lamination by paying the amount in the cyber centre. “When we are going to get the original card sometime in future, why are we supposed to pay the amount for a temporary card,” he asked.

Unplanned system

City based Nagarika Hithrakshana Samithi President Hanumanth Kamath alleged that people are misguided and looted in the name of Aadhaar. There might be a nexus between the staff of Aadhaar enrolment centres and the cyber cafes, he suspected.

Kamath also demanded the State government to make provision in Aadhaar centres or common service centres to issue temporary cards to people in case of emergency, at minimum price.

However, Additional Deputy Commissioner K Dayanand clarified that no such arrangement was made in the district and people will have to either wait for the original card or get the printout done outside.

4900 - 'State can save 1k cr if Aadhaar used for DBT' - TNN


Sonali Das, TNN Oct 25, 2013, 12.45PM IST 

Jharkhand chief secretary RS Sharma, who was formerly the director general of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), speaks to TOI's Sonali Das on the 12-digit individual identification number and its use for direct benefit transfer to beneficiaries.

What is Aadhaar?
Aadhaar is a 12-digit individual identification number issued by the UIDAI that serves as a proof of identity and address anywhere in the country. Any individual, irrespective of age and gender, who is a resident of India and satisfies the verification process laid down by UIDAI, can enrol for Aadhaar. Each individual needs to enroll only once which is free of cost. Each number will be unique to an individual and will remain valid for life. It will help provide access to banking services, mobile phone connections and other government and non-government services.

Can you outline its objectives?
For many people in India, non-possession of any ID document makes it difficult for them to have access to many services and Aadhaar fills this gap. The objective of Aadhaar is to create an identity platform which is inclusive, improves governance and service delivery and provides access to formal systems of service delivery.

The government has decided to use Aadhaar in direct benefit transfers to beneficiaries. Why?
Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) refers to a situation where the benefit is transferred to beneficiaries' account using Aadhaar as financial address. One can use Aadhaar to open a bank account and as the address to transfer money. It ensures that the money goes into that account only. By using Aadhaar authentication, one can withdraw the money, thus facilitating banking at your door-step. It also ensures that only the depositor can draw the money as it requires his presence and finger-prints at the time of withdrawal.

Last, it provides an end-to-end tracking of the money from the time of crediting into one's account till the withdrawal. One of the least understood and transformational aspects of DBT and Aadhaar-enabled service delivery is the 'portability' that it offers to customers. Portability, which means giving power to the customer to choose the service-provider, changes the power equation and strikes on the very cause of corruption and rent-seeking. Current technology and model does not support it.

But Aadhaar-enabled PDS will be able to ensure this as now your identity and ration eligibility is online! Aadhaar proposes to bring this portability in areas where it was not possible earlier.

Government benefits from this in two ways. First, duplicates and fakes are eliminated cleaning the delivery system. Second, if it is a subsidy domain (like LPG cylinder at subsidized rates), then the dual pricing goes away and there is no scope for diversion of subsidized cylinders to non-subsidized usage.

If Aadhaar is used with DBT, how much in public funds the state government can save and how?
The state is implementing a number of programmes where subsidies/benefits are distributed among people. Some are in kind, like in PDS and agricultural inputs, and others are in cash like social security pensions, scholarships, MNREGA wages, money for Indira Awaas Yojana, among others. Though it will be difficult to provide an exact figure of expenditure, average annual expenditure on these will be Rs 5,000 crore per annum. Even by taking an average of 20%, we save a sum of Rs 1,000 crore, just through elimination of duplicates and fakes.

4899 - Over 90 lakh LPG buyers’ Aadhaar linked to bank A/Cs - Indian Express

Over 90 lakh LPG buyers’ Aadhaar linked to bank A/Cs

ENS Economic Bureau : New Delhi, Sat Oct 26 2013, 02:31 hrs

The government has completed seeding of Aadhaar numbers in bank accounts of 40 per cent of the targeted LPG customers in the first two phases of the exercise.

Finance ministry data indicates that of the 2.23 crore LPG customers identified in the first two phases of the rollout of the direct benefit transfer scheme, Aadhaar numbers of 90.96 lakh such beneficiaries have been seeded in their bank accounts. This means they can get the LPG subsidy directly into their accounts instead of buying the cooking gas cylinders at a subsidised price.
The government has already limited the number of subsidised cooking gas cylinders to each household to nine a year. With the rollout of the DBT (direct benefit transfer) for LPG, customers will get about Rs 4,000 cash every year as subsidy in their bank accounts and will be expected to purchase cooking gas cylinders at market rates.

Petroleum minister Veerappa Moily had, however, recently clarified that the 12-digit Aadhaar number would not be mandatory for the subsidy until the bill for setting up of the Unique Identification Authority was enacted.

In the two-stage process, public sector oil marketing companies upload the cosumers' data in their records with Aadhar numbers which is then linked to bank accounts of the consumers. The data also shows 1.29 crore such beneficiaries have already had their records linked in the database of the companies.

Direct benefit transfer for LPG was rolled out in 18 districts from June 2013 and by October it was introduced in 79 another districts. The government plans to roll out the scheme in another 194 districts by January next year as it tries to reduce its oil subsidy bill.

There are about 14 crore LPG consumers and the government hopes that by directly transferring subsidy payments to their accounts, it will save Rs 8,000 crore to Rs 10,000 crore annualy.

The under recovery on LPG stood at 532.86 per cylinder on October 16. In fact, of the Rs 25,579 crore under recoveries reported by OMCs in the first quarter of the fiscal, the losses on LPG amounted to about a third at Rs 8,518 crore. In 2012-13, under recoveries of OMCs on LPG amounted to Rs 39,558 crore while their total losses stood at Rs 1,61,029 crore.

Saturday, October 26, 2013

4898 - ‘Aadhaar scheme not approved by Parliament’ - The Hindu

NEW DELHI, October 23, 2013


GIRIJA SHIVAKUMAR

The BJP on Tuesday said the Aadhaar scheme of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) did not have Parliament's approval and was rejected by one of the key committees of the House.

“The National Identification Authority of India Bill, 2010, which gives sanction to this particular card was rejected by the standing committee on Finance,” said BJP vice-president Smriti Irani. The programme violated the Constitutional right to privacy, she alleged.

The inclusion of all residents in the Unique Identification number (UID) scheme would threaten the nation's security by giving illegal migrants rights of citizens, she said.

Interestingly, the scheme received praise from surprise quarters with the BJD’s Jay Panda describing it as the “only thing that the UPA government is doing right”.

Mr. Panda admitted to being a great supporter of the scheme and ‘championing’ it nationally as well as internationally.

UIDAI Chairman Nandan Nilekani asserted that the authority would cross the target of generating 60-crore Aadhaar numbers before the deadline of 2014 in the next few months. Mr. Nilekani said 46-crore numbers had been issued so far.

“The key issue lies in meeting the expectations of an increasingly aspirational generation and to understand that aspiration is a non-linear commodity. It cannot be one way or the other; it has to be an integration of bazaar, samaj and sarkar to take India to the next level. Technology will play a key role in this, be it reaching healthcare to the villages or making PDS supplies available to people,” Mr. Nilekani said after delivering a keynote address on “India's journey to 2018” at an event organised by the Eisenhower Foundation.

Responding to criticism of the scheme, he highlighted its importance of reaching entitlements to the people. The government believed in inclusion and a large number of Indians did not have a valid identification.

“We believe in inclusion. Fundamentally, we need to shift to higher gear ... We have huge demand from all across the society for Aadhaar numbers. We have to make sure that the delivery model is more equitable and efficient,” he said.

4897 - Trying times for parliamentary system


Trying times for parliamentary system

GURUDAS DAS GUPTA

The legislature is bypassed; interruptions are on the rise; answers to questions are unsatisfactory; and the political standards of members have deteriorated.

Article 75 (3) of the Constitution provides that “the Council of Ministers shall be collectively responsible to the House of People.” This provision is the cornerstone of one of the most important functions of the Union Legislature, namely, legislative oversight of executive functioning. The Constitution, by making this provision, has empowered the legislature, the House of People, to hold the executive accountable for its acts of omission and commission, to monitor the actions of the executive with a view to ensuring that they are being carried out effectively and according to the legislative intent, in the main to ensure economic empowerment of the common people, and also to establish norms for participative democracy.

RULES OF PROCEDURE

There are provisions in the rules of procedure and conditions of business in the Lok Sabha that empower members to ask a Minister questions on all aspects of the functioning of the Ministry under him; give notice of an adjournment motion on a matter of urgent public importance of recent occurrence involving responsibility of the Government of India; or give notice of (a) resolutions (b) motions (c) short-duration discussions and (d) calling attention to discuss matters pertaining to executive functioning.

Besides, there are other parliamentary devices under which rules matters may be brought to the notice of the government by members demanding action. Then there are parliamentary committees which examine bills referred to them and scrutinise the demand for grants of all ministeries/departments.

All this would appear to paint a rosy picture that the principle of executive responsibility towards Parliament, enshrined in the Constitution, is a reality. But, unfortunately, the actuality is far from reality.

The fair play of the functioning of Parliament can be ensured only if the government willingly subjects itself to legislative scrutiny. Also, members must be proactively vigilant and must utilise all opportunities to bring the government to book whenever and wherever it is found to be wanting. But unfortunately, neither the government nor the members discharge their duties in the manner they are called upon to do.

LAMENTABLE

Most lamentably, the parliamentary system in the country is on the decline not only at the Centre but also in the States. Parliament is bypassed. Parliamentary scrutiny is avoided. The duration of the sessions is on the decline. Interruptions are on the rise. Answers to questions are unsatisfactory and incomplete. It is easier to extract full and fair information through the Right to Information Act than by raising questions in Parliament. Even a short-duration discussion or calling attention motion does not yield results.

On important executive decisions, Parliament’s sanction is not needed. The UPA government implemented the Aadhaar card but it does not enjoy any legislative sanction. A few years ago, a unanimous resolution was passed in the Lok Sabha calling upon the government to take effective measures to contain price rise. It did not implement the resolution. The members also could not haul up the executive for the failure. While Parliament is ignored by the government, members are not vigilant enough to enforce their rights.

Parliamentary oversight of the budgetary process has immensely weakened, leading to the executive wielding disproportionate power and acquiring clout over the process. There is no pre-budget scrutiny as in the U.S. Congress. Supplementary demands for grants are not referred to the Standing Committees. Nor are their recommendations binding on the government — they are merely an academic exercise. The demand for grants by most of the Ministries is guillotined without any discussion. The time allotted for a discussion on the Finance Bill and demands for grants is not adequate. Even after the budget is passed, the government is authorised to withdraw money from the Consolidated Fund of India, the allocation is changed, reduced, even withheld. In the current year, the government pruned the budget expenditure by at least Rs. 50,000 crore in the name of fiscal discipline, in violation of parliamentary mandate.

The jugglery of statistics in parliamentary papers is bewildering. More is covered up than what is on paper. While presenting a budget, the government gives a figure known as budgetary estimate for all departments. In the middle of the year, it is changed to revised estimates. It may be less or more than the budgetary estimate. Only at the close of the financial year, would we come to know what the actual expenditure is but there is hardly any scrutiny of the actual spending. There is wide variation among the three figures and they are manipulated by the executive to suit its political convenience, in disregard for the interests of the marginalised sections.

NO DISCUSSION

The political standard of the members has declined miserably; apathy towards parliamentary discussion is palpable. While members of the British Parliament forced the government to change its policy on Syria, in India there is no such parliamentary device to force our government to change its policies. Strategic policies are not discussed. The resource policy of the country, the mineral policy, the power policy, nothing is ever discussed. It is the executive that decides.

There are members who have not spoken even once in the House. Seventy six out of 543 members of the Lok Sabha have court cases pending against them. About 58 per cent of the Lok Sabha members are crorepatis. A large number of persons who have entered Parliament have not been political activists at all. We see more and more of the propertied class, businessmen and former bureaucrats entering Parliament. Parliamentarianism is looked upon more as a profession, unrelated to the discharge of a patriotic duty.

If the Indian parliamentary system is weakened, the political system will be in jeopardy. In South Asia, only the Indian democracy is a little deep-rooted. But if the decline of the parliamentary system continues unabated, if the executive becomes reckless, if public opinion is ignored, if fruitful democracy and participatory system are lamentably overpowered, the country will be in peril. Let the country take note of the impending disaster and look for the remedy.

(The writer is Member of Parliament.)


Keywords: Indian democracy, Parliamentray system, bicameral legislature, legislative sanction

4896 - BJP attacks Aadhar scheme for not having Parliament sanction - DNA


Tuesday, Oct 22, 2013, 16:29 IST | Agency: PTI

The UIDAI, which has run into controversies recently, came under fresh attack with the BJP alleging that the Aadhar card issued by it to citizens as a unique identification does not have Parliament's approval and has been rejected by one of the key committees of the House.
"The reality is that the National Identification Authority of India Bill, 2010, which gives sanction to this particular card was rejected by the standing committee on Finance," BJP Vice President Smriti Irani said, alleging that the programme violates the constitutional right to privacy.
She was speaking at a programme on Aadhar here. "The reality is striking for me as an Indian that a concept which does not have the sanction of Parliament today is collecting bio-metric data which violates the constitutional right to privacy," she said.
BJP has questioned the Aadhar scheme and argued that it should not be given to those who do not have bona fide papers and citizenship. It has alleged that several illegal migrants have got Aadhar cards. "While the Aadhar card is one of the most ambitious projects that the government speaks about, the reality is that they are awaiting a Supreme Court decision regarding this," Irani said.
She went on to add that governance was not only about 'what' but also about 'how'. The BJP leader said that while the country celebrates the rising level of literacy, the reality is that the latest figures reveals that 50% of our children -- boys and girls-- drop out of school at the secondary level. "In rural areas, only six per cent are graduates and in urban areas, it is only 22% and I say this today because for a nation's journey to be fruitful one can determine the milestones when one totally accepts the stark reality and challenges that are before us today," she added.
Speaking at the same programme earlier, UIDAI Chairman Nandan Nilekani had said the authority will beat the target of generating 60 crore Aadhaar numbers before schedule in the next few months. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Chairman said 46 crore Aadhar numbers have been given so far. "By 2014, there was a target to generate 60 crore aadhar numbers. We will beat this before schedule in next few months. So far 46 crore Aadhar numbers have been given. In September we added 2.5 crore Aadhar numbers," Nilekani said.

4895 - BJP attacks Aadhaar scheme, says it violates right to privacy - First Post




Oct 22, 2013 
 New Delhi: 

The UIDAI, which has run into controversies recently, came under fresh attack with the BJP alleging that the Aadhar card issued by it to citizens as a unique identification does not have Parliament’s approval and has been rejected by one of the key committees of the House. “The reality is that the National Identification Authority of India Bill, 2010, which gives sanction to this particular card was rejected by the standing committee on Finance,” BJP Vice President Smriti Irani said, alleging that the programme violates the constitutional right to privacy. 

AFP She was speaking at a programme on Aadhar here. “The reality is striking for me as an Indian that a concept which does not have the sanction of Parliament today is collecting bio-metric data which violates the constitutional right to privacy,” she said. 

BJP has questioned the Aadhaar scheme and argued that it should not be given to those who do not have bona fide papers and citizenship. It has alleged that several illegal migrants have got Aadhaar cards. “While the Aadhar card is one of the most ambitious projects that the government speaks about, the reality is that they are awaiting a Supreme Court decision regarding this,” Irani said. She went on to add that governance was not only about ‘what’ but also about ‘how’. 
The BJP leader said that while the country celebrates the rising level of literacy, the reality is that the latest figures reveals that 50 percent of our children — boys and girls– drop out of school at the secondary level. “In rural areas, only six percent are graduates and in urban areas, it is only 22 percent and I say this today because for a nation’s journey to be fruitful one can determine the milestones when one totally accepts the stark reality and challenges that are before us today,” she added. Speaking at the same programme earlier, UIDAI Chairman Nandan Nilekani had said the authority will beat the target of generating 60 crore Aadhaar numbers before schedule in the next few months. 

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Chairman said 46 crore Aadhaar numbers have been given so far. “By 2014, there was a target to generate 60 crore aadhar numbers. We will beat this before schedule in next few months. So far 46 crore Aadhar numbers have been given. In September we added 2.5 crore Aadhar numbers,” Nilekani said.


4894 - Passage of Aadhaar bill a tough task amid opposition - DNA India


Tuesday, Oct 22, 2013, 7:14 IST | Place: New Delhi | Agency: DNA
Manan Kumar  

In a hurry to give Aadhaar card the much needed legal status, the government is likely to push through the National Identification Authority of India (NIDAI) Bill, 2013 in the coming winter session of the parliament.

Highly placed sources told dna that the government is unlikely to refer the new bill that incorporates several changes and is markedly different from the NIDAI Bill, 2010, back to the parliamentary standing committee.

Though there is no legal bar, according to convention a legislation that has been sent to the parliamentary standing committee once should be sent to the committee again if it has been drafted afresh and contains several changes.

“They often do it. Recently they did with the SEBI ordinance. We objected to it during the monsoon session. In the fitness of things, they should send a new bill back to the standing committee. The BJP will insist that they do so in case of National Identification Authority of India (NIDAI) Bill. We will not let them steamroll this ill-conceived legislation,” Yashwant Sinha told dna.

Trying to give the much-needed legality to the Aadhaar card that got eroded after the Supreme Court stripped off its special status by observing that it cannot be made mandatory for government schemes, the Union cabinet on October 8 cleared the National Identification Authority of India Bill.

Sources said the new draft of the Bill, that was trashed by the Yashwant Sinha headed parliamentary standing committee, has incorporated only a few of its recommendations. The bill, pegging the total cost of the project at Rs12,400 crore, also defines powers of the UIDAI and seeks to protect the privacy of individuals.

The Congress-led UPA government is keen to get all the central subsidy schemes linked to the Aadhaar card to make its key campaign Aapka Paisa Apke Haath, (direct benefit transfer schemes from scholarships, pensions to cooking gas subsidy), a success before the run up to the 2014 elections.

While the government was trying to achieve it by going into an enrollment overdrive with the help of Nandan Nilekani-led Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and roping in the office of the Registrar General of India, the Apex Court’s order halted it in its steps.

The Bill, in all likelihood, (unless the government decides to go with an ordinance) will now be tabled in the winter session of the parliament to give statutory status to both the UIDAI and Aadhaar. But getting it cleared in the parliament may be a cake walk for the government as political parties would not want the Congress to take away the credit for benefitting crores of people just before Lok Sabha elections.


BJP is almost confident that it would be stalled in the Rajya Sabha, if not Lok Sabha.

4893 - Why biometric identification of citizens must be resisted? Part I - Money Life


GOPAL KRISHNA | 01/10/2013 03:53 PM |   

The core issue is: Will efforts to undermine the fundamental right of Indians to move and transact freely around the country and to live without constantly having to prove who they are, succeed or fail?


GOPAL KRISHNA | 07/10/2013 12:40 PM |   
The Database State is an exercise in outsourcing of government through technologies that govern individuals to admittedly undemocratic entities wherein biometric identification is being made a pre-condition for citizens to have any rights

4892 - UID Article in New Delhi Post ( Hindi)




Click on Title above to Read Hindi PDF File

4891 - Govt may rename PDS after Indira Gandhi - TNN

PTI Oct 16, 2013, 06.42PM IST

NEW DELHI: The government is considering a proposal to rename the public distribution system after Indira Gandhi to prevent opposition parties from taking credit for implementing the National Food Security Act.


"There is a proposal to rename the existing Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS)," food minister K V Thomas said. "There are many suggestions like Indiramma Anna Yojana and Annapurna Scheme. We are considering Indiramma Anna Yojana and a final decision on it has not been taken yet."

With Lok Sabha elections not far away, the thinking in the Congress-led UPA government is that late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's name would help it electorally in view of her pro-poor image.

The food security law, a brainchild of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, could be projected as the unfinished task of Indira Gandhi's 'Garibi Hatao' campaign launched in the 1971 elections.

The minister said the name of the food law would not be changed because that would require an amendment.

"We are going to change the name of the scheme and not the law," Thomas said, adding that he is discussing the issue with rural development minister Jairam Ramesh.

Apart from renaming the PDS, Thomas said the government is considering having a logo for the scheme for better reach.

Last month, Parliament passed the food law to give 67 per cent of the population the right to subsidised foodgrains.

Each eligible person would get five kilograms of foodgrains per month at Rs 3 per kg of rice, Rs 2 per kg of wheat and Re 1 per kg of coarse cereals through the state government under the TPDS.

Congress leaders want the government to ensure that non-Congress parties don't take credit for schemes run and funded by the Centre. They have complained about BJP-ruled states such as Chattisgarh taking credit for the food law.
Congress-ruled Delhi, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh have already announced the launch of the food law. Other states preparing to roll it out.

4890 - New day, new start - Hindustan Times


January 01, 2013

The announcement that, starting today, the Aadhaar Unique Identity number will be used to make cash payments directly to beneficiaries in some areas has brought some much-needed excitement back into the political life of the chattering classes. After months, nay years, of drift, here at least was
something decisive from the government, something to hate or love. In some of the economist circles it is being described as a game changer. The Right to Food Campaign, on the other hand, is organising, in its own words “against UID and Cash Transfers in the PDS”.

What is worrying is that neither side seems to be interested in what I see as the core question posed by the Aadhaar infrastructure — here is a new technology for identification, how do we use it to make our favourite programmes work better? For some of the opponents of Aadhaar, this is a part of a general suspicion of all new technologies: the ration card is better because it is familiar, no matter that it can get lost or stolen or torn or wet. No matter that Ram, with a little help from the local government, can end up with a ration card in Raghu’s name (as well as another one in his own name). No matter that Raghu could be dead or even never born.

This to me is one great advantage of Aadhaar. In the end my fingertips and my cornea are mine. No one else will be able to claim that he is me, and I should almost always be able to demonstrate that I am. That means that it is now possible to stop Ram from collecting Raghu’s kerosene, and Raghu not be deprived because his ration card got soaked when the rain came in through the broken roof. Moreover, now that every entitlement can be linked to a single ID, it should be possible to prevent Ram from collecting both subsidised kerosene and LPG cylinders at less than half the market price, given that the law says that no one can have both.

Like everything else in India, it will not work perfectly. Some will be asked for bribes, though the fact that, unlike in the case of the ration card, they could just go elsewhere to get their number will protect them to some extent.

Others will be turned away because their fingers don’t print, despite the fact that the Aadhaar rules say that no one can be refused. Sometimes the computers will freeze and the networks will be down, despite all attempts to build in backups. But then the comparison should not be with some ideal system that runs perfectly, but with the extant systems for an ID (a passport or a ration card), which can be infuriating, to say the least.

A lot of the resistance is however not to Aadhaar per se, whether it works or not, but to its association with the move to cash transfers. We are told that people do not like cash — they want food and fuel. There is a survey by Jean Drèze and Reetika Khera that purports to document this. I must say I have little faith in these results, not because the authors are anything but extremely competent, but because the answer to such questions must necessarily depend on exactly how they get framed, explicitly or implicitly. 

Whether I would want food or cash depends on what I believe about exactly how many times the PDS shop will refuse me my quota versus whether the cash will get stolen along the way, and about how the government is planning to adjust the cash for inflation and a host of other factors about which no one really knows very much. So the answer must depend on exactly how I construe the alternatives based on the way they are described.

I have more faith in actual outcomes. The one study that I know of cash versus food, conducted by the Gandhian trade union SEWA in some Delhi slums, found that a move to cash made no difference in people’s cereal consumption but helped them when they had medical emergencies. There was no effect on consumption of alcohol or other “bads”. Moreover out of 100 people who were switched to cash, only four volunteered to go back to food when offered the choice after six months of cash. However this is one small study, with little pretence of being scientific about controlling other factors that might have changed, and we absolutely need to wait for other, better evidence (there is a study in Andhra Pradesh that is about to announce its results). But in the meanwhile, if you believe that kind is better than cash, why not try to engage with Aadhaar and see how it can be used to make those transfers in kind more effective?

However there is a deeper source of resistance. A good bit of what, for want of a better word is called civil society, holds that the Indian State today is so committedly anti-poor that the presumption has to be that if it is something the State is enthusiastic about there must be something wrong with it. There are mornings when I open the newspaper and see exactly where they are coming from, but in the end I do not believe it. The Indian State is a contested terrain, indeed perhaps never more or so than now. The current system of transfers to the poor is not a product of some past State that was uniformly benign — after all Indira Gandhi did both garibi hatao and Turkman gate — but a result of electoral compulsions, occasional munificence and many battles lost and won, fought by the poor and their supporters. The State has always acted under many compulsions, and there is nothing inherent about Aadhaar that makes it less worth engaging with and appropriating for the right causes than any other government initiative.

And in a sense, the same imperative to engage also applies to those of us who are excited by Aadhaar’s potential. The point is not to treat it as a done deal, a solution to everything that goes wrong in government transfer programmes. 

Even with Aadhaar we would need to find a way to stop politicians and bureaucrats from putting their friends on the BPL lists. Is there a way to be creative about verifications that make that harder? At a more mundane level, given that there are bound to be glitches, should we not worry about the current push to start using the Aadhaar infrastructure for real government programmes before it has been field-tested through its uses in getting bank accounts and cell-phones? What is the right way to roll it out?

There is also a more long-term concern. When the Aadhaar infrastructure is in place and working well, which I predict will happen soon enough, would it not become extremely tempting for governments facing elections to start giving away larger and larger sums of money in key constituencies, given that money can be transferred to hundreds of millions of Aadhaar accounts with the press of a button? What stops an explosion of populism? I feel that now is the time to intervene. All political parties should agree on a number, some fixed fraction of GDP that can be used for all transfers, cash and non-cash - including the many boondoggles that we offer to the rich. If the government wants to give away more cash, it will have to cut back somewhere else, and perhaps this will persuade it to rein in the more egregious of our transfers to those who don’t need it, such as the subsidy on LPG.

Abhijit Banerjee is Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics and Director, Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, MIT. The views expressed by the author are personal.

4889 - Deadline nears, but no clarity on Aadhaar-LPG link - Indian Express


Express News Service : Pune, Fri Oct 25 2013, 02:36 hrs

The district administration awaits clarity from the state government on the direct benefit transfer (DBT) of LPG subsidy, which is scheduled to be rolled out in the city from November 1. Even as the Supreme Court ruled that Aadhaar cards were not mandatory for essential services and the government stated that the card was not mandatory for LPG subsidy until the apex court approved of it, Pune district authorities and gas distributors await instructions on the scheme's implementation. Pune District Collector Vikas Deshmukh said he hadn't received any instructions regarding it.

"Those who do not get their Aadhaar cards will not get the subsidy,'' said an official at the Mantralaya.

The response to the scheme has been poor in the city, so far, with just about 1.26 lakh LPG customers having linked their bank accounts with their Aadhaar cards to avail the subsidy benefit. Deshmukh said, "The administration is expecting to receive further instructions before November 1. There are 18.4 lakh LPG customers in Pune and Pimpri Chinchwad area, of which about 1.26 lakh customers have submitted details of their bank accounts and Aadhaar numbers to their respective distributors of gas companies." the collector added.

An LPG distributor from Pune Camp said, "We are expecting some clarity on how the scheme is going to be rolled out. We are yet to get directions from the oil companies."

An official from the district food grain distribution office said a meeting of officials of fuel companies and LPG distributors were expected be to held soon to discuss issues pertaining to direct benefit transfer of LPG subsidy and submission of bank accounts details by customers with distributors.
The subsidy amount of a cylinder will be transferred to the bank account of the customer once a cylinder is booked. The customer has to purchase a cylinder from the distributor at market rate and will be given a receipt. Customers are expected to submit details of bank accounts and Aadhaar card numbers in the prescribed forms available with LPG distributors to avail the benefit. "Even as the Direct Bank Transfer scheme is an option as is done for other government schemes, there is no clarity on the same,'' added another official.

4888 - Aadhaar linking delayed, poor unable to buy cylinders for Rs 1,100 - TNN

Ashish Roy, TNN Oct 25, 2013, 03.36AM IST

NAGPUR: The central government's decision to charge the market price for gas cylinders from this month has wreaked havoc upon the poor, with many unable to cough up Rs 1,100 to buy a cylinder.


Until September, a cylinder cost Rs 450 as the gas companies sold it at a subsidized price. Even now, if you had booked one in September you will get it at this price. But for bookings done in October, the consumer will have to pay the market price while the difference of Rs 650 will be deposited in his or her account. However, this will happen only when your gas agency and bank account are linked to your Aadhaar card.

In many cases, poor people have not filled up the forms as they thought cylinders would be available at subsidized rates till December 31. However, this is the last date for linking. Oil companies have already started selling cylinders at the market price.

Some of the poor consumer have completed the formalities but the linking has not happened within a week as promised. This has forced some of them to refuse a refill.

"I had filled up forms in the first week of October. I went to the bank on Monday to ask about linking, but they said it was yet to take place. The clerk told me that it would take some more time. In any case there was no need to worry till January, he said. However, when the gas delivery man came to my place today he asked for Rs 1,100 and said that the subsidy would be deposited in my account. I didn't have this amount. Next month, when I get my salary I will go to the gas agency and request a refill," said Pushpa Bhagat of Jattarodi.
Chandabai Verma of Bhamti said that she didn't know cylinders would be available at market rates from October itself. "The gas agency people told me that I had to fill up the forms before December 31. There was no news in the newspapers either. This is injustice to poor people. I had saved only Rs 450 for the cylinder. I had to refuse a refill. I don't know how I'll manage if I don't get a refill early next month," she said.

4887 - Bank KYC sans paperwork - The Telegraph


OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani with Axis Bank CEO Shikha Sharma in Mumbai on Thursday. (PTI)

Mumbai, Oct. 24: Axis Bank today launched an “e-KYC” facility, which will enable Aadhaar-registered individuals to open an account by providing the unique identification (UID) number and getting fingerprints scanned.
The paperless, instantaneous and secure facility has been approved by the finance ministry.
The country’s third-largest bank has introduced the facility in 1,000 branches across 400 centres. It will be extended to over 2,000 branches by the end of this month.
The mechanism is likely to be adopted by not only other banks but also mutual funds and insurance companies.
The e-KYC facility was launched by Nandan Nilekani, chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and Shikha Sharma, managing director and chief executive officer of Axis Bank, here today.
According to Axis Bank officials, a customer has to provide his Aadhaar number at the bank branch to open an account. The number will be verified with the UIDAI database through an authorised/KYC service agent.
The bank will then conduct a biometric scan of the fingers. After the details are confirmed by the UIDAI database, a transaction number will be generated and the account will be opened.
The facility will benefit customers who will not be required to submit details such as identity and address proof.
“We expect this e-KYC facility to add to the overall service experience and also enhance business efficiency. A key challenge for the customers, while opening bank accounts is providing address proof, identity proof and physical copies of documents. eKYC simplifies the process and provides a seamless customer experience to the Aadhaar-registered individuals to open bank accounts,” Sharma said.
Nilekani said e-KYC could be embraced by entities such as insurance companies and mutual funds. Individuals can also get mobile phone connections through the facility in the future. He said the key advantage of this facility was that it brought down transaction costs.
According to Nilekani, 460 million Aadhar numbers have so far been rolled out and the target is to generate 600 million by early next year.
Using the numbers as the base, the UIDAI has helped in rolling out a host of services, including direct subsidy transfer and person-to-person fund transfer through mobile phones.

4886 - Aadhaar to facilitate paper-less bank account opening Oct 24, 2013 - First Post




Mumbai: A new feature added to Aadhaar will now enable the card-holder to open a bank account without any paperwork. Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which issues Aadhaar’ cards, has added the feature in a bid to push for electronic-driven economy. Explaining the facility, UIDAI chief Nandan Nilekani said a person can walk into a bank branch, tell his/her 12-digit individual identification number (Aadhaar) and walk out with a bank account.

The bank will connect with the UIDAI using an authorised service agent, generally a payment gateway, which in turn connects up with the UIDAI database, he said. The only detail a customer has to give at the bank branch will be his/her fingerprint impression, Nilekani said. The facility is safer than the current practice of submitting photocopies of documents, Nilekani said, adding all the work happens electronically at the back-end. “Fundamentally, all the infrastructure is falling into place now for creating a much more electronic, much more digital cash kind of an economy,” he said, adding it has long-term ramifications, including making the economy cashless. The authority, set up four years ago with the Infosys co-founder as its head, has rolled out 460 million Aadhaar numbers till now and is targeting to take this to 600 million (half of the country’s population) by early next year. Using the numbers as the base, it has helped rolling out a host of services, including direct subsidy transfer and person to person fund transfer using mobile phones. The UIDAI chief said the e-KYC facility launched today has huge “strategic implications”. Private sector Axis Bank became the first lender to offer the e-KYC (know your customer) account opening facility. One Nitin Shah of neighbouring Thane district became the first person to open his bank account using Aadhaar. “Anybody can walk into a branch, give his finger prints and walk out with a bank account,” Axis Bank managing director and chief executive Shikha Sharma said at the launch. Nilekani said the bank will roll out this facility across all its bank branches in ten days’ time. However, he parried queries on expansion of the facility at other banks. The idea is to expand the e-KYC facility from here on, he said, adding it is possible for getting an insurance cover and applying for mutual funds using this feature. PTI

4885 - Govt to SC: Aadhaar can reduce fiscal deficit - Hindustan Times

Bhadra Sinha , Hindustan Times  New Delhi, October 24, 2013


With the Supreme Court stating that the Aadhaar card will not be mandatory for availing social benefits from the government, the Union finance ministry asked the apex court to allow its use to reduce the country’s fiscal deficit.

In an affidavit filed in the apex court, the ministry admitted a huge amount of money of the public exchequer, spent on the government’s flagship schemes, has been wasted due to undetected fake entities in the list of beneficiaries. Use of Aadhaar card in the implementation of government schemes was to ensure that subsidies are directly given only to the eligible beneficiaries, it said.

The ministry’s affidavit comes in response to a PIL filed challenging the Aadhaar scheme on the ground that it violated privacy and there were no safeguards to check whether genuine Indians were getting it. The SC had on September 23 issued interim orders holding “no person shall suffer for not having Aadhaar card”.

Nearly Rs. 7 lakh crore has been spent on government’s 15 flagship schemes in the eleventh plan period.

4884 - Aadhaar, bank details of LPG users sought - Deccan Chronicle


DC | 24th Oct 2013


Nellore: The seeding of LPG consumers details with the oil marketing companies and the banks for direct benefit transfer scheme of the Government of India is in progress in SPSR Nellore district.

As of now seeding with oil companies has been completed for 2,15,229 consumers out of 4,94,060 in SPSR Nellore district and the linkage with the banks has been carried out for 1,19,393 consumers.

Speaking to this newspaper District Supplies Officer G. Umamaheswar Rao has appealed all the LPG consumers to submit their Aadhaar and Bank account details to their respective dealers without further delay to become eligible for subsidy.

He reminded that the government has set 31 December 2013 as deadline for the Aadhaar, LPG and Bank account linkage to pass on the subsidy part to the consumers account.

The consumers who fail to get their accounts linked to LPG and Aadhaar have to pay market price (Rs 1,073 now), the DSO cautioned.

According to Umamaheswar Rao, those linked their accounts will have to pay Rs 1,073 for cylinder to the delivery boy and the subsidy amount of Rs 583 will be credited to their accounts within two days after the delivery.
Referring to some complaints over subsidy part not being credited to the consumer accounts, he said that this is possible if consumers have more than one bank account and advised them to check all their accounts. "Some consumers have given one account number while obtaining Aadhaar card and another for linkage with oil marketing companies.

In such cases the amount is automatically going to the bank details they gave in Aadhaar application," the DSO noted.

He said that the oil companies credit Rs 435 to the accounts of consumers soon after the completion of linkage process towards difference in cost of LPG for 9 months. “If you find Rs 435 deposited in your account it is sign for completion of seeding,” Mr Umamaheswar Rao asserted.

4883 - Aadhaar-based DBT of LPG will be extended to 21 districts in Karnataka - The Hindu

BANGALORE, October 24, 2013
Updated: October 24, 2013 03:55 IST


SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

In the first phase, the scheme was launched in Mysore and Tumkur districts, and later in Dharwad and Udupi districts. File Photo: M.A. Sriram

The State government and banks, based on the Centre’s guidelines, have decided to implement the Aadhaar-based Direct Benefit Transfer of LPG (DBTL) scheme in 21 districts.

The scheme has already been implemented in four districts — Mysore, Tumkur, Dharwad and Udupi .

While DBTL will be launched in Uttara Kannada and Gadag on November 1, it will be implemented in six districts on December 1 and 13 other districts on January 1.

Addressing top officials of various banks at the 125th meeting of the State-level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) here on Wednesday, Sudhir Kumar Jain, Chairman SLBC and Managing Director, SyndicateBank, said the scheme will be implemented in Haveri, Bangalore Urban, Koppal, Bidar, Davangere and Bijapur on Rajyotsava Day and in Chickballapur, Belgaum , Bangalore Rural, Bagalkot, Chikmagalur, Gulbarga, Dakshina Kannada, Kodagu, Bellary, Kolar, Ramanagaram, and Chamarajangar on New Year’s Day.

He said awareness has been created among LPG consumers on the importance of account opening and Aadhaar seeding. “We will write to the oil companies and LPG distribution agencies to intimate banks about the progress of DBTL among their respective customers,” he said.

In the first phase, the scheme was launched in Mysore and Tumkur districts where 65 per cent and 63 per cent LPG consumers, respectively, linked their Aadhaar number to bank accounts, he said.

The scheme was launched in Dharwad and Udupi districts from October 1. The banks have been told to implement the scheme effectively in association with the district administration.

He said the list of 26 schemes of Central sector/Centrally-sponsored schemes identified for DBT has been circulated to all banks.

Mr. Jain said the State government intends to hold an ‘Edu Fair’ in association with banks, educational institutions and insurance companies from November 15 to 17 in Bangalore.

Keywords: Aadhaar-based Direct Benefit Transfer of LPGDBTLState-level Bankers’ Committee

4882 - Final SC hearing on implementation of Aadhaar scheme today - Yahoo News




The Supreme Court, which has so far maintained that Aadhar card is not compulsory for availing social benefits, is expected to conduct a final hearing on Tuesday in a case related to its implementation by the Centre and various state governments.


4881 - Should Aadhaar be made mandatory? - Rediff


Last updated on: October 22, 2013 15:39 IST

Image: Village women stand in a queue to get themselves enrolled for the Unique Identification (UID) database system at Merta district in Rajasthan.
Photographs: Mansi Thapliyal/Reuters 


Jyoti Mukul 

There is considerable confusion among the people about whether they should or should not have an Aadhaar number, notes Jyoti Mukul

Even as the Supreme Court sits to hear arguments on the applicability of the unique identification number, popularly known as Aadhaar, the debate around the unique identification number has already shifted from its success or reach to whether it should be mandatory.

In an interim order, the apex court on September 23 held that the number could not be made mandatory and that no one should “suffer” because he or she did not have an Aadhaar number.

This is a necessary and important debate to have, if not entirely for the reasons cited in the public interest litigation that was filed by K S Puttaswamy, a retired High Court judge.

Image: A villager goes through the process of a fingerprint scanner for the Unique Identification (UID) database system at an enrolment centre at Merta district in Rajasthan.
Photographs: Mansi Thapliyal/Reuters

Nor can the answers be framed in stark positives or negatives.

The concept of Aadhaar (the Hindi word for basis or foundation) has evolved since it was introduced in 2009.

The number, according to the website of the Unique Identification Authority of India that administers the programme, is ‘a voluntary service that every resident can avail [of] irrespective of present documentation’.

Yet, it has become mandatory for several things -- for instance, for those who access government doles in the form of scholarships, pensions and cooking gas subsidy.

In some states, it has become mandatory for registering marriages and property.
The upshot is that there is considerable confusion among the people about whether they should or should not have an Aadhaar number.


Aadhaar’s benefit for an individual lies in the fact that it gives an identity without seeking residence proof, unlike other identity systems.
It is a portable number that can be used anywhere.
All that is needed is an introducer who confirms the identity and address of the he/she is introducing.

The non-necessity of residence proof, however, has become one of the grounds on which Puttaswamy has challenged the government’s programme, the argument being that such an identity proof is also being given to residents who are not citizens.

This argument can be countered by the fact that even some fundamental rights such as the Right to Equality under Article 14 under the Constitution is available to non-citizens within the territory of India.


Nevertheless, the point whether Aadhaar should be given to citizens alone can be debated and argued either way.

The apex court, on its part, has ruled that the authority issuing an Aadhaar number has to check whether the person concerned is entitled to it and that ‘it should not be given to any illegal immigrant’.

Of course, the issue has acquired a political tinge since Aadhaar’s biggest driver is the much-feted direct benefits transfer programme which was also why the United Progressive Alliance government decided to spend Rs 2,342 crore (Rs 23.42 billion) on it (till March 31, 2013) and has allotted another Rs 2,620 crore (Rs 26.2 billion) for 2013-14.

Though the DBT essentially involves a change of delivery mode, not a fresh subsidy, the UPA government has projected it as a pro-poor programme by launching it at rallies.


Even without the politicisation, it is true that the Aadhaar-linked DBT has made disbursal more efficient and targeted at intended beneficiaries, plugging the kind of leaks that are inevitable in central programmes that incur expenditures of over Rs 231,000 crore (Rs 2,310 billion) on subsidies and Rs 23,000 crore (Rs 230 billion) on social welfare schemes.

The most important point from the Supreme Court interim judgement, however, is that Aadhaar cannot be made mandatory and people cannot be made to ‘suffer’ because of the lack of legislative sanction.

This restricts the government’s ability to switch to this new mode of cash transfer in a bigger way, which is probably why the UIDAI has joined the government and public sector oil marketing companies in moving the Supreme Court against the interim order.

In his PIL, Puttaswamy has argued the government should not be allowed ‘to circumvent the legislature’ and ‘avoid discussion, debate and voting’ in Parliament.

But the fact is that after it was introduced in Parliament in 2010, the government sat on the National Identification Authority Bill and it took a Supreme Court ruling for the Cabinet to clear the Bill on October 8, 2013.

Besides, not everything needs legislative sanction, though in a court of law, legislation has greater legal standing than executive orders.

To extend the argument, the entire public distribution system, pension and scholarship programmes and a host of subsidy, including the fertiliser subsidy, have no legislative backing.

In the case of PDS and education, the right to food and the right to education Acts were passed much after the actual programmes began.


The PIL also argued that the process of issuing the number requires biometrics, which impinges on privacy.

Yet, it is the biometrics that makes Aadhaar unique and difficult to replicate, unlike other numbers such as the Permanent Account Number used for income tax purposes or even the voter’s identity card.

So, despite Puttaswamy’s petition arguing for it not being made mandatory, it is also true that the government has the right to ensure better disbursement of taxpayer money.

Take the case of the cooking gas subsidy, which in 2012-13 stood at Rs 39,558 crore (Rs 395.58 billion).

In some 98 districts where DBT has been launched, it means the UPA government would be paying each consumer about Rs 4,797 a year to buy nine cylinders at current market rates only if they have an Aadhaar number seeded with the LPG consumer number and a bank account.


But the crucial issues of Aadhaar’s reach and the complex web of processes required before people avail of benefits that they were already accessing are certainly challenges the administration must address.

For instance, when Aadhaar was made mandatory for cooking gas subsidy in 19 districts with a grace period of three months that ended on August 31, only around 13 per cent of the population was compliant in all respects.

That does strengthen the case that a large majority of genuine consumers are being left out of a process that requires the Aadhaar number.

As things stand, 78 more districts have been added to the programme with 84 per cent of the population having Aadhaar numbers.


Yet, just 24 per cent of the population is found to be fully compliant in 34 of these districts.
At the same time, some state governments, too, have succeeded in creating some sort of DBT without the Aadhaar.
This raises the issue of whether the massive exercise of Aadhaar could have been avoided since the option of National Population Registry was already available.
NPR currently uses Aadhaar as its backbone.

The UPA government, keen to plug its fiscal deficit by streamlining subsidies, could have easily dovetailed biometrics through legislative sanction with NPR even for non-citizens rather than create a mammoth called Aadhaar with its attendant complications.

4880 - BJP's think tank presents scary data on Aadhaar roll out, Cong-led states account for over 50% coverage - Economic Times


Nistula Hebbar, ET Bureau Oct 23, 2013, 04.48AM IST

NEW DELHI: The UPA government's direct benefit transfer scheme is expected to yield it political dividends, just how and how much is a matter of some speculation. BJP's newly inaugurated think tank, the Public Policy Research Centre (PPRC), however, has done the necessary number crunching and come up with a set of slightly scary data for the party in the election year.


To provide a fit case for comparison, according to the research paper they came up with, UPA's politically super successful loan write off programme of 2009 was examined in detail.

"Almost 56% of total waived loans were in UP, Maharashtra and Andhra. Around Rs 30,000 crore were waived off to around 1.75 crore farmers. These three states send the highest number of MPs — 80, 48 and 42 (along with West Bengal), respectively.

Congress won 71 seats in these three states alone. A gain of 40%," said the paper. The inference is that targeted schemes were aimed at Congress-ruled states where they were rigorously implemented and political dividends gained.

The paper then goes on to look at the Aadhaar scheme roll out and its distribution and spread (2012 data). "40% of the 22 crore Aadhaar numbers are in Andhra Pradesh (4.7 crore) and Maharashtra (4 crore) where the Congress can expect major gains," the paper concludes.

These two states, the research states, account for 20% of the total districts selected for DBT. Congress-led states account for more than 50% coverage of total identified districts.


The states with lowest penetration of Aadhaar are West Bengal, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. Age also plays a factor, 55% of numbers are in the "vote catchment friendly age group" of 16-45. Those above 66 years account only for 4.3% numbers issued.

Among the 121 districts identified for DBT, 62 districts are from Congress-ruled states, with only 17 from BJP-ruled states. While communal polarisation and caste are certainly election changing issues, the DBT is a worry for the party.

"Our attempt is not to be deliberately partisan, but certainly, we want to give pertinent and useful analysis to the party, and anyone else who wants it," says PPRC chief Vinay Sahasrabuddhe. He adds this is just a sample of the kind of work the think tank will do.

A RSS source said in the last few years, the lack of academic depth in terms of ideological articulation has worried the party.

In the last decade or so, RSS affiliated think tanks like India Policy Foundation and the Vivekananda Centre have been fairly active. Congress has its own set of institutions, including the Rajiv Gandhi Institute for contemporary studies, with Dr Mohan Gopal as chief.