AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 4900 - 'State can save 1k cr if Aadhaar used for DBT'

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

Sunday, October 27, 2013

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

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

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.