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

Tuesday, July 8, 2014

5657 - Editorial: Where’s the money? The Financial Express


The Financial Express | Published: Jul 08 2014, 01:18 IST

SUMMARY
Getting growth back is going to be a long process

Most are choosing to ignore the statements by various ministers on how pricing reforms aren’t so critical, or on how the retrospective tax amendment won’t be easy to make. The final decision, the view is, will be that of Modi. So, just as Modi seems to be backing Aadhaar-based cash transfers as a means to cut subsidies now, after the home minister seemed to put it on the back burner, the view is the prime minister will ensure gas prices are raised, he will ensure that states are made to raise power tariffs regularly if they want central assistance. After all, after the BJP backed the land acquisition Act, it was Modi who got the government to start relooking it.

While the Railways move to back FDI and the PM’s statement about needing to develop railway stations like airports is certain to get investor sentiment up, the general Budget will be looked at for the signals it gives as to the government’s medium-term reforms plan. This could include greater FDI limits in defence, removal of taxes on SEZs, correcting the inverted duty structure, readying to introduce GST, greater emphasis on infrastructure … And once stock markets rally to newer heights, it will encourage announcement of new investments and, to the extent debt-ridden firms can raise fresh money or can sell off projects to retire debt, it makes the banking system that much more healthy and also allows firms the ability to raise more money.

What investors would do well to keep in mind, the post-budget markets euphoria—assuming there will be one—notwithstanding, most firms cannot start investing as they are too cash-strapped and banks simply don’t have the capital to lend beyond a certain pace; foreign borrowings are a temporary way out, but the central bank will be cautious about opening the window too quickly, or too widely. This is why it is important the Budget take a call on the Banking Investment Company since it is critical for recapitalisation of banks.

More important, savings have to equal investments at the economy-wide level, with a certain small proportion coming from foreign savings. Indian savings, however, have plummeted from 36.8% of GDP in FY08 to 30.1% of GDP in FY13. Household savings aren’t really the problem, and have remained steady at 22.4% of GDP in FY08 to 21.9% of GDP in FY13; corporate savings have fallen from 9.4% of GDP in FY08 to 7.1% in FY13; the biggest problem has been with government savings collapsing, from 5% of GDP in FY08 to 1.2% in FY13. Unless this is fixed, any improved investment that a Jaitley budget will cause, more so if matched with an increased spending by PSUs, will only cause interest rates to spike. Which is why, apart from the policy pronouncements, the budget’s mid-term fiscal correction programme will be critical. It is interesting to note that the latest, 3%-of-GDP target for the fiscal deficit in FY17 is the same target set for FY09 in the FY07 budget. Of all the budget promises, fiscal responsibility is the one paid the least attention to.