AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 6988 - Public sector banks top Jan Dhan score at halftime AJ VINAYAK/LN REVATHY

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, November 30, 2014

6988 - Public sector banks top Jan Dhan score at halftime AJ VINAYAK/LN REVATHY - Hindu Business Line

Public sector banks top Jan Dhan score at halftime

AJ VINAYAK/LN REVATHY

State Bank leads with 1.44 crore accounts

MANGALURU/COIMBATORE, NOVEMBER 25:

With 70,000 camps all over the country on the first day of its launch on August 28, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) was successful in opening 1.84 crore accounts.

The scheme, announced on August 15 by Prime Minister Narendra Modihas a scheduled completion date of January 26.

By September 25, the number had crossed 5 crore accounts. (Of them, 2.95 crore accounts were reported from rural areas.) The next 1 crore accounts were added by September 15, and 7 crore accounts were opened by November 5.

So at halftime now, the scores differ for different banks on different parameters.

Public sector banks (PSBs) are racing ahead in the opening of accounts under the scheme.

Of the 7.91 crore total accounts opened till November 22, the PSBs accounted for 6.36 crore. This was followed by regional rural banks sponsored by PSBs) at 1.34 crore accounts. Private sector banks have so far opened 21.33 lakh accounts.

Among public sector banks, State Bank of India (SBI) led the table with 1.44 crore accounts. Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank and Punjab National Bank (PNB) opened 42.57 lakh, 41.92 lakh and 40.8 lakh accounts, respectively. The latest entry in the banking space, the Bharatiya Mahila Bank opened 45,000 accounts.

Bankers in rural areas are leading the race by opening 4.7 crore accounts till November 22 as against their counterparts in urban areas with 3.21 crore accounts.

As of November 22, the accounts had a balance of ₹6,224 crore. While PNB had about ₹775 crore, SBI had about ₹135 crore and Corporation Bank managed ₹216 crore.

However, nearly 75 per cent of the accounts opened under the scheme have a zero balance. Of the 7.91 crore accounts, 5.94 crore had zero balance.

Aadhaar

Seeding or linking of Aadhaar numbers with the bank accounts will play an important role in making PMJDY operational, as the Government intends to route payment of subsidies under various government schemes through Aadhaar-enabled accounts in the future.

Seeding was the highest in Telangana with 71.75 per cent as on November 19.

The Aadhaar seeding was below 60 per cent in Goa and Puducherry, and below 50 per cent in Kerala. These States are reported to have achieved 100 per cent coverage in opening of accounts.

RuPay cards

One of the main components of the scheme is the RuPay debit cards to all the account holders, including an accident cover of ₹1 lakh. Nearly 60 per cent of those enrolled have been given RuPay cards.

PSBs issued cards to 71 per cent of accounts whereas RRBs could issue cards to 14 per cent of account holders. Private sector banks issued RuPay cards to 51 per cent account holders.

Private banks fare poorly

When asked about the poor participation by private sector banks in various schemes launched by the government, an employee of a bank in a rural area said PSBs and RRBs are like buses of state road transport corporations.

They have to operate buses even if there is no business in a particular route. However, private sector banks are like luxury buses owned by private operators that operate only on profitable routes.

(This article was published on November 25, 2014)