AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 7226 - Government to bring in policy to promote gas exploration

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

Monday, January 19, 2015

7226 - Government to bring in policy to promote gas exploration - India Today

Government to bring in policy to promote gas exploration

SPS Pannu | Mail Today | New Delhi, January 17, 2015 | UPDATED 07:58 IST

Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday said the government would give a fillip to oil and gas exploration in the country through a transparent policy that aims to provide energy to end users at affordable prices.

Addressing the 'Mail Today Future of Energy Summit' here on Friday, Pradhan said his ministry would aim to tap the hydrocarbon potential in 26 sedimentary basins of the country through a transparent policy that would cover the entire gamut of issues, from seismic surveys, oil and gas exploration to finally delivering energy to consumers.

The minister referred to the American shale oil success story and said the government would incorporate elements from the US experience in drawing up India's policy for the future so that it meets the best global standards. Pradhan pointed out that it was the smaller companies that had given America the breakthrough in shale oil and gas by bringing in new technology and investment.

India could also gain from this experience and a start has already been made in this direction by putting on offer ONGC's marginal oil and gas discoveries to smaller oil companies with lower overheads. These companies have the capacity to bring these fields into commercial production, while ONGC with its larger overheads did not find these marginal fields commercially viable.

The minister said that the new policy would have to be viable for all the stakeholders but at the same time the ultimate aim should be to deliver energy at affordable prices to the consumers. Pradhan said the government was also planning to put in place a multiple licensing facility that would cover exploration in CBM and shale blocks along with oil and gas. Pradhan disclosed that the government would be giving a big push to increase the production of natural gas in the country.

It is keen to increase the share in the country's energy mix as it is a clean fuel. He unveiled plans to build a 15,000 km gas grid in the country.

The minister said that while LNG terminals had been set up on the western coast, the eastern coast had been overlooked in the past and the Modi government would go in for a balanced development.

Another three to five terminals were being planned for the eastern coast, and sites on the coastlines of West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu would be considered for these projects. These terminals would also be able to provide gas to the southern and central regions of the country through the gas grid, he added.

Pradhan said the fast-tracking of the direct benefit transfer (DBT) of subsidy to LPG consumers is expected to shave off Rs 10,000 crore from the country's subsidy bill. He cited the successful implementation of the DBT scheme which has covered 55 per cent of LPG consumers since the Modi government took over as an instance "of good governance". The erstwhile UPA government had conceived the scheme but bungled in the implementation due to the mandatory insistence on Aadhaar cards. "We discarded this mandatory Aadhaar card and allowed bank accounts as an alternative for getting the cash subsidy, which has worked," he added.