AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 7574 - Self-help groups’ data to be digitized

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, March 22, 2015

7574 - Self-help groups’ data to be digitized - Live Mint

Self-help groups’ data to be digitized

The move is aimed at helping banks access records of SHGs in real time to reduce lending risks Remya Nair

New Delhi: The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard) is starting an ambitious drive to digitize records of 7.3 million self-help groups (SHGs), besides collecting their members’ Aadhaar details.

The move is aimed at helping banks access records of SHGs in real time to reduce lending risks. Once the digitization is complete, banks can access information on credit history, records of their members and their meetings, and also weed out defaulters and those who are part of multiple groups. An SHG is a village-level body consisting of 12-15 individuals where members pool their savings for lending.

They also take bank loans. Generally, banks are in contact with only one SHG member, who coordinates. Nabard will initially launch a pilot in two districts—Ramgarh in Jharkhand and Dhuli in Maharashtra—before expanding it to other districts.

“A bank manager will be able to track the activities of the SHGs sitting in a room. How much savings does an SHG have, how regularly they meet and the profile of the members. This will provide comfort to the banker and change the risk perception of SHGs,” said Harsh Kumar Bhanwala, chairman, Nabard. “Banks will also be able to rate groups and increase lending.

” Around 4.4 million SHGs in India have access to bank funding, according to government estimates. Bank loans outstanding to the SHGs was at Rs.42,927 crore as of end March 2014. Nabard will also seek details of SHG members with Aadhaar to weed out members who join multiple groups to take multiple loans. Those who do not have Aadhaar details will be put in touch with enrolment agencies to get the unique identity number.

“While more bank accounts are being opened under Jan Dhan, the challenge will be to address dormancy. Since SHGs are key for generating savings and livelihoods, digitizing SHGs will help in improving synergies as Jan Dhan accounts are now online,” he said. Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana is an ambitious plan for financial inclusion in India.

“Though RBI has placed limits on the amount of loan that an individual borrower can take from micro-finance institutions, there is no such limit for SHGs. SHGs’ non-performing assets are in double digits in some regions. This is because the banks do not know the credit or debt profile of the SHGs,” said Vibha Batra, senior vice-president at rating agency Icra Ltd. As of 31 March 2014, NPAs against loans to SHGs was at 6.83%, marginally lower than the 7.085% a year ago.

However, the reduction was on account of an improvement in NPAs in the southern region. NPAs were at almost 19% in the central region, with other regions except south ranging between 9-14%.