7849 - Polling stations to link EPIC, Aadhaar on Apr 26 - HANS INDIA

Polling stations to link EPIC, Aadhaar on Apr 26

April 23,2015, 11.09 PM  IST | | THE HANS INDIA

A special campaign day has been fixed on April 26 for citizens to link their electoral IDs with Aadhaar number. Booth Level Officers (BLO) will be available at their respective polling stations to receive Aadhaar/EPIC particulars from electors.The last date for the completion of the process is April 30. A special day has been decided so that voters who were not able to provide the details to the BLO or were unavailable at their residence could do so.

In a bid to weed out fake voters from the electoral rolls, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) on the directives of the Election Commission of India started a door-to-door visit in 7000 polling station areas from April 13. Till date, 12.28 lakh voters have been covered. The programme is being taken up in 24 constituencies in 18 circles. There are 7,248 polling stations and the total number of voters is 75.17 lakh. The total number of Aadhaars seeded is 1.69 lakh. 

In all 5,071 BLOs have been appointed for door-to-door survey. There is a supervisor to oversee ten BLOs.The Booth Level Officers are supplied with Form-6, 7, 8 and 8A to the electors newly occupied the houses which are identified as shifted category for enrolment of all the eligible electors. Form 6 is for enrollment of new voters, Form 7 for deletion of existing entries, Form 8 for corrections in the existing record, Form 8A for transposition from one PS to another PS within the constituency.

Procedure for electors

The Booth Level Officers are provided with stickers to affix on the door locked houses intimating their cell number to contact.

On April 26 the BLOs will be available at their respective polling stations to receive Aadhaar/EPIC particulars from electors.

The electors are provided the facility of self seeding through any one of the following methods.

i.Call Centre: Call to GHMC toll free No.21111111   155304 or CEO toll  free  No. 1950

ii.SMS - Send SMS to   8790499899 – Seedepic Voter Epic No.Aadhaar No.

iii.Mee-Seva: Visit nearby Mee-seva along with copies of    EPIC and Aadhaar.

iv.Internet - Visit 164.100.132.184/epic/ for portal seeding

v.BLO – Provide copy of Aadhar / EPIC to your BLO.

vi.Special Campaign - Visit your Polling Station on 19th and 26th April 2015 and handover Aadhar / EPIC details.

7848 - Aadhaar cards take detour to scrap yard - The Hindu

MANGALURU, April 24, 2015

Aadhaar cards take detour to scrap yard

RAGHAVA M.

Issued in 2013, it took two years to reach the right place

Around 20 Aadhaar cards had an intrepid two-year journey before they reached their rightful owners. Issued in August and November 2013, they landed up in a scrap yard in Bellare village, near Sullia in Dakshina Kannada recently.

Fortunately, Manikara, a scrap dealer, found them wrapped up in newspaper among a pile of junk on April 16 and contacted the Postal Department. They belonged to residents of Amarapadnuru village that is served by the Chokkadi sub-post office.

Manikara took the help of a local reporter to contact the Bellare post office.

T.G. Naik, Senior Superintendent of Posts, Puttur, told The Hindu that the scrap dealer was told to hand over all the cards to the Bellare post office. “We arranged to despatch the cards to the card-holders on April 20,” Mr. Naik said. The department has since suspended postman Girish, who has been working at the Chokkadi post office for the past one year.

Mr. Naik said the Chokkadi post office serves a vast area and it is customary for the post office to ask Aadhaar card-holders to collect the cards from the post office itself. He said the cards had been sent by ordinary post from Manipal where they are printed.

The Inspector of Posts, Sullia, has been asked to submit a report on the incident within 15 days.

Issued in 2013, it

took two years to reach the right place

7847 - Students’ information to be verified for Aadhaar cards - TNN

Students’ information to be verified for Aadhaar cards

Piyush Bhusari, TNN | Apr 24, 2015, 04.46AM IST

KOLHAPUR: Education officials of Kolhapur division, which covers five districts of Kolhapur, Sangli, Satara, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg, will have a mammoth task of collecting and verifying information of over six lakh students for the purpose of issuing Aadhaar cards to them after the state's directive of issuing the card to every student by June 26. 

Of these six lakh, the district alone covers 1.98 lakh students, while Sindhudurg has the lowest number of students at 51,905. 

The role of teachers too will be important in the division as they will have to participate in creating awareness about the programme. The division, according to the report, has over 37,000 teachers. 

According to the Kolhapur Deputy Education Director 2014-15 Report, the division hosts a total of 10,553 schools in which around 6.62 lakh students are studying. To manage this huge task, the education department has instructed its officials to go by the defined responsibilities right till the ground level for perfect coordination. 

In the first step, the directive stated that from April 27-May 2, the block education officers (BEOs) should start collecting information from their subordinates about various schools in the taluka. The information sought will be specifically about students who do not have an Aadhaar card. 

In the second stage on May 3 and 4, the district education officers (both primary and secondary departments) will have to compile the filtered students' information sent by block education officers. This information about students, who do not have an Aadhaar card, will be submitted to the collector's office. 

On May 5, the collector will have a meeting with the education department officials and fix dates for Aadhaar registrations for various talukas and schools. 

On May 6, education officials will meet their subordinates and principals to inform them of the plan. On May 7, principals will meet their teachers and provide them the details of the Aadhaar card registration programme in their area. 

From May 8 onwards, teachers and other school staff are expected to create awareness about the campaign and inform the time and venue to all students and their parents for Aadhaar registrations. The state's directive has already made it clear that it expects all students to be registered by June 26. 

Education officials have been asked to cover the publicity of the campaign as well. The circular says advertisements should be given in government and private media so that everyone comes to know about the programme. 

On the overall move, an official from the Kolhapur district primary education office said, "The BEOs have been notified about the proposed meeting on the Aadhaar card initiative and soon a meeting will be called to discuss the details." 

Vice-chairman at Avani, a city based non-governmental organisation working in the field of education, Anuradha Bhosale told TOI, "The government's move is bold and very much necessary. It will, if implemented properly, bring out the reality of the number of students studying in a school and curb bogus students." 

Aadhaar cards will be compulsory for school students and they will have to apply for it by June 26. It will be linked with children's admission numbers and government benefits they are entitled to. According to the April 21 directive, over 1 crore children up to14 years of age in the state will be brought under Aadhaar's ambit. 

The move is aimed at ensuring that no child drops out of school before he/she completes education or at least till attaining elementary education and that he/she gets benefits of all government schemes. 

Linking of Aadhaar card, also known as Unique Identification (UID), with students' database will also help the government verify whether or not students are enrolled in schools.

7846 - UIDAI covers 67% residents, generates 81.78 crore Aadhaar numbers - Economic Times

UIDAI covers 67% residents, generates 81.78 crore Aadhaar numbers

PTI Apr 24, 2015, 06.41PM IST

NEW DELHI: Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has generated as many as 81.78 crore Aadhaar numbers, covering 67 per cent of the population in the country, Parliament was informed today.

The total number of Aadhaar numbers generated by UIADAI stood at 81.78 crore as on April 20, Planning Minister Rao Inderjit Singh said in written reply to a Lok Sabha question.

Taking into account India's population at 121 crore as per Census 2011, the UIDAI has generated Aadhaar number for over 67 per cent residents in the country.

The maximum number of Aadhaar numbers was generated in Uttar Pradesh at 10.48 crore, as compared to a population of 19.95 crore in the state.

In Maharashtra, UIDAI has generated 9.19 crore Aadhaar numbers as compared to a population of 11.23 crore. Similarly, it has generated 6.12 crore Aadhaar number in West Bengal (population of 9.13 crore).

At present 84.9 per cent of the Aadhaar numbers are of those residents whose age is either 18 years or above.

The minister further said that in 14 States/UTs, the percentage of Aadhaar generation of adult residents (18 years & above) is more than 100 per cent of the adult population figures as per Census 2011. The current population would be higher than the Census figures.

7845 - Maharashtra to shut down 4000 government schools

Maharashtra to shut down 4000 government schools

Suggested Readings: Education news,government schools,Admissions 2015,UID,Maharashtra

Pooja Mathur | April 24, 2015 2:41 PM

Maharashtra will shut down about 4000 government schools with less than 10 students. According to reports, over 500 schools in Raigad and 100 schools in Chandrapur district will close down by the new academic session closure. According to official reports, the schools will be shut down as there  is no proper infrastructure, functional crisis. vernacular medium of education, poor teaching quality, cramped infrastructure, lack of  students.

According to the report about 30,000 students will be transferred to other Maharashtra government schools with a high  enrollment number.  There are about 4,000 govt schools which have less than 10 students.  The number of government schools which have 10-19 students are 13400 while the total number of government schools in Maharashtra is 64,000. (READ: Maharashtra Medical Colleges facing acute faculty shortage)

It has been noticed that nowadays the parents prefer to send their children to public schools despite the high fess due to better facilities, reliability of the private schools, better qualified teachers and medium of instruction. The infrastructure at the private schools are far better. The pass percentage of the private schools are much better than the government schools.

In another news, Maharashtra Government has decided to link school students’ admission registration numbers to Aadhar card in order to effectively implement the Right to Education Act. A campaign to prepare Aadhaar cards for school children will be undertaken from April 27 to June 26, according to a government resolution (GR) issued here on Tuesday.

The state government has asked the local administration to ensure that school children at the taluka and village levels are issued Aadhaar cards within 60 days and the UID numbers are linked to their school admission numbers.

Image courtesy: Photos.com

7844 - Election Commission likely to let you vote online - Asian Age

Election Commission likely to let you vote online

Apr 24, 2015 - Vivek Bhavsar | Mumbai

Aiming to ‘clean up’ 24 lakh registered bogus voters in the electoral rolls, the Election Commission (EC) has decided to link voter ID cards with Aadhaar numbers. The drive began last month and after completion the EC will give voters the option to cast their franchise online. An official from the EC said that around 3,10,000 people from across the state had registered to link their Aadhaar cards with their voter IDs, while in Mumbai and Thane around 16,000 people have registered so far. “The largest number of people who have registered are from the Hingoli district (43,735), followed by Kolhapur (43,554),” the official said.

“We will hold special camps to create awareness on the benefits of registering to link Aadhaar and voter IDs. Once we achieve a 100 per cent result, we can even plan to give voters the option to cast their franchise online using a biometric system,” he added.

The EC is identifying bogus voter IDs from the system that will help in making the voter list transparent.

Before the Lok Sabha polls last year, the EC organised a systematic drive to register new voters. However, all political parties alleged that there were over a few thousand bogus voters registered during the drive.

“The EC is optimistic that Aadhaar-linked voter IDs will minimise the complaints,” said the official.

There are a total of 8,35,34,880 registered voters in the state, out of which 4,40,77,571 are males, 3,94,56,271 are females and 1,038 fall in the ‘Others’ category.

“The number of people who are above 18 years of age is around 8.7 crore. Thus, there is a disparity between the total number of people eligible to vote and the total number of voters. It means there are more than 28 lakh bogus voters present,” he said.

The voters can log in to the state election commission website: http://ceo.maharashtra.gov.in/AadhaarSeed/ to feed their Aadhaar numbers in the EPIC database.

7843 - Maharashtra Electoral Office to Link Voter's Identity Cards with Aadhaar Cards - NDTV

Maharashtra Electoral Office to Link Voter's Identity Cards with Aadhaar Cards

All India | Press Trust of India | Updated: April 24, 2015 10:34 IST

MUMBAI:  With an aim of ridding the electoral rolls of bogus voters, the Maharashtra electoral office has started an aggressive drive to link people's Aadhaar cards with their Voter Identity cards.

The drive, which started last month, may also help in giving voters an option to cast their franchise online in future, an senior electoral officer in the state said.

Nearly 3,10,000 voters in the state have registered to link their Aadhaar cards with the electoral photo identity cards (EPIC). From Mumbai and Thane, only around 16,000 voters have got themselves registered till now, he said.

"The largest number of people who have registered themselves are from Hingoli district (43,735), followed by Kolhapur (43,554)," he said.

"Since we have got a lukewarm response till now, we will be aggressively holding special camps in colleges and public places to create an awareness about the benefits of registering themselves. Once we achieve a 100 per cent result, we can even plan to give the voters an option to cast their franchise online using biometric system," said the officer.

Linking the Aadhaar cards with the people's voter ID cards will help the Election Commission to remove bogus IDs from the system and to make voter list more transparent.

There are a total 8,35,34880 registered voters in the state, out of whom 4,40,77571 are men, 3,94,56271 women and 1,038 fall in the 'others' category, the official said.

"According to the latest Census figures, around 8.07 crore people are above 18 years of age. Thus, there is a discrepancy between the total the number of people eligible to vote and the total number of voters. It simply means that there are more than 28 lakh bogus voters present. These have to be weeded out at the earliest," he added.

The voters can log on to the State Election Commission website: http://ceo.maharashtra.gov.in/AadhaarSeed/ to feed their Aadhaar numbers in the EC's EPIC database, or they can also do so at their electoral registration offices.

Story First Published: April 24, 2015 10:33 IST

7842 - Now, you can change address on your voter card online - Business Standard

Now, you can change address on your voter card online

You can also make corrections in electoral roll and feed your Aadhaar & mobile numbers

Vishwas  |  Mumbai  April 22, 2015 Last Updated at 19:35 IST

Image via Shutterstock

Pune resident Srirupa Ray, 28, is a media professional. But despite becoming eligible to vote 10 years ago, she has never exercised her franchise. The reason: she finds the voter registration process cumbersome and time-consuming.

Ray and many others who do not vote because they have not yet included their names in the voter list can enrol themselves with the click of a mouse. All they need to do is visit http://www.nvsp.in/.

The National Voter Service Portal (NVSP), which was launched in January this year, provides single-window services to the electors. Through the website, an Indian citizen can search his name in the National Electoral Roll by entering some basic details, apply for a new registration and request for modification in personal details, such as name and postal address. 

Besides, you can view the details of your polling booth, assembly or parliamentary constituencies. The website allows you to locate your polling station on the map and request for transposition within a constituency. The website also accepts application for inclusion of name in electoral roll by an overseas elector.

Apart from that, an elector can also link his Aadhaar card number and cellphone number to his election ID card. One can even request for the deletion of duplicate entries in the electoral roll.

7841 - 36 year old married man held for obscenity - Asian Age

36 year old married man held for obscenity

• Apr 23, 2015 | Age Correspondent | Mumbai

The Borivali police has arrested a 36-year-old married man who allegedly procured seven SIM cards through original stolen Aadhaar cards and used them to sexually harass many women by using vulgar and abusing language on phone, sending them nude photographs and even porn videos through WhatsApp. Till now, three FIRs have been registered against him and the police believe he has harassed more than 10 women.

The Borivali police said the accused Navrathmal Khatnawaliya was a resident of Thakkar Bappa Colony, a slum area in Chembur. He is married and has three children, including a daughter. He works in a footwear shop.

Senior inspector Narayan Khaire said, in 2014, he had stolen five Aadhaar cards from a common post box in his slum area. The Borivali police is now contacting the owners of these cards. “These five government documents have been used by him to procure the SIM cards used in the crime,” said assistant inspector G.S. Gharge.

The accused used to call women and passed lewd and sexually explicit comments. When they would disconnect his call, he would send nude photos and porn videos as well. A total of eight mobile phones have been seized from him and the police said at least three of them were stolen. He got the contacts through the phones. “He did not have any economic gain through this. During questioning, he told us that he enjoyed doing such things and it had became a habit,” added Mr Gharge.

His latest victim is from Borivali (west). He sent her 68 lewd messages and a porn video as well. The SIM cards were of Tata Docomo, AirTel, AirCel among others. An FIR was registered against him on April 8 and he was arrested on April 18. He has been sent to police custody till April 24. Apart from the three FIRs, another woman from Govandi has approached the police in this connection. He has been booked under section 354, 504, 506, 509 of IPC and section 67 A of IT Act. He was traced with the help of technical evidence.

7840 - UIDAI targets to cover UP’s total population by 2015 end - TNN

UIDAI targets to cover UP’s total population by 2015 end

Priyanka Singh, TNN | Apr 22, 2015, 10.48PM IST

LUCKNOW: Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has announced to cover the entire population of Uttar Pradesh under Adhaar enrolment by the year end. The authority has requested all residents to visit the Aadhaar enrolment centre and get enrolled for Aadhaar immediately. Presently, the Aadhaar generation in the state is 10.6 crore while the Aadhaar enrolment stands to more than 12 crore. In the State, Lucknow tops the list with 33,03,409 Aadhaar generation followed by Allahabad, Agra, Kanpur, Bareilly, Varanasi and Bijnor. 

The UIDAI said that for the convenience of the residents more than 11,445 enrolment kits were active at more than 3800 enrolment centers. The UIDAI also added that the residents who are visiting enrolment centres for enrolment don't have to wait for long hours as there is sufficient number of enrolment kits available for smooth and hassle free enrolment. 

For convenience of residents, UIDAI has informed that the Aadhaar enrolment for children below the age of 5 years does not require capturing of biometric namely fingerprints and iris. Instead their Aadhaar is linked to either of parent's /guardian's Aadhaar. The Aadhaar enrolment of children will get boosted through involvement of 'Anganwadi' workers who will motivate family members to get their children enrolled. 

UIDAI said, "Aadhaar provides a clear proof of identity and it empowers poor and underprivileged residents in accessing various social schemes, being the largest biometric database in the world." As per Government of India's decision, Aadhaar is to be linked to various schemes and initiatives, including the Pradhan Mantri Jan DhanYojana (PMJDY), Mahatma Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS),Pensions, Scholarships, Direct Benefit Transfer of LPG Subsidy (DBTL), Universal Account Number (UAN) of Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), Public Distribution System (PDS), Passport, EPIC card and Attendance system in the Government offices etc. 

The centralised technology and infrastructure of the UIDAI enables 'anytime, anywhere, anyhow' authentication. Aadhaar thus gives migrants mobility of identity. Aadhaar authentication can be done both offline and online, online authentication through a cell phone or land line connection will allow residents to verify their identity remotely. 

Residents can approach to their nearest enrolment centre for Aadhaar enrolment, details of which are available at its official website. Residents can also call to make enquiry about Aadhaar enrolment. The Aadhaar enrolment process is completely free of cost and demand of money in any manner for Aadhaar enrolment is illegal. 

7839 - Aadhaar for students: Maharashtra govt openly flouts Supreme Court order - Money Life

Aadhaar for students: Maharashtra govt openly flouts Supreme Court order

MONEYLIFE DIGITAL TEAM | 23/04/2015 04:16 PM |  

The Supreme Court directed union as well all state government not to make Aadhaar mandatory. Yet, Maharashtra's Education Department is enforcing Aadhaar registration for all students below 14 

Despite a clear direction from the Supreme Court and statement from the Narendra Modi-led union government for not making Aadhaar mandatory, the Maharashtra government is openly flouting both. Without knowing that biometrics, especially of children is most susceptible to undergo change over years, the Education Department headed by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Vinod Tawde is forcing Aadhaar enrolment for all students across the state.

Read full article at Money Life

http://www.moneylife.in/article/aadhaar-for-students-maharashtra-govt-openly-flouts-supreme-court-order/41402.html

7838 - Aadhaar card for every school student in state by June 26 - TNN

Aadhaar card for every school student in state by June 26

Abhishek Choudhari, 

TNN | Apr 23, 2015, 03.27AM IST

NAGPUR: Almost three years after TOI reported about it, the state government issued a circular directing the education department to ensure that every school student in Maharashtra registers for Aadhaar card. On Tuesday, the state government gave instructions to district authorities and education officials that by June 26 the 'School Students Aadhaar Card Campaign' (SSACC) must be completed. The state has urged aggressive use of social media to spread the message about this campaign.

The Aadhaar card number will be linked with students' admission registration number to facilitate tracking of the child in the education system. The government clarified this was being done to ensure the Right to Education Act (RTE) was implemented properly. Linking of Aadhaar card, also known as Unique Identification (UID), with students' database will help government verify whether or not students are enrolled in schools.

The biggest challenge the state faces in SSACC is its sheer scale. With almost two crore students in state, this is not an easy job. Hence, the state has chalked out a detailed flowchart and assigned responsibilities right till the ground level for perfect coordination.

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From April 27-May 2, the group education officer will start collecting information from his subordinates about various schools in his taluka. The information sought will be specifically about students who do not have an Aadhaar card. On May 3 & 4, the district's education officers (both primary and secondary departments) will compile the information sent by group education officers. This information about students who do not have an Aadhaar card will be submitted to collector's office. On May 5, the collector will have a meeting with the education department officials and fix dates for Aadhaar registrations for various talukas and schools.

On May 6, education officials will meet with their subordinates and principals concerned to inform them of the plan. On May 7, principals will meet with their teachers and provide them the details of the SSACC in their area. From May 8 onwards, teachers and other school staff are expected to create awareness about the campaign and inform time and venue to all students and parents for Aadhaar registrations. The state's circular makes it clear it expects all students to be registered by June 26.

Education officials have been tasked with the publicity of the campaign as well. The circular says advertisements should be given in government and private media so that everyone comes to know of it.

7837 - Maharashtra to link school admission with Aadhaar - The Hindu

MUMBAI, April 23, 2015

Maharashtra to link school admission with Aadhaar

The Hindu

File photo of a child being enrolled for Aadhaar.

TOPICS

India

Maharashtra

The registration number of students' admission will be linked to Aadhaar in order to effectively implement the Right to Education Act.

Maharashtra Government has decided to link school students’ admission registration numbers to Aadhar card in order to effectively implement the Right to Education Act.

A campaign to prepare Aadhaar cards for school children will be undertaken from April 27 to June 26, according to a government resolution (GR) issued here on Tuesday.

The state government has asked the local administration to ensure that school children at the taluka and village levels are issued Aadhaar cards within 60 days and the UID numbers are linked to their school admission numbers.

Linking of students’ admission registration number to Adhaar card will facilitate tracking of the child in the education system. The government clarified this was being done to ensure the Right to Education Act (RTE) was implemented properly, the GR said.

It will help government verify whether students are enrolled in schools and parents can also be kept in the loop over their child’s educational progress, it said.

Block education officers have been asked to compile data relating the number of children with Aadhaar cards and forward it to respective district collectorates.

The government has also asked the local administration to publicise the campaign.

The RTE Act ensures that children in the 6-14 age group are not left out of the educational system.

The GR said the biggest challenge to ensure success of the RTE Act is to bring non-school going children in the education fold.

Keywords: RTE act, Aadhaar, school admission, school education 

7836 - Go online to link EPIC with Aadhaar: District admn to urban voters - Indian Express

Go online to link EPIC with Aadhaar: District admn to urban voters

Written by Nisha Nambiar | Pune | Published on:April 23, 2015 1:19 am

Launched a month ago,

programme yet to pick up.

A month after the launch of the National Electoral Rolls Purification and Authentication Programme which links Aadhaar with voters’ Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC), it is yet to pick up. The district administration has asked urban voters to log onto the election website to link directly and not to wait for special drives.

“Even after a month, we are not drawing a good response. We would want urban voters to log onto the election website and submit the details of the Aadhaar and the EPIC so that they can be linked under the programme. They can also do so at the Electoral Registration Offices, but urban voters, having access to internet services, can do it directly,’’ said deputy election officer Samiksha Chandrakar Gokule.

The drive will be on till June 30. The election officer said that citizens should link their EPIC number with their Aadhaar number online on the website and those who did not have an EPIC, should contact the election office at the old Zilla Parishad building on the first floor. Presently, the EPIC coverage is 91 per cent.

Pune district has 70 lakh voters. Voters have to submit details under a special form that asks EPIC number as well as Aadhaar number. The drive is focussed on collection of details of Aadhaar card, voluntary disclosure of duplication of names, improvement of image quality in the electoral roll as well as collating mobile number and e-mail addresses.

The ECI wants to have a clean electoral roll. Despite completion of the summary revision, errors were noticed. The drive is aimed at an electoral roll without defects, errors or multiple entries. The election officer added that those whose names figured in two constituencies should submit form 7 for deletion of name. “We would be scanning for such names and issuing notices. If there is no response, the names would be automatically deleted,’’ said Gokule.

Feeding of the Aadhaar number in the EPIC database will be done through a National Voters Service Portal, using web services through election commission website or through an SMS to 51969 or by email or by a mobile app. The app is still being developed.

The process can be initiated by calling 1950, a toll-free number, or by submitting the Aadhaar number and the EPIC number in a duly filled format along with a photocopy of EPIC and Aadhaar card. The programme is aimed at achieving 100 per cent coverage by July as per ECI guidelines. The commission has asked the CEO to monitor the programme closely and take stock of the situation, the target achieved and the review of the work remaining.

7835 - Aadhaar linkage camps on April 26 - HANS India

Aadhaar linkage camps on April 26

April 22,2015, 02.26 AM  IST | | THE HANS INDIA

The household survey for Aadhaar linkage with voter ID will be completed by May 3

Karimnagar: Deputy Chief Election Officer Devayani said that linking of Aadhaar number with voter ID would help the election authorities to prepare comprehensive voters list.Reviewing the progress of Aadhaar linkage with voter ID along with the representatives of various political parties at the Collectorate here on Tuesday, she said it also helps the election authorities to remove bogus and duplicate cards and cards of migrant and deceased persons.

With regard to linking Aadhaar card with voter ID, both Telangana and Andhra Pradesh States were ahead than other States in the country, she informed.Stating that household survey for Aadhaar linkage would be completed by May 3, she wanted the officials to finish the voter verification process too. Besides verification, inclusion of new voters in the voter list should be done during the HH survey, she said.

There would be special camps in all polling booths on April 26, she informed and added that people could submit their Aadhaar number at the camps. Devayani asked the staff to collect mobile phone numbers and email IDs of the voters during the household survey.

Speaking on the occasion, District Collector Neethu Kumari Prasad said that about 33 percent voters already linked their Aadhaar numbers with voter ID.Out of 28,29,921 voters in the district, 9,23,010 voters linked their Aadhaar number with voter ID. She assured that the process of Aadhaar seeding would be expedited in the district. 

7834 - Children’s homes directed to get Aadhaar cards for inmates - The Hindu

COIMBATORE, April 22, 2015

Updated: April 22, 2015 05:47 IST

Children’s homes directed to get Aadhaar cards for inmates

R. SAIRAM

The State government has directed all the 1,550-odd children’s homes in Tamil Nadu to obtain Aadhaar cards for their inmates. The norm is now mandatory for the homes to obtain or renew licences and for registration under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000.

Orders to this effect were issued by Tamil Nadu State Child Protection Society, a joint body of the State and Central Governments set up to implement the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS), which works for the protection of children from abuse or turning into juvenile offenders.

Official sources told The Hindu on Tuesday that the society has appointed a Bangalore-based agency to assist all the homes in Coimbatore in getting the Aadhaar card for their inmates. Coimbatore district had a total of 78 children’s homes having 4,436 children as inmates.

The agency personnel were in Coimbatore last week and met officials of the District Child Protection Unit and several children’s homes as well. They are giving priority to homes whose registrations are up for renewal in the near future.

The homes have also been instructed to update the Unique Identification Number of the children in the nation-wide online child tracking system operated by the Department of Social Defence in coordination with the Police department.

A senior official said the system helped restore 52 missing children in Tamil Nadu to their families in the past couple of years. This network will contain all the details about the children, such as age, gender, identification marks and native tongue.

The homes must now affix a photocopy of the Aadhaar Card of all their inmates while submitting documents for registration.

The recognition is initially valid for a year and could be renewed for three to five years later.

Many of the inmates in the homes have a single parent, who are unable to take care of their children.

Mandatory for obtaining or renewing licences or registration

7833 - Voters requested to submit photocopies of Aadhaar card, EPIC - TNN

Voters requested to submit photocopies of Aadhaar card, EPIC

Christin Mathew Philip, TNN | Apr 21, 2015, 07.05PM IST

CHENNAI: The Chennai district election office has asked voters to furnish the photocopies of the Aadhaar card and the Elector's Photo Identity Card (EPIC) to booth level officers when they visit the voters' residences as part of the National Electoral Rolls Purification and Authentication Programme (NERPAP).

The NERPAP is the Election Commission's drive to weed out electoral roll duplicates.

"Voters also can furnish the details through website (www.nvsp.in) or by SMS to 51969 (type ECILINK (space) EPICNO (space) Aadhaar number or by making a call to a toll free number (1950)" said a release from the district election officer.

Voters have to furnish Form 7 to delete the multiple entries of their names on the electoral roll, Form 8 to make corrections in the existing entries and Form 8A for change of residential address within the constituency.

A copy of Aadhaar card and EPIC have to be enclosed with the above forms and submitted at the corporation zonal offices.

A special hearing on the above applications will be conducted by the Electoral Registration Officer at corporation zonal offices (Tondiarpet, Royapuram, Thiru-Vi-Ka Nagar, Ambattur, Anna Nagar, Teynampet, Kodambakkam, Adyar) from 4pm to 5pm on every Monday and Wednesday.

"The voters and applicants who have filed applications on form 7, 8, 8A are requested to attend for above hearing", the release said.

The next special camp to furnish the Aadhaar number and EPIC number details and Form 7, 8, 8A by voters will be conducted at designated polling station centres from 10am to 5pm on April 26 (Sunday).

7832 - Aadhaar and Brazil soothe French heartache - Telegraph India

Aadhaar and Brazil soothe French heartache

K.M. Rakesh

Revanna at the Football for Hope Festival in Rio de Janeiro last year Bangalore, April 21: Six years ago, a 16-year-old Revanna M had missed a chance to travel to France for football training because, as an orphan, he didn't have the documents to obtain a passport. Memories of that heartbreak returned to haunt him last summer when he was chosen by an NGO as one of six underprivileged youths to visit Brazil during the football World Cup. Again, a passport seemed elusive for Revanna, now a young man. But the story had a happy ending. Just months earlier, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) had begun a drive to enrol street children and orphans in the Aadhaar programme, allowing NGOs and government child welfare committees to "introduce" them. Bosco, the orphanage where Revanna grew up and which he now serves as football and rugby trainer, decided to enrol him for an Aadhaar card, paving the way for a passport. Revanna made it to Rio de Janeiro with five other Karnataka youths, three of them women, as part of the Football for Hope Festival project by the NGO Dream a Dream. "I missed a chance to go to France when I was a minor with no documents," Revanna, who had been selected by a group of NGOs for football training in France in 2009, told The Telegraph. "Without the documents our Father (Bosco executive director Fr George PS) managed to get for me this time, I would have missed the Brazil trip too," the 22-year-old added. "It was so fulfilling for us too," Fr George said. "It was always difficult to get any kind of government identity for orphans. Then we started signing for them as guardians." Most of Bosco's orphans now have Aadhaar cards. Revanna trains underprivileged children from Round Table School at the IIM campus in Bangalore Orphans, lacking proof of age, identity and address, have often found it harder to enrol in government schemes than, say, street children living with their migrant-labourer parents in roadside camps or runaways whose families could be traced. But in late January last year, an effort began to issue Aadhaar cards to all distressed children to allow them, in principle, to obtain school admission, open bank accounts and secure government welfare. Now the drive has been extended to even one-year-old babies in orphanages to check illegal adoptions and help the government monitor the children, prone to abuse at the shelters or to delinquency later. "They took my picture last year," said a 14-year-old at a state-run orphanage in Bangalore who had been rescued from a bus terminus. "Now the card is with my master (the orphanage administrator)." Like his "brother" - an older inmate - he too plans to get a driver's licence in future because "a master told us drivers get jobs in foreign countries". After years of slack, the Karnataka government has over the past few years provided government IDs to inmates at all its 56 rescue homes, called Children's Homes. "We have covered more than 75 per cent of the children," said Narmada Ananda, programme manager for the Integrated Child Protection Scheme, which comes under the department of women and child development. "Once out of our watch, they tend to take to drugs and dangerous social behaviour. It's important to get them gainfully employed, for which they need ID." Minors rescued from the streets are sheltered in these homes and given vocational training before they leave at 18. "Lack of any kind of identification had been the biggest problem all these years," Ananda said. "We usually gave them letters of release with their personal details, but now we are enrolling them in Aadhaar." The homes' wardens hold on to the cards till the inmates are discharged. "Our field workers used to report that these children found it difficult to get jobs. But now that they have an ID, life is better," Ananda said. Just yesterday, the government announced that an Aadhaar or voter I-card would be enough to obtain a PAN card. Anjali Ellis Shankar, assistant director-general of UIDAI in Bangalore, said nearly 4,000 children at 129 homes - including those run by NGOs - had been enrolled in the state. Only about 400 are awaiting enrolment. "An ID like this later helps them secure jobs even under the national rural employment guarantee scheme," Shankar said.

7831 - Aadhaar, a must for school kids - TNN

Aadhaar, a must for school kids

Chittranjan Tembekar & Vinamrata Borwankar, TNN | Apr 22, 2015, 06.21AM IST

MUMBAI: Aadhaar will be compulsory for school students and they will have to apply for it by June 26. It will be linked with children's admission numbers and government benefits they are entitled to. Over 1 crore children in the state up to 14 years of age will be brought under Aadhaar.

The move is aimed at ensuring that no child drops out of school before he/she completes education or at least till attaining elementary education and gets benefits of all government schemes.

A government resolution on Tuesday said the target to bring children aged 6-14 has to be achieved between April 26 and June 26. Education officers, school principals and collectors have been given responsibility of reviewing the Aadhaar card status of children in their areas.

Sources said the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), through the state government, has directed the state's school education and women and child welfare departments to employ agencies to bring the children under Aadhaar, instead of deploying teaching staff. But the government wants school staff to create maximum awareness among students and ensure their registration quickly.

It also wants these departments to take up a massive public campaign.

"Every year, around 24 lakh children are born in the state. UIDAI wants them to be added every year," said deputy director-general of UIDAI's regional office in Mumbai Ajay Pandey. Hence, UIDAI wants children up to six years to also register even though the GR states six years onwards.

Schools principals said the additional burden will be a hindrance in their academic duties. "The government keeps adding tasks to our to-do-lists and expects us to deliver quality education," said Prashant Redij, Maharashtra State Secondary and Higher Secondary School Principals' Association.

7830 - Editorial: From saral to kathin - Financial Express

Editorial: From saral to kathin

By: The Financial Express | April 21, 2015 12:37 am

That finance minister Arun Jaitley called up the revenue secretary to instruct him to put off the complicated income tax return form in the face of a huge backlash is good news, more so since the taxman hasn’t done too much to fix the perception of being high-handed as the recent tax demands on Cairn Energy Plc and Cairn India as well as the MAT one on FIIs testify. What is not clear, however, is why the taxman even felt the need to further complicate the form. The reason, it appears, is that as part of the drive to unearth black money held abroad, the taxman wanted details of foreign travel, the funds spent on citizens, foreign earnings, foreign bank accounts and so on. 

Even if, for the moment, you agree that there is a lot of illegal money stashed overseas, how will asking for details in the income tax form help? The taxman, even today, collects data from airlines on foreign travel, from credit card companies on spending including that incurred overseas, and from money-changers on foreign exchange bought—all of this data, and a lot more, is cross-tabulated with the PAN number of those availing the services. Given this, it is a simple matter to cross-tabulate such data with the income tax returns filed in the normal course—and if there is any excessive foreign travel/spend, individual queries can be raised by the taxman, why make life difficult for the average taxpayer? Indeed, one of the issues raised by the Tax Administration Reforms Commission has been that the taxman is not making enough use of the data got from the annual information returns (AIR).

What is even more odd is that the new 14-page form—it was 12 pages in FY15—goes completely against the simplification the tax department has been trying to implement over the past few years. For one, taxpayers are communicating with the department through email instead of personal visits, lowering the scope for discretion and harassment. A recent innovation is that, for those submitting their returns online, this does not have to be followed up with a signed form that needs to be mailed today—merely replying with your Aadhaar number is to be considered good enough in the future. If the number of income tax returns filed electronically has grown from 2.15 crore in FY13 to 2.97 crore in FY14 and then to 3.42 crore in FY15, it has a lot to do with the ease in filing. Why go back to complicating the form which, due to its saral (simple) nature, found acceptance with the tax-paying public? Indeed, given the large number of irresponsible tax demands and the frequency with which the courts reject such demands, the taxman should be focussing on reducing the huge pendency of such cases, and in penalising officers who raise such tax demands.

For Updates Check Editorials and Columns; follow us on Facebook and Twitter

First Published on April 21, 2015 12:37 am

7829 - e-Filing tax returns to get easier - Business Standard

e-Filing tax returns to get easier

Aadhaar-based electronic verification code will do away with the need to send physical ITR-V copies to Bengaluru

Ashley Coutinho  |  Mumbai  April 21, 2015 Last Updated at 22:35 IST

With the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) announcing that the physical copy of income tax returns filed online will no longer have to be sent for verification for Aadhaar card holders, it will be a great relief for taxpayers who want to use this option.

A new Aadhaar-based electronic verification code will be given to such taxpayers to authenticate their transaction. The electronic verification code consists of a string of characters in the form of a locator number that gives a unique identifier to electronic documents.

A new row has been provided in the Income Tax Return (ITR) forms for assessment year 2015-16 to enable someone filing e-returns to provide his Aadhaar card number. Aadhaar is a 12-digit individual identification number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

Once the card number is punched in, the tax-payer will get a one-time password, or OTP, number on his or her mobile phone for verification. This verification number, then, has to be entered on the relevant ITR form to complete the process of e-filing.

The new process will do away with the need for sending physical copies for verification to the Centralised Processing Centre (CPC), Bengaluru. As of now, the copy of ITR-V, an acknowledgment slip generated on filing the income tax return online, has to be sent either by regular Indian postal service/ordinary post or speed post. Copies sent through courier are not accepted. The ITR-V has to reach CPC within 120 days of filing the return. It generally takes about three weeks to get acknowledgment of ITR-V receipt from CPC from the date of posting.

“There is always a possibility of non-receipt of ITR-V at CPC or acknowledgment of receipt getting delayed, in which case the copy has to be sent again,” said Kuldip Kumar, partner and leader - personal tax, PwC India, adding that the new system will do away with the need for tracking and resending forms for verification.

The new system will also do away with the need to digitally sign the ITR-V form. Creating digital signatures can cost up to Rs 1,500. “The cost for digital signatures can be prohibitive for small tax payers,” said Divakar Vijayasarthy, co-founder, MeetUrPro. According to Kumar, it would have probably been better if the government had linked the verification code to the PAN instead of Aadhaar, because all investment records are backed by PAN. Last month, the Supreme Court had asked the Centre and the states to stick to its earlier order that no person should be denied any benefits or made to suffer for not having Aadhaar.

“The said motive for enabling an Aadhaar card verification is to do away with the need for digital signatures or sending physical copies for verification. The real motive, however, seems to be to track the tax payers' income to the subsidy they avail,” said Vijayasarthy.

The flip side of the new system, according to Vijayasarthy, is that it will now be technically possible for anyone who has your Aadhaar and PAN card number to file returns without your knowledge. The PAN serves as the user ID for tax payers.

Tax-payers should remember that the new system is just an alternative to the existing system. This means, those e-filing returns can continue to send their ITR-V forms in physical form to the Bengaluru centre or use digital signatures. Those who do not have an Aadhaar card will also have to use the existing system. The due date for filing tax returns, either physical or online, is July 31. Individuals earning an income of Rs 10 lakh a year have to compulsorily e-file their returns.

7828 - Only 5,523 opt out of LPG subsidy - TNN

Only 5,523 opt out of LPG subsidy

Anuja Jaiswal, TNN | Apr 21, 2015, 01.53AM IST

RAIPUR: A mere 0.3% of the 16.78 lakh active LPG cylinder customers in Chhattisgarh have voluntarily opted out of direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme for payment of subsidy on domestic connections. 

The 5,523 customers who opted out of the scheme include Chhattisgarh chief minister Raman Singh and senior BJP leader Ramvichar Netam. According to officials of LPG companies, about 80% of the 16.78 lakh active customers had opted for cash transfer subsidy till April 1. While the exact figures of people voluntarily giving up their subsidies would be known only after the end of three months grace period given by government to customers for linking their aadhaar cards and bank accounts to their LPG connections, the response, at least in this state, hasn't been encouraging so far. Prime minister Narendra Modi had appealed to people to give up their subsidies so that the benefits of the scheme could reach people who really deserve it. 

Officials are banking on the fact that many of the 3.35 lakh customers, who have not linked their aadhaar cards for DBT may not opt for subsidy by the end of the grace period, thus taking the number of people opting out to significantly higher number. 

Officials said while there are a total number of 18.22 lakh registered LPG cylinder customers in state, only 16.78 lakh were active. Active customers are those who are regularly availing LPG cylinder supply. 

Officials said majority of the inactive customers are bogus connections. According to figures, IOC leads the tally of consumers who have voluntarily opted out of DBT subsidy transfer scheme with 3,240 consumers. IOC has a base of about nine lakh customers. 

At Hindustan Petroleum, 2,212 of its 6.44 lakh customers have given up subsidy. The tally of Bharat Petroleum is the least as only 71 of its 2.78 lakh customers have opted out so far. Officials said majority of those, who gave up subsidy, are corporate officials and businessmen. 

7827 - On PM’s call, 4141 in Pune ‘give it up’ - Indian Express

On PM’s call, 4141 in Pune ‘give it up’

There were 1,376 customers of the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), 1,590 of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and 1,175 of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) who decided to give up subsidy in the district.

Written by Nisha Nambiar | Pune | Published on:April 21, 2015 2:38 am

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “give it up” slogan urging well-to-do families and individuals to give up their LPG subsidy has led to as many as 4,141 people relinquishing it in Pune so far. Responding to the PM’s appeal, they have submitted forms available with dealers to give up LPG subsidy. Among those who gave up the subsidy on domestic gas cylinders were several LPG dealers.

There were 1,376 customers of the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), 1,590 of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and 1,175 of Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) who decided to give up subsidy in the district.

District civil supplies officer Jyoti Kadam said that they had spread the PM’s appeal. “We requested people…and got good a response,” said Kadam. The civil supplies office has been reaching out to dealers of all gas agencies through “word of mouth”. The response has been good, supplies officials said.

State LPG agency federation president Usha Poonawalla said that many distributors themselves had given up subsidy. “Many of the distributors came forward to give up their LPG subsidy and they are spreading the word that people should respond to the PM’s appeal,’’ said Poonawalla.

Customers can give up LPG subsidy online by visiting the gas agency website, or else approach the dealer and fill up a form. They would get a notification on his/her mobile that subsidy has been cancelled.

“It is all about conscience… People, whether distributors or IT officials or top government officials, from a cross-section of society have given up subsidy,” said another agency dealer.

Several who had given up subsidy said that the Prime Minister explaining that if each of them could give up Rs 200-Rs 250 subsidy, it would benefit a crores of poor people, had appealed to them. “Not getting Rs 200-250 subsidy is not a big deal for us and we prefer to give it up,’’ said Ujwal Oak, an IT professional who has given up the subsidy.

Several other IT professionals and citizens are now urging people to give up the subsidy.

“A group of officials from an IT company decided to give it up,’’ said Raj Naik, an IT professional who was one of those who wanted to “give it up”.

Meanwhile, Aadhaar linkage has reached 86 per cent in the district, officials said. The district administration had conducted drives to reach out to customers to get them link their LPG IDs to banks or Aadhaar numbers. The drive was on until March and it is being followed by a two-month parking period, after which customers will not get subsidy is their bank accounts and Aadhaar numbers are not linked.

The drive on at a slow pace had picked up to reach 86 per cent. Even after Aadhaar linkage, people can give up LPG subsidy by approaching the distributor and filling up a form which generates a one-time password. On confirmation of having given up the subsidy, a message is generated, official said.

7826 - Aadhaar cards for children - TNN

Aadhaar cards for children

Chittaranjan Tembhekar, TNN | Apr 20, 2015, 09.49PM IST

MUMBAI: Over 1 crore children in the state between 0 to five years of age will be brought under Adhaar identity now. 

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), has directed state's school education and women and child welfare departments to employ agencies to bring these children on Aadhaar network within a year's time. 

"Also every year around 24 lakh children are born in the state. UIDAI wants them to be added every year," said deputy director general of UIDAI in Mumbai Ajay Bhushan Pandey while talking to TOI. 

According to Pandey if children beneficiaries of state's various schemes and database about them could be maintained and monitored well if they were brought on Aadhaar link.

7825 - CM to reform homes: Get Aadhaar for all kids - Asian Age

CM to reform homes: Get Aadhaar for all kids

Apr 21, 2015 - Vivek Bhavsar | Mumbai

After irregularities in the use of government grants came to its notice, the state government has decided to make it mandatory for children’s reform homes across Maharashtra to get an Aadhaar card for each child under their protection. What’s more, grants will be allocated based on the number of registrations as indicated by Aadhaar cards.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said, “There is an urgent need to change and improve the functioning of child reform homes. We have asked people running these homes to make an Aadhaar card for every child residing with them.”

“One thing is clear, only those who are involved in irregularities are opposing the government’s stand. There are also NGOs which have, as per the government’s directives, adopted the biometric system and are making Aadhaar cards for children under their care,” he said.

As of now, the state government has allocated Rs 16 crore to child reform homes in annual state expenditure. “The government wants to allocate more money for children but unscrupulous elements have opened shop in the name of children’s remand homes. We will not let them get away,” added the CM.

An official from the ministry of women and children’s welfare, on condition of anonymity, revealed that children caught performing labour or begging on the streets or living on footpaths were usually sent to reform homes. 

After the Minister of State for Child Welfare Vidya Thakur visited these homes and took stock of irregularities and submitted her report, the issue was discussed in the state cabinet meeting. 

Presently, there are about 1,108 reform homes across 358 talukas in Maharashtra; said an official from the state women and children’s welfare department. “Out of these, around 700 reform homes are from the Marathwada region where there is the least possibility of children being forced into labour. 

According to government figures, there are about 92,000 children residing in reform homes, out of which Aadhaar cards for about 39,000 children have been made,” he said.

From an expenditure of Rs 950 per child, out of which Rs 650 was to be spent on food and the rest on supplementary demands like clothing and books, the aid to every child has been increased to Rs 1,200 during the Budget Session.

7824 - Maharashtra government makes Aadhaar card compulsory for children in reform homes, despite SC order - dna India

Maharashtra government makes Aadhaar card compulsory for children in reform homes, despite SC order

Tuesday, 21 April 2015 - 7:44am IST | Agency: dna | From the print edition

Despite a Supreme Court ruling, the Maharashtra government has decided to make Aadhaar card submission compulsory for children enrolled in the reform homes.

Children rejoice after their release from Dongri remand home on Monday Salman Ansari dna

Despite a Supreme Court ruling, the Maharashtra government has decided to make Aadhaar card submission compulsory for children enrolled in the reform homes.

SC had recently ordered the Centre and state governments not to deny any benefits to anyone who does not have Aadhar cards, issued by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). But chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday said that by making Aadhaar card mandatory, the government will able to improve the facilities and services it gives to the reform homes. "And the help will properly reach the children in reform homes," Fadnavis said. The enrolment is compulsory before the Government allots additional grants over and above Rs16 crore already earmarked in this year's budget for the welfare of these children.

The CM said there was an urgent need to change and improve the functioning of reform homes. "We have asked people running these homes to make an Aadhaar card for every child residing with them. One thing is clear, only those who are involved in irregularities will oppose the government stand," Fadnavis said.

"There are NGOs that have adopted the biometric system and are making Aadhaar cards for their children, in keeping with the Government's directive," Fadnavis said. Minors freed from child labour activities, or begging on streets, or those who stay on footpaths, are usually sent to the reform homes, which are now called care homes.

Fadnavis said the Government is in the process of setting up a deadline for these reform homes. Further grants will be provided to them once they furnish the details of children residing with them.

He said some "unscrupulous elements" were against the Government's move. "I want to know the reasons for opposition to enrolment for Aadhaar cards. The Government wants to allocate more money for these children but unscrupulous elements have opened their own shops in the name of children care homes. We will not let them get away." He added, "We are in the process of setting up a deadline for them. We cannot let the children residing there go hungry but at the same time we have to ensure the money we allocate is put to right use."

An official from the Women and Child Welfare Department said there are 1,108 reform homes across 358 talukas of Maharashtra. "According to Government figures, about 92,000 children reside in reform homes, of which 39,000 have Aadhaar cards," he said.

The Government used to give aid of Rs950 per child, of which Rs650 had to be spent on their food. The rest was to be spent on clothing and books, among other needs. "In the last three months, the Government has increased the aid to Rs 1,200 per child. Despite this, we are getting requests for further increase in the aid money," he said.

A senior government official told dna that "We cannot go against the SC guidelines otherwise it will be contempt of court. But because it is the chief minister's order, we have no option but to adhere to it even though it is in violation of the SC guidelines," he added, requesting anonymity.

7823 - Get PAN card with Aadhaar or voter ID - Telegraph India

Get PAN card with Aadhaar or voter ID

New Delhi, April 20 (PTI): An elector's photo identity card or Aadhaar will now be enough to obtain PAN cards, with the Centre relaxing cumbersome procedures requiring multiple documents. Till now, the EPIC (voter card) and Aadhaar cards were only considered proof of identity and address, not age. The change was made through a notification by the Central Board of Direct Taxes, which oversees the income-tax department that issues PAN cards. "The new notification means that, henceforth, having an EPIC or Aadhaar will be enough to obtain the PAN card. The two documents will be valid as proof of an individual's identity, address and date of birth.... The EPIC and Aadhaar are now unique and all-purpose identifiers," a tax official said. The new notification also lists some other documents that will be accepted as age proof. These include a "photo identity card issued by the central government or state government or central public sector undertaking or state public sector undertaking or the central government health service scheme photo card or ex-servicemen contributory health scheme photo card". "So, effectively now, there are a total of 12 identity documents which could be used to establish the date of birth of an individual applying for a PAN card compared to eight earlier. But for a common man, who is not in government service, only an EPIC or Aadhaar is required," the tax officer said. He said the Centre was on a mission to bring the three unique identifiers - EPIC, Aadhaar and PAN - on one platform and link their databases. The aim is to thwart duplicity or forgery in any of the documents essential to get the benefits of central schemes.

7822 - Now EPIC or Aadhaar document enough to get PAN card - Indian Express

Now EPIC or Aadhaar document enough to get PAN card

By: Press Trust of India | New Delhi | Published on:April 20, 2015 11:18 pm

An EPIC or Aadhaar document will now be enough for any individual to obtain PAN card as the Income Tax Department has relaxed the cumbersome procedure of having multiple documents to prove one’s own identity.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the apex policy making body of the I-T Department, has recently issued a notification making the Elector’s Photo Identity Card (EPIC) and Aadhaar, issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India, valid proof of “date of birth” for obtaining PAN card.

Till now, both these photo ID cards were only considered as valid proof for substantiating the “identity” and “address” of an individual and not their date of birth.

“The new notification, in simple terms, means that henceforth having only an EPIC or Aadhaar will be enough a document for any individual to obtain the PAN card.

“These two documents will be valid as the proof an individual’s identity, address and date of birth, thereby reducing the cumbersome procedure of having multiple documents to prove one’s own identity. The EPIC and Aadhaar are now unique and all purpose identifiers,” a senior I-T department officer said.

As part of the new notification, the government has also made a “photo identity card issued by the central government or state government or central public sector undertaking or state public sector undertaking or the central government health service scheme photo card or ex-servicemen contributory health scheme photo card” as the valid proofs for establishing the date of birth of an individual.

“So, effectively now, there are a total of 12 identity documents which could be used to establish the date of birth of an individual who is applying for a PAN card as compared to the eight earlier. But for a common man, who is not in government service, only an EPIC or Aadhaar is required,” the officer explained.

The officer said this new arrangement has been made possible as the government has embarked on a mission to bring the three unique identifiers – EPIC, Aadhaar and PAN – on one platform and have inter-links between their databases in order to thwart attempts of duplicity or forgery in any of these three documents which are the most essential when it comes to taking legitimate benefits of government schemes.

7821 - European Privacy Watchdogs Join Forces to Probe Facebook

http://gadgets.ndtv.com/social-networking/news/european-privacy-watchdogs-join-forces-to-probe-facebook-682515

European Privacy Watchdogs Join Forces to Probe Facebook

Agence France-Presse, 17 April 2015

European data protection authorities have joined forces to probe Facebook's privacy controls, a French watchdog said Thursday, putting the popular US social media giant under fresh pressure.

"There is concerted collective action between five European authorities, France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain," said Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, head of France's CNIL privacy watchdog.

She added that the Netherlands was coordinating the project, which consists of a working group involving representatives from the five countries that will look into Facebook's practices.

Facebook has for years been dogged by concerns over how well privacy is safeguarded online.

Falque-Pierrotin said Facebook's privacy policy was at the heart of discussions, and data protection watchdogs are likely to examine the sharing of data between different apps such as Instagram or Whatsapp, both of which belong to the US giant.

Facebook, whose international headquarters are based in Dublin, for its part said it was acting in compliance with data protection legislation.

"We recently updated our terms and policies to make them more clear and concise, we're confident the updates comply with applicable laws," a Facebook spokeswoman told AFP.

Earlier this month, an Austrian law graduate filed a closely-watched class action suit against the social network for alleged privacy breaches.

Max Schrems and 25,000 other users are suing the social media giant for various rights violations, ranging from the "illegal" tracking of their data under European Union law to Facebook's involvement in the Prism surveillance programme of the US National Security Agency.

Google has also been in the firing line over privacy issues and has had multiple run-ins with authorities in Europe.

In December, for instance, Dutch privacy watchdog DPA warned Google it faced a hefty fine if it did not fix alleged breaches in data protection laws when it uses personal details for targeted advertising.