AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 7857 - Biometric headcount of children fizzles out

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

Friday, May 1, 2015

7857 - Biometric headcount of children fizzles out - INDIAN EXPRESS

Biometric headcount of children fizzles out

The machines have been installed in 869 homes but in most cases they are not functioning properly.

Written by Nisha Nambiar | Pune | Published on:April 25, 2015 3:43 am

The plan to use biometric machines to ensure accuracy in headcount of inmates in children’s homes run by the Women and Child Development Department (WCD) has floundered right from the start when it was proposed four years ago. Most of the machines installed in children’s homes developed technical glitches. They were either non-functional or malfunctioning. Of the 969 children’s homes selected, the machines have not been installed in 100. The government is set to take a fresh look into the matter soon. Children’s homes run by NGOs could also be asked to install biometric machines.

In view of huge discrepancies in number of children shown by some of these children’s homes-during inspection-children were allegedly brought from outside to inflate the numbers ostensibly to bag more government funds-the government had issued an order asking 969 of the 1105 children’s homes to install biometric machines. The machines have been installed in 869 homes but in most cases they are not functioning properly. There are over 70,000 children in the 1105 child care centres in the state. These include adoption agencies, observation homes and shelter homes.

“The main purpose of these machines was to ensure there is no discrepancy in total number of children at each of these centres. However, with machines not functioning properly, the entire objective of the plan has fallen flat,” said a senior official of the WCD Department.

The GR to install the machines was issued after it was observed that some agencies, to show mandatory numbers to avail themselves of financial aid, would get children from outside during inspections. This was done with a view to garner funding or aid from the state government. The GR was issued after irregularities were noticed. But the whole exercise proved futile, with most of the machines not functioning properly.

WCD officials have convened a meeting on May 13 to discuss the matter and issue fresh directives. The state government is all set to have biometric records of children in all NGO-run orphanages, too. “The objective is to ensure that grants disbursed by the government reaches actual beneficiaries,” said the official.

Minister of State for women Vidya Thakur had noted that the state did not have any records of the number of children in NGO-run orphanages and also government-run ones and despite monthly grants, the condition of these homes left much to be desired.

The state had issued another GR in November 2014 regarding Aadhaar cards for children of these homes. The drive was to be completed by last year but it was not done. Of the 1473 children in observation homes, 1010 have Aadhaar cards. Of the 70,000-odd children in other children’s homes, nearly 41,164 children have their Aadhaar cards.

Recently, the government decided to make it mandatory for children of these homes to enrol for Aadhaar in an attempt to improve functioning of the facilities run by children’s homes.