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, May 25, 2015

8039 - Applying for new power connections gets easier in Visakhapatnam - TNN

Applying for new power connections gets easier in Visakhapatnam

V Kamalakara Rao, TNN | May 24, 2015, 12.44AM IST

VISAKHAPATNAM: The Eastern Power Distribution Company of AP Limited (APEPDCL) has decided to simplify the process for new power connections as part of its plans to provide electricity supply to all households under the 'Power for All' programme. The new system will be implemented from May 25 across all five districts of Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Visakhapatnam, East Godavari and West Godavari. 

According to APEPDCL chairman and managing director R Mutyala Raju, under the new programme, in accordance with Section 42 and 43 of the Electricity Act 2003 and the relevant Supreme Court and high court directions, the discom will ask for only a few documents at the time of registration. 

The documents required for new high tension (HT) and low tension (LT) connections are the Aadhaar number, mobile number of the applicant, proof of ownership of the property such as municipal tax receipt, sale deed or allotment letter. 

Under the programme, the discom will not only seek lesser documents from applicants to speed up the process of providing connections but will also provide connections faster, said C Srinivasa Murthy, general manager (operations), APEPDCL. Earlier, a new power consumer was asked to furnish several attested documents to prove his or her identity to get a connection. 

"For example, earlier we used to ask for attested sale deed copies not only of the existing property owner but the previous two owners as well in case of old properties. But now, we will be taking only a self-attested property sale deed copy. Aadhaar card is a must and if it is not available, the applicant has to furnish either ration card, PAN card, driving license, voter ID or passport as proof of identify," Murthy said. 

In case an applicant is unable to furnish these documents, APEPDCL will ask the applicant to sign an 'Indemnity Bond' that will indemnify the licensee against any damages payable on account of any dispute relating to power supply to the premises. The applicant shall also have to pay three times the normal security deposit to the discom. 

"A consumer in the urban area will get power supply within 48 hours of putting in the application and within seven days in the rural areas, in places where there is existing power infrastructure," Murthy said, pointing out that earlier it used to take 3-5 days to provide a new connection in urban and nearly two weeks in rural areas. "In places where there is no infrastructure such as electricity poles and power cables, the consumer will have to bear the infrastructure cost and the power supply will be provided within 30 days," Srinivasa Murthy said. 

"With the new programme, we hope to garner more connections in the current fiscal as it will become easier to apply for a new connection," Mutyala Raju added. The discom has around 52 lakh consumers. 

The documents required for HT and LT connections are the Aadhaar number, mobile number of the applicant, proof of ownership of the property such as municipal tax receipt, sale deed or allotment letter 
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