AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 8557 - Andhra Pradesh plugs PDS leakage through electronic model

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

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

8557 - Andhra Pradesh plugs PDS leakage through electronic model - Financial Express

Andhra Pradesh plugs PDS leakage through electronic model

Even as the implementation of the Centre’s direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme is being staggered with complete rollout achieved only for distributing the subsidy on LPG for domestic use, some states are taking the lead in devising their own electronically-enabled ways.

By: BV Mahalakshmi | Hyderabad | August 17, 2015 1:23 AM

Through an electronic point of sale or e-POS model, Andhra Pradesh has imparted a great amount of incremental efficiency to the state’s public distribution system (PDS), as it is being implemented in all 13 districts of the state.

While essentials like foodgrain (rice and wheat), sugar and kerosene are being distributed across the state via e-POS-equipped PDS, the Krishna district has gone a step further and become the first in the country to digitise the database of ration cards and complete the seeding of Aadhaar numbers into it. Sources said the state government was planning to replicate the e-POS model for distribution of agricultural inputs and seeds through the Primary Agriculture Credit Societies (PACS) in the Krishna district.

The state’s achievement assumes significance given that the Centre has been seeking the state’s cooperation in implementing the DBT scheme for kerosene and fertilisers. Also, pan-India rollout of the National Food Security Act has been deferred thrice as several states are yet to identify the beneficiaries and digitise the database.

Says Ahmed Babu, collector of Krishna district, “Aadhaar-enabled PDS supported with e-PoS devices would soon lead to automation of all 2,155 fair price shops in the district. The entire supply chain from the Food Corporation of India to mandal levels has been completely linked. When Aadhaar-enabled PDS with e-POS devices was implemented in 511 fair price shops in the district as a pilot project, we could save an estimated R1.91 crore a month. When the system is extended to all fair price shops in the district, the saving could be around R10 crore a month.”

Under the system, the beneficiaries are identified by Aadhaar and verified through iris and fingerprinting at the time of release of the goods.

The objective of the AePDS through e-PoS, of course, is to ensure that only genuine cardholder or his/her family members whose name is mentioned in the ration card can buy the subsidised commodities. It would help record all FPSs transactions electronically which enables real time accounts of opening stock, daily sales and closing stock. In turn, this would facilitate monthly allotment of stocks to the FPSs based on the stock position and also facilitate monitoring and detection of fraudulent transactions.

Ahmed Babu added: “We are now planning to introduce e-PoS system in distribution of subsidised seeds, fertilisers and pesticides through Primary Agriculture Credit Societies (PACS) in the Krishna district,’’ he said. “The e-POS system will be initially introduced in 425 PACSs. The system will help the authorities to assess the availability of stocks of seed, fertilisers and pesticides. The success lies in computerisation of farmers’ details,” he added.

According to chief secretary IYR Krishna Rao, “whenever, the beneficiary collects his ration from the dealer, the information under this system immediately passed to the concerned Tehasildar through electronic process. With this, all loopholes in the distribution of material under PDS can easily be identified and plugged.”

First Published on August 17, 2015 1:23 am