AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 8695 - Agency issues fake Aadhaar cards with UIDAI data

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, September 16, 2015

8695 - Agency issues fake Aadhaar cards with UIDAI data - TNN

Agency issues fake Aadhaar cards with UIDAI data

Sunitha Rao R,TNN | Sep 15, 2015, 08.00 AM IST

BENGALURU: It is said to be the world's largest national identification number project, involving India's sharpest minds. But a private agency has allegedly accessed the Aadhaar database without authority , and is distributing fake smartcards, preliminary investigation by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has revealed.

TOI reported on August 31, 2015, that Karvy Data Management Services, an authorized Aadhaar enrolment agency in Benglauru, had been issuing smartcards without authority for those already allotted their identity numbers. The Karvy agency issued the smartcard at the mere mention of the Aadhaar number and had not sought any other details, including biometric authentication. The board outside the agency mentioned that smartcards would be issued if the number or biometric details were provided, for a charge of Rs 25. After obtaining one such smartcard from a Karvy enrolment centre in Malleswaram, West Bengaluru, this reporter approached the UIDAI regional office in the city, where a senior official admitted that the Aadhaar smartcard issued by Karvy was fake. Ashok Lenin, deputy director, UIDAI, told TOI, "Karvy is not authorized to print Aadhaar smartcards. The card Karvy has issued is not as per prescribed UIDAI standards. We've asked for a detailed written statement from them, but have not received any response so far."

Another senior UIDAI official admitted, on condition of anonymity , that the Aadhaar smartcard issued by Karvy was fake and did not match the UIDAI's standard smartcard. "It doesn't have the essential biometric authentication and the photo printing is of inferior quality . The reverse of the standard Aadhaar card has a barcode, which is missing in the card issued by Karvy ," the official explained.

Lenin said, "I would not call this data hacking. Karvy told us they accessed the data through the enrolment client used to update Aadhaar details. We are yet to figure out how they took out data of people without biometric authentication.They were certainly not authorized to print Aadhaar details on plastic cards. An official inquiry into the matter is under way . We've asked for a detailed written statement from them but have not received any response so far."

THE ACTUAL PROCESS

At Danish Solutions' facility in the UIDAI regional office, one can obtain the Aadhaar smartcard by giving biometric details like fingerprints or the OTP (One Time Password) sent to the mobile number mentioned by the individual during enrolment. The agency charges Rs 30 for a smartcard.

Immediately after authenticating the Aadhaar number through biometrics or OTP, this reporter received an email at the registered email ID from UIDAI, saying authentication was successful, besides details of the device deployed by `CSC e-governance India'. The mail also carried a warning: "If you haven't carried out this authentication, please call us at 1947 or forward this mail to ."

Though no official action has yet been initiated against Karvy in the wake of the TOI story in August, the Malleswaram centre immediately stopped the service and removed the board announcing it.

NO DEVIATION, CLAIMS KARVY

In an email interaction with TOI, Karvy Data Management Services (KDMS) said it is an empanelled Aadhaar enrolment agency and provides the facility to print e-Aadhaar as per provisions of UIDAI."Our processing staff have been trained to print e-Aadhaar based on an EID slip Aadhaar letter after due verification, and there is no deviation as mentioned by you.

KDMS is one of the largest providers of e-governance services to various government quasi-government authorities and PSUs in India. We have a robust internal system, strong IT backbone and qualified human resources, which enables us to provide error-free services across the country," the official statement said.