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, November 20, 2015

9050 - Transfer Money2World at a click - Hindu Businessline

Transfer Money2World at a click
GURUMURTHY K



ICICI’s online facility lets you remit money from any bank in India to any bank abroad

Under the liberalised remittance scheme, all resident Indians are allowed to freely remit up to $250,000 in a financial year (April-March) for any permissible current or capital account transaction. While most banks offer this service to their customers, ICICI Bank has recently launched its online product Money2World, claimed to be India’s first fully online service that enables a resident to transfer money online from any bank in India to any overseas bank.

How does it work?
Using ICICI Bank’s Money2World, you can transfer money in 16 currencies. As the first step, you need to complete the one-time registration by providing your personal details, such as name, address, etc. Besides, you also have to ensure compliance with the Know Your Customer (KYC) norms mandated by the RBI. Finally, you must furnish account details of the beneficiary you intend to transfer the money to. Upon initial registration, it takes about 24 hours for KYC verification after which you can start transferring money.

Once the amount to be transferred is entered, the confirmed currency conversion rate will be displayed.

This rate has a validity period. If you initiate the outward remittance before 3 pm on any given working day, then the conversion rate is valid till 7 pm on the same day. The exchange rate for a transfer initiated after 3 pm is valid till 9:30 am the next day.

What is validity period? The amount you intend to remit should get transferred/debited from your account before this cut-off time of either 7 pm or 9.30 am. If you fail to meet the cut-off time, you have to repeat the process all over again. Once the transfer is done, the beneficiary’s account will get credited within one international working day, if the transfer is initiated before 3 pm.

For transfers initiated after 3 pm, it takes two international working days for the amount to get credited. This excludes the weekend and holidays in both India and the country you intend to transfer the money. A flat charge of ₹750 plus service tax per transaction is collected as fee, immaterial of the quantum you remit.

Money2World, being an online product, enables you to do the transaction from the comfort of your home. It saves a lot of time which you would otherwise have to spend in visiting the bank branch to submit the required documents to make the transfer.

When it scores
Although other banks allow you to remit money using their internet banking facility, the service is available only to account holders. But Money2World allows individuals holding an account with any bank in India to transfer money to any bank abroad.
The other advantage with Money2World is that the service is available round the clock. In contrast, most banks have cut-off time for their outward remittance service. For instance, private banks, such as Axis Bank allow fund transfers only during banking hours — between 10 am and 4 pm.

On the flip side, you need to possess Aadhaar card to complete the KYC process. Those without an Aadhaar card cannot use this product.

The premium charged on the exchange rate seems higher; you may have to shell out more than ₹1 per unit of foreign currency. For instance, on November 3, after the spot market closing, the exchange rate quoted by Money2World was 66.91 a US dollar.
This is higher than the RBI reference rate of 65.45 on the same day. Similarly, for euro the exchange rate quoted by Money2World was 73.85, implying a ₹1.75 premium to the RBI reference rate of 72.1.
Money2World may come in handy in times of emergency, when you want to remit money instantly, say during odd hours.
But if you have enough time to remit the money, doing it directly through your bank may work out cheaper.

(This article was published on November 8, 2015)
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