AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 9223 - Govt mulls universal health insurance

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, January 8, 2016

9223 - Govt mulls universal health insurance - Business Standard

Govt mulls universal health insurance

The government is holding talks with states providing cashless health insurance, such as Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat

Dilasha Seth | New Delhi

December 28, 2015 Last Updated at 00:56 IST

After providing life cover and accident cover, the government is now working on a universal health insurance plan. To begin with, it will provide a seamless solution to the existing cashless health schemes in states by integrating those with the Centre's direct benefits transfer (DBT) platform. Later, these would be scaled up.

"Encouraged by the success of the social security schemes launched earlier this year, we are now looking at products in the health insurance sector by ensuring access. We are discussing it with states," said a government official who did not wish to be named.

The government is holding talks with states providing cashless health insurance, such as Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat. The idea is to provide their schemes through the DBT platform.

"We are building a DBT platform. Under that, we will provide SMS and phone call notifications on money transfers. Besides, we are building a web or smartphone app. Once the architecture is ready, we load health insurance on to it," said the official. The health insurance application would be put up on this platform which would facilitate a move towards a completely cashless digital economy, he added.

The states will be asked to tap the Centre's JAM trinity (Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and mobiles) and the subsidy payment platform. Aadhaar will help in direct biometric identification of targeted citizens, and Jan Dhan bank accounts and mobile phones will help in direct transfer of funds, cutting out all intermediaries.

The public financial management system (PFMS) and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) will help with disbursement of health subsidies under DBT.

"Many states are providing cashless health insurance. If they give us the list of beneficiaries, they could plug into the DBT platform; that will facilitate accessibility and payment," said the official quoted earlier.

Tamil Nadu, for instance, provides the Chief Minister's Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme through United India Insurance Company for people from the low income group, and New Health Insurance Scheme for cashless treatment of state government employees.

Karnataka has its Yeshasvini Health Insurance Scheme, covering both rural and urban population, mainly targeting farmers and labourers. The state also offers Jyothi Sanjeevini Scheme, a health insurance cover for government employees.

The Rajasthan government recently launched a cashless health insurance scheme to cover over 10 million people by tying up with New India Insurance.

Similarly, Punjab last month unveiled a compulsory health insurance scheme for all government employees and pensioners. Over 190 million bank accounts have been opened under the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana; these have deposits of more than Rs 26,819 crore.

Direct transfer of LPG subsidy of more than Rs 17,446 crore has been made into Jan Dhan accounts from November 2014 to July 2015. The government already provides life and accident cover to people. It has sold over 20 million Jan Suraksha covers under the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha BimaYojana and Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti BimaYojana combined.