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, March 7, 2016

9401 - State-of-the-art presentation on state of economy - Business Standard

State-of-the-art presentation on state of economy
Moves away from traditional style
BS Reporter 
February 27, 2016 

Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian's second Economic Survey represents nothing short of a transformation in the style in which Surveys depict the state of the overall economy and the general mood of the government's economic philosophy.

From the style of presentation of key economic trends to the use of numerous new indices, this year's Survey has changed it all. Even the change in the basic colour scheme - from all blue in the previous few years to a mix of vibrant shades of brown, blue, green and even violet - the Survey reflects the thinking and style of Subramanian himself and that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, too.

Read our full coverage on Union Budget 2016

The Survey has moved away from traditional ways of data presentation through tables and bar graphs to a more modern scheme of data visualisation through heavy use of scatter diagrams, pie charts and histograms, in Modi's style of promotion. The cover design uses numerous icons - provided by a professional design agency called Noun Project - including those of a tractor, a mother holding her infant and an electricity transmission tower, speaking of the key focus areas of the current government.

As if to highlight the larger context, the cover has a brightly coloured map of India placed against the larger, but almost dull background of the world map, representing the country as what the document inside calls "a haven of stability in a gloomy international landscape". This year's Survey is also bulkier with 543 pages against last year's 427-page Survey. Also, the number of chapters has gone up to 20 from 19.

The Survey is structured in two volumes - a format in use since 1991-92. While the second volume with nine chapters is the conventional Survey in line with the trend, the first volume highlights the government's key priority areas. While the last year's Survey had separate chapters on Make in India and the railways sector, this year's Survey has new and dedicated chapters on the agriculture, fertiliser, and power sectors and 'mother and child' as its highlights.

While last year's Survey had coined the acronym JAM - for Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile - as new modes of subsidy, benefits transfer and financial inclusion, this year's Survey has a chapter titled 'Spreading JAM Across the Economy'. The chapter talks about Aadhaar coverage, use of direct benefit transfer of subsidies and a new index to measure states' JAM preparedness.

And, all of this is shown through numerous maps of India with shaded areas representing the statistical variables - a technique called 'choropleth' in modern data visualisation lingo.

True to his style, Subramanian has dropped catchy phrases to highlight crucial issues. The Survey has likened the Indian economy in the 21st century to the 'Chakravyuh' legend of Mahabharata - the ability to enter but not exit - cautioning the country is facing adverse consequences due to the lack of a way out for failed ventures in a separate chapter, The Chakravyuh Challenge of Economy.

Another key feature of this year's Survey is the focus on stating the current position on issues without prescribing a solution. The Survey forecasts the economy would grow between seven per cent and 7.75 per cent in 2016-17.

It said 'credibility and optimality' favour sticking to next year's fiscal deficit target of 3.5 per cent of GDP. This year's Survey would also be remembered for its little focus on the services sector and the emphasis on preferential trade agreements.



NEW LOOK
  • Significant change in data presentation style - from colour scheme to modern visualisation of graphs
     
  • Use of icons on the cover to highlight focus on agriculture, maternal health and power sector
     
  • Use of catchy phrases to highlight trends - the Chakravyuh Challenge of Economy
     
  • Brightly coloured map of India placed against a dull World map, representing "a haven of stability in a gloomy international landscape"

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