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

Sunday, April 10, 2016

9794 - Kerosene direct cash transfer launch hits a stumbling block - Business Standard

Kerosene direct cash transfer launch hits a stumbling block
Pilot scheme delayed by at least a month because of lack of bank accounts and their seeding with Aadhaar
Sudheer Pal Singh  |  New Delhi 

April 9, 2016 Last Updated at 23:32 IST



ALSO READ
Lack of bank accounts, their seeding with Aadhaar and the problems in creating biometric database of beneficiaries have pushed back the launch of the ambitious plan to introduce Direct Benefit Transfer in Kerosene (DBTK) by at least a month.

DBTK, under which kerosene subsidy would be transferred directly into consumers’ bank accounts, similar to cooking gas subsidy, was to be rolled out in 40 districts across nine states from April 1. “A host of problems have led to a situation where the rollout of the DBTK scheme has been pushed by at least a month,” said a senior oil ministry official, who did not wish to be identified. “Bank accounts of all the beneficiaries have not been created. Also, the seeding with Aadhaar numbers is yet to happen.”

This highlights how the lack of a centralised database could play spoilsport in implementing schemes where state governments are involved. DBTK aims at removing subsidised kerosene from the supply chain for better targeting of beneficiaries, eliminating pilferage and black-marketing, and cutting down adulteration of the cheap fuel with diesel. While Gujarat and Maharashtra are all set to roll out direct cash transfer, other states are yet to catch up.

Under the scheme, a consumer will pay non-subsidised price of kerosene at the time of purchase. Subsequently, the amount of subsidy will be transferred to the beneficiary’s bank account. To avoid any inconvenience to the beneficiaries during the initial purchase through payment of un-subsided price, an initial amount of subsidy will be credited to all eligible people.

“Another major issue is the difficulty being experienced in creation of biometrics of beneficiaries at the point of sale (fair price shop) and overlapping of the states’ list of consumers with the list of below-poverty-line (BPL) households. Also, with the launch of the Ujjwala scheme slated on May 1, the focus has temporarily shifted,” said the official cited above.

As part of the Ujjwala scheme, the government has already announced providing liquefied petroleum gas connections to 50 million BPL households in three years.

Last month, Union petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan held a meeting with state government representatives on DBTK, where the Centre promised advance transfer of subsidies to beneficiaries for the smooth transition to DBT, while the states highlighted their concerns in rolling out the scheme.

The meeting had witnessed participation from 19 states and Union territories and senior executives of oil marketing companies (OMCs). “Various issues raised by the states having a bearing on implementation of the scheme included the basis of identifying beneficiaries, use of point-of-sale machines, integration with the existing public distribution system, and modalities of availability of white (non-subsidised) kerosene,” the ministry stated.

Pradhan had told Business Standard in an interview last month that the Centre was hopeful of covering at least 33 districts in nine states in 2016-17. “This will be a substantial leap forward in the reform process. We are working to get the completely digitised data of consumers prepared. Many states have prepared their own lists and scheme and are ready for cooperation in a bigger way. Many others have offered covering the entire state under the scheme by end of the financial year,” he had said.

States will be given cash incentives of 75 per cent of subsidy saving during the first two years, 50 per cent in the third year, and 25 per cent in the fourth year. The scheme will be launched initially in Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat, even as more states are likely to join soon.


TEETHING ISSUES
  • Kerosene subsidy to be transferred directly into Aadhaar-linked bank accounts of consumers
     
  • The scheme was to be rolled out in 40 districts across nine states from April 1
     
  • Problems in creating beneficiaries’ biometric database push the launch date by at least a month
     
  • Gujarat and Maharashtra best prepared to roll out direct cash transfer
     
  • Another issue is differences between the states’ list of fair price shop customers and the list of below-poverty-line (BPL) households




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