10072 - At IDFC's Bharat Banking, micro ATMs hold key to govt subsidy and micro finance business - Busniess Standard

At IDFC's Bharat Banking, micro ATMs hold key to govt subsidy and micro finance business

Nearly 32,000 pensioners will be using the IDFC Bank Micro ATM infrastructure to access their benefits in coming days

Jyoti Mukul  |  New Delhi 

May 30, 2016 Last Updated at 12:57 IST

With focus on mass rural market, IDFC Bank’s Bharat Banking division is eyeing government business like disbursal of subsidy and scholarships in a big way. It has started tying up with state governments for various schemes and is also looking to provide micro financing.

Ravi Shankar, Head- Bharat Banking, told Business Standard, IDFC Bank has partnered with Andhra Pradesh government in Krishna district for direct benefit transfer through Aadhaar-enabled payment system (AEPS). Besides, going forward, the bank would look at micro financing schemes for purchase of motorcycles, equipment and even low-cost housing.

The Andhra Pradesh government initiated DBT transfer from May 1, starting with social security pension. It will be extended to other government entitlements and finally to Public Distribution System (PDS), making PDS payments cashless.

Shankar said the bank uses interoperable micro ATMs that enhance last mile financial access through digitisation. The Micro ATM functions like a ‘Bank-in- a-Box’. The first interoperable social security pension was drawn through an IDFC Bank AEPS Micro ATM on May 1 at Ganapavaram, Mylavaram mandal in Krishna district.

Nearly 32,000 pensioners will be using the IDFC Bank Micro ATM infrastructure to access their benefits in coming days. The bank estimates over time, concentrated coverage of banking services would touch the lives of 46 lakh citizens in the Krishna district alone.

The bank’s Micro ATM is owned and operated by women members of self-help groups (SHGs), approved for financial support by the government of Andhra Pradesh. This is helping in promoting entrepreneurship in the Krishna district, the bank said.

The Micro ATM agent would cater to customers at Panchayat offices (in the first few days of every month) and later from their respective residences/ work areas. These Micro ATMs offer all basic banking services to customers of any bank, including deposits, withdrawals and transfers.

In the Krishna district, people can draw their entitlements in their neighbourhood itself, by transacting on any of the 500 Micro ATMs deployed by IDFC Bank across villages.

The full package of fund disbursal under government’s MNREGA, pension, scholarships and cashless PDS would also be carried to other districts, said Shankar.

These ATMs work like tablets which have applications developed internally and have biometrics and printer attached to them. They are available at fixed outlets which could be kirana stores where the shop owner is the operator. The applications loaded on it allow deposits and withdrawal facilities and service requests. Retailer has a current account with the bank. He dispenses and accepts cash even as the customer does not need to have an account with IDFC Bank.

The micro ATMs also provide instant account opening and activation, working on multiple identifiers including Aadhaar-based authentication, mobile numbers, debit cards and bank account numbers.

Shankar said IDFC Bank’s Bharat Banking branches would be set up in semi urban and rural areas. “They have a catchment area of 25-30 km. We have a vision of creating large low-cost banking infrastructure.”

He said their business model was different from banks. “It is an outreach model. Officers reach out to customers and offer services at doorsteps. We are closer to micro finance organisations. Besides, we also offer customised savings products to people. We layer it with new technology.”

Some 35 such branches have already been set up in around nine districts of Madhya Pradesh. Besides, it has started building bank network in Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka, where it has 10 branches.

10071 - Maharashtra sanctions Rs 69 crore for PDS computerisation - TNN

Maharashtra sanctions Rs 69 crore for PDS computerisation

Nikhil Deshmukh | TNN | May 30, 2016, 06.23 AM IST

Kolhapur: The state government has sanctioned Rs 69 crore for end-to-end computerisation of public distribution system, once infamous for massive scale of corruption, diversion of foodgrain and kerosene. 

The government has decided to introduce biometric identity verification system at the fair price shops to avoid foodgrain disbursement to fake beneficiaries. Complete computerisation at godowns and distributors will keep a check on diversion of transporting vehicles. The state is investing Rs 69 crore in the first phase with 50% financial support from the Union government. 

In an order issued last week, the state government has stated that most of the expenditure would be for computerisation, linking of database and bringing flexibility in access to the database so that it can be used for deriving various indicators. 

The phase-I covers standardization of lifting of foodgrain from the warehouses of Food Corporation of India, tracking its shifting to local state-owned godowns, computerisation of entire work and handing over computerised ration cards to the beneficiaries from economically weaker sections. The phase-II includes complete computerisation of fair price shops, biometric system to the beneficiaries covered under Food Security Act, 2013 and foodgrain distribution. 

10070 - Soon, ID proof must to place matrimonial ads online - Hindustan Times

Soon, ID proof must to place matrimonial ads online

• Moushumi Das Gupta, Hindustan Times, New Delhi |  Updated: May 30, 2016 08:38 IST

An Aadhaar card or a driving licence or any government-approved identity proof will soon be required to place matrimonial advertisements on websites.

The user will also have to give an undertaking to the online service provider, confirming his intent to enter into a matrimonial alliance, before he registers on such sites.

These are part of the draft guidelines finalized by the government to regulate matrimonial websites check growing instances of men setting up fake online profiles to cyber stalk or dupe women.

“The guidelines, which are in line with the Information Technology Act, 2000, will be notified soon by the Department of Electronics & Information Technology,” said a government official.

Presently these websites only ask for cell phone numbers of people who put their profiles and do phone verification only.

According to the guidelines, matrimonial websites will have to publish on its site the name of the grievance officer and his contact details along with the complaint redressal mechanism that will be made available to any victim.

The government had to step in with growing instances of men setting up fake profiles on such sites. It was women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi who first raised this issue in 2014 after her ministry was inundated with complaints from women who were cheated while looking for grooms online.

Gandhi had met senior representatives of leading websites such as Bharat Matrimony and Jeevansathi.com and suggested that they strengthen security features of their respective sites to prevent such fraud.

“In most cases victims are women who fall prey to these fraudsters after getting introduced through fake profiles on matrimonial portal. There is a need for strengthening protective measures for all users of such websites,” a government official said.

The draft guidelines, made after consultations with leading matrimonial websites, will also require that such websites store the IP address of profile creation and access logs for a period of one year from the date of account deactivation by a user.

The websites will have to caution users against possible fraudsters who ask for favours, money, etc. and other possible misuses as known to or reported to the matrimonial websites. “Registered users will be encouraged to report any fraudulent activity to such websites as well as to law enforcing agencies,” the draft guideline states.

10069 - Digital vans all set to take e-governance to rural areas - The Hindu

NEW DELHI, May 30, 2016

Digital vans all set to take e-governance to rural areas

• YUTHIKA BHARGAVA

66 vehicles will go to 657 districts and cover 13 lakh km by March 2017

The government will roll out a new campaign on Monday under which 66 digital vans, equipped with Internet and audio-visual facilities, will go to 657 districts by March 2017 to increase awareness about various e-governance services in rural and semi-urban areas.

“The aim is to reach out to more than 10 lakh citizens and register over 1.5 lakh rural citizens for MyGov, digital locker, Aadhaar and other digital services,” a Telecom Ministry official said.

These vans would cover more than 13 lakh km in 13,200 man days.

The campaign will be flagged off by Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad at a conference to present the report card of the Ministry’s two years in office.

It will run from May 30, 2016 to March 31, 2017. The vans will use the Internet and audio visual facilities to interact with and educate the people in rural areas, especially the youth, about the various Digital India initiatives.

34 districts in phase 1

“State governments, along with the Department of Posts, Department of Telecommunications (BSNL) and CSC-SPV, will play an active role in the execution of this campaign. A district level committee, headed by the District Collector, will foresee its ground level execution to ensure that the maximum benefit is generated out of this campaign,” the official said.

During phase 1 of the campaign till July 2016, some 16 vans will cover 34 districts in nine States — Haryana, Rajasthan, Punjab, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.

Service in 14 languages

Rural citizens will be informed about the services offered at CSC centres, national scholarship portal, e-hospital, digital lockers and Aadhaar in 14 languages — Hindi, English, Gujarati, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Oriya, Bengali, Assamese, Manipuri, Urdu, Marathi and Malayalam.

People will be educated on Aadhaar, national scholarship portal, digital lockers and e-hosiptal

10068 - PM Modi's Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana mere teaser to entice people, is lax on delivery - First Post

PM Modi's Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana mere teaser to entice people, is lax on delivery

S Murlidharan  May 30, 2016 11:33 IST

Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) has completed its first anniversary.  It has indeed put life insurance on the nation’s consciousness with its hassle-free insurance procedure.  No health certificate, no age bar except that the insured should be between 18 and 50 years of age at the time of taking of the policy.  However, the policy can continue right up to the age of 55 if a start has been made at the right time, i.e. between the age of 18 and 50.  The icing on the cake is the affordable premium of Rs 330 per annum for Rs 2 lakh for the first two years irrespective of the insured’s age, with freedom to the insurer to review it thereafter.  So far so good.

A product’s or service’s success or usefulness is tested in a crunch situation.  An insurance product is tested not on its purchase but at the time of an unfortunate incident, be it death or accident or damage to property.  What is the feedback from the beneficiaries of the policies?  Well, there are disconcerting anecdotal reports from the field backed up by TV news channel reports, with ZEE TV in particular, known for its pro-BJP stance, reporting poor delivery in the crunch situation.  

The reports are the benighted beneficiaries especially in rural areas are either blissfully unaware of the policy left behind by the bank account holder or the banks not playing a sufficiently proactive role.

Indeed, banks are the lynchpin of the scheme, with the scheme being a follow-up action on Jan Dhan Yojana, the mass bank account opening initiative of the NDA II government at the center that has been a roaring success, finding a place in the fabled Guinness book of records.  The life insurance policies have been sold by banks to their deposit holders on the basis of their Aadhaar registration.  

Reports are that bank managers especially of banks with insurance subsidiaries who sold the policies with gusto to their account holders are not proactive enough in swinging into action on death of the policyholders.  For this of course they alone are not to blame because in the IT-enabled ecosystem, the trigger should come from the system itself ideally.  As it is, the beneficiary has to download the claim form or get it from the bank, fill it, attach a copy of the death certificate along with a cancelled cheque.  The bank then forwards the application to the insurer who settles the claim.

The following can be done to ensure proper delivery in the unfortunate event of the insured’s death:

• The bank manager must supply the beneficiary with a copy of the insurance policy because in life insurance the insured is not alive to make a claim!
• Wide publicity should be given to the life after death aspect of PMJJBY in media, both electronic and print especially the vernacular
• Bank-insurer-hospital inter-face is a must. The hospital where the insured-patient is admitted must be mandated to collect the PMJJBY particulars so that it can intimate both the bank and the insurer in the unfortunate event of death.

While there are reports, albeit anecdotal, of benighted beneficiaries not getting the insurance amount either out of ignorance or inertia or both, there is an apprehension that public sector banks, the lynchpin of the scheme, may have to bear the brunt together with their insurance subsidiaries.

May be Rs 330 for Rs 2 lakh is just a teaser designed to hook people into the insurance habit, and the insurers may take a tougher call when the time comes for review after the second anniversary of the scheme in June 2017.  But an insurer wins his spur on the back of claims: settlement ratio.  While this figure for the first year is awaited, the story doing the rounds is many beneficiaries especially the financial illiterates are not bestirring in the first place to make the claim and the bank managers aren’t being very helpful.  Private sector banks have wisely stayed away by and large.

10067 - Why e-governance services in rural India are getting popular - Financial Express

Why e-governance services in rural India are getting popular

Basically, in order to offer a hassle free government services experience, CSC has recently launched cash on delivery option for government-to-citizen (G2C) services.

By: Mohd Ujaley | Updated: May 30, 2016 6:10 PM

Services such as payment of electricity bill, application for ration card and election photo identity card are frequently sought after. CSC is now mulling to leverage it vast network to provide internet services in rural villages. (AP)

Adnan Khan, who runs a dental clinic in Meerut, could not follow up on the status of his Aadhaar card application due to his hectic schedule. After a delay of more than a month, he sought details with the nearest common service centre (CSC), an e-governance delivery centre having basic computing infrastructure, run by the local community entrepreneur. To his pleasant surprise, the CSC delivered the printed Aadhaar card the next day. The dentist had to pay only Rs 50 for the service.

Basically, in order to offer a hassle free government services experience, CSC has recently launched cash on delivery option for government-to-citizen (G2C) services. Now, one need not stand in a queue to obtain government documents. By merely submitting an online request, services could be availed sitting at home. Currently, Aadhaar card related services are being offered under this programme. “If you can deliver G2C services in a cash-on-delivery mode, insulating people from going to government offices, you will bring a revolution in the mindset of people,” says Dinesh Tyagi, CEO, CSC e-Governance Services India, adding that about 10% of total 100 crore Aadhaar enrolments have been done by CSCs and almost 40% of Aadhaar applications are being generated through CSCs.

CSCs were envisaged to be a strategic component of the National eGovernance Plan (NeGP) in 2006 as a low cost medium for government organisations to deliver the e-governance services to the rural population. Although, over the years, about 1,60,000 CSCs across 600,000 rural villages have been set up under the PPP, they remained largely inactive in the absence of public and business-to-consumer services and half-hearted efforts on the part of government and private organisations running the network. Therefore, the department of electronics and information technology (DeitY) set up a monitoring unit—CSC Special Purpose Vehicle —in 2012 to oversee the implementation of the CSC schemes.

Since then, the focus of CSC has evolved and it has now forayed into government financial inclusion and pension schemes. About 30,000 CSCs are involved in the Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana. And last year’s financial commission to these CSCs had been R40 crore from banking services alone. “Our objective is to make every CSC a business correspondence point so that they can deliver banking and corresponding services. To enable this, we have recently signed the agreements with almost all the major public sector banks,” informs Tyagi.

Interestingly, most of these CSCs work as an agent for insurance companies by collecting their premium and selling insurance products. According to an estimate by CSC, they collect R1 crore premium every day, leading to enhanced commission for the local entrepreneur and higher renewal rate for insurance firms. Although services related to banking and insurance fetch more commission for local entrepreneurs, the major attraction of the people remain basic services such as getting application forms or getting assistance in applying for the jobs. Services such as payment of electricity bill, application for ration card and election photo identity card are frequently sought after. CSC is now mulling to leverage it vast network to provide internet services in rural villages. It has recently taken the ISP license to enable local entrepreneurs to offer internet service through NOFN backbone.

In addition, CSC is building an e-commerce platform for enabling village level entrepreneurs to sell popular local products across the country. “Although, we have signed the agreements with Flipkart and Snapdeal, they mostly serve in urban areas. We are now trying to create ourselves a platform to do something with the products which are unique to India,” says Tyagi, adding that entrepreneurs will be encouraged to sell popular local products like Agra shoes.

10066 - Government likely to pit DBT savings against UPA scam figures in 2019 general election - Economic Times

Government likely to pit DBT savings against UPA scam figures in 2019 general election

By Aman Sharma, ET Bureau | 30 May, 2016, 06.06AM IST

PM Modi is not likely to be content with the Rs 36,500 crore savings figure cited by him on Saturday at the event to celebrate the government’s two-year anniversary.

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is not likely to be content with the Rs 36,500 crore savings figure cited by him on Saturday at the event to celebrate the government's two-year anniversary. Before the next general election in 2019, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is aiming for an even higher figure to juxtapose against the quantum of money allegedly involved in scams under the previous United Progressive Alliance government. 

This will involve eliminating bogus beneficiaries of welfare payments through the use of the Aadhaar ID system , it was decided at a review meeting chaired by the Prime Minister on May 9, senior PMO officials told ET. Aadhaar will be used to ensure that benefits go to the right people under the Public Distribution System (PDS) along the lines of the success in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Full Aadhaar coverage will do the same for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme ( MGNREGS ). 

All 21 crore Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) accounts will be seeded with the Aadhaar number to make them "transaction active." Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) cells will be set up in all central ministries and states to bring all cash or in-kind subsidy schemes under this system.

"PMO is monitoring progress of these issues on top priority every fortnight," an official said. The bulk of the savings so far— Rs 21,672 crore in 2014 and 2015—have accrued from weeding out 3.5 crore duplicate beneficiaries under the LPG Pahal scheme, the official said. 

"The PDS and MGNREGS have lots of scope for more savings when they are entirely covered by Aadhaar based payment system. Right now, savings under PDS and MGNREGS are only Rs 10,000 crore and Rs 3,000 cr, respectively, as the Aadhaar-based PDS is being implemented comprehensively in only two big states— Andhra and Telanagana—while MGNREGS cards have only 60% Aadhaar seeding. It is possible to hit the Rs 1 lakh crore figure with these two expansions," the official said. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have rolled out Aadhaar-based PDS across all districts. 

"The PDS savings here have been an eye-opener for policy makers at the Centre. For example, Andhra Pradesh has removed 8.58 lakh bogus ration cards and 69.18 lakh beneficiaries through Aadhaar-based PDS across all 28,600 fair price shops, saving 403,142 MTs of rice and 5,000 litres of kerosene per annum," a top official said. 

Apart from this, 6.54 lakh bogus pension beneficiaries have been removed, leading to annual savings of Rs 541 crore, while Telangana has eliminated 75.14 lakh ghost PDS beneficiaries, On May 23, the rural development ministry wrote to all states asking them to ensure 100% Aadhaar seeding in all 11 crore MGNREGS accounts through special camps by August and to keep the Centre informed of progress. On May 12, the cabinet secretariat wrote to states and ministries asking for internal DBT Cells to be set up by ministries and states to coordinate implementation of the system in various central schemes. 

"DBT programme has now gathered momentum and its scope extended to schemes where cash benefits are provided to individuals, in-kind transfers as well as transfers made to various enablers of government schemes," said the letter accessed by ET. 

The government is also pushing public sector and private sector banks to seed the PMJDY accounts with Aadhaar so that they are enabled to receive DBT benefits. Though Aadhaar was the primary know your-customer ( KYC ) document for opening a PMJDY account, only 9.32 crore of the 21 crore accounts opened so far under are linked to Aadhaar. 

"Though the same is voluntary, people will be encouraged to seed their bank accounts with Aadhaar given the benefits of the exercise," said an official, adding that 97% of the adult population has been enrolled.

10065 - Land dept to give cloud space to Aadhaar holders - TNN

Land dept to give cloud space to Aadhaar holders

Jaideep Deogharia | TNN | May 30, 2016, 08.04 AM IST

Ranchi: Going a step further on the path of digital revolution, the department of revenue, registration and land reforms has offered to give citizens with Aadhaar numbers two government documents directly in their digital lockers. The documents include registered deed, generated after sale and purchase of land, and certificate of registration of any society. 

The department of information and technology has asked coordinators of Pragya Kendra to open their counters at the 42 registration offices in the state and offer the facility to Aadhaar holders. 

Under the digital locker scheme offered by the Centre, any individual can open an account and book 1GB space on cloud to upload personal documents in soft copy and once the user links the account with his Aadhaar number, all government documents can be obtained in the same locker.

Rajiv Ranjan, director of revenue and land reforms, said at present the only department prepared to 'push' official documents to citizen's digital locker in Jharkhand is revenue, registration and land reforms which started offering the service since last Friday. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi had launched the Digital India campaign on July1, 2015 and Jharkhand government decided to join the movement immediately. It was only due to technical preparations that it took around 11 months to go live," he said.

Though users can open their digital locker anywhere in the country by going to the government of India weblink, the facilities offered by various government departments become accessible only after seeding of the Aadhaar number. 

IT secretary, Sunil Kumar Barnwal, admits that even if the rate of aadhaar registration is very high in Jharkhand, chances of people having digital lockers or opening them on their own is bleak. "To make the system robust, we have directed every Pragya Kendra to offer help in opening digital lockers for the citizens, password of which can later be changed by the individual users," he said.

The officials in the state government claimed complete security of the digital lockers saying that the server is being handled by the Centre. "One has to be particular that they don't share password of their digital lockers with others because it is as valuable as ATM pin number," Ranjan cautioned. 

10064 - Look into my eyes: Made-in-India Iris recognition on a new Samsung tablet - Deccan Chronicle

Look into my eyes: Made-in-India Iris recognition on a new Samsung tablet

INDIATECHONLINE | ANAND PARTHASARATHY

Published

May 30, 2016, 12:40 am IST

Huge potential of Aadhaar prompts Samsung to ‘make in India’ for its tablet-based iris authentication technology.

 Samsung Galaxy Tab Iris provides 8 GB storage and is expandable to 200 GB

Last week, Samsung, staged a dramatic demo in Delhi. As the Telecom Regulatory Authority's Chairman, R.S. Sharma and the Unique Identification Authority of India's Director General A.B.P. Pandey, watched, a Samsung engineer used a just-launched tablet PC to scan the iris of Aloknath De, Samsung's India R&D head. Dr De supplied his Aadhaar number. Within a second, the tablet reported that it had successfully established that he was who he claimed to be -- and brought up his Aadhaar card on the screen.

The resounding taalis aside, this was a development whose potential is only now sinking in. Samsung's Bangalore-based engineers have designed and developed what is arguably the first -ever tablet PC-based system to authenticate a person's identity with near infallibility. To do this the team led by Dr De has incorporated a special camera to scan the iris of a person's eyes and uses a formula called 2-factor authentication to identify him or her to 99.9 percent certainty ( see box: Iris scanning: Infallible)

The Samsung Galaxy Tab Iris, replaces the front camera with an Iris scanner. In other respects this is a fairly standard 7 inch tablet with a quad core processor, a 5 megapixel autofocus rear camera, with a good 3600mAh battery running Android Lollipop 5.11, with 1.5 GB RAM. What is unusual is the 8 GB storage, expandable to a massive 200 GB -- and one can see why. In authenticating identities, the tablet may have to store thousands of records. 

In addition to the software to run the iris identity check with a single click, the makers have made the tablet fully compliant with the Aadhaar data base and has also been certified by the quality control organisation, STQC. They have placed the tablet's identity software development kit in the public domain so that developers can create applications where the iris scan can be used at ration shops, or for disbursing payments under MNREGA, pension payments and any number of e-citizen services.

If one wondered why Samsung chose India to create this technology, Dr Pandey suggested the logic. With Aadhaar enrolments crossing 1 billion, every seventh human being now holds an Aadhaar identity. Samsung is known to have filed for two patents in iris scanning and has registered two trademarks: 'Samsung Iris' and 'Samsung Eyeprint'. Don't be surprised if the company, besides leveraging the first mover advantage for this huge Indian business, also looks at the global potential of its Made in India technology.

So who is the immediate customer for the Galaxy Tab Iris? Don't all rush, because it is not for you and m -- yet. Public service departments who may want to authenticate beneficiaries with minimum delay are the obvious users. But there are other scenarios: rapid insurance claim settlements; preventing ghost mobile phone subscribers, quick clearance at airport immigration, preventing impersonation in examination halls, rapid opening of bank accounts at the customer's home.....you name it. At Rs 13,499, the tablet is reasonably priced for such a path breaking technology.

 Iris scanners on devices like phones and laptops are not new. Microsoft launched two Lumia phones -- 950 and 950 XL -- last October with inbuilt iris scanners which helped owners unlock their phones using its Windows 'Hello' feature. But such applications are trivial compared to what was showcased last week -- and when it trickles down from being an enterprise tool to a consumer accessory -- that'll be the revolution. Consider, you could, from the comfort of your home, self-scan your iris -- and initiate a payment or a document like a passport without physical appearance. This is the ultimate selfie on steroids!

'Look into my eyes... and when you find me there, you'll search no more', sang Bryan Adams in another era on the sound track of the film 'Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves'. Some lyrics can be so prescient -- in ways their writers never imagined.

Iris Scanning: Infallible

The iris scanner is built around a digital camera that uses visible and Infra Red light. By shining IR into the eye, it renders the pupil very black, making it easy to isolate the iris. It then locates the centre and edge of the pupil, the edge of the iris and the eyelid and eyelashes.

Together these factors provide 200 points of reference against around 70 when you take a fingerprint. While fingerprints degrade especially when the subject does manual labour, eyes remain unchanged even after surgery. The blind too, have an iris. The chance of mistaking one person's iris for another's has been rated as one chance in 10 raised to the power 78 -- or virtually nil. Glasses or contact lenses won't affect the scan. (Source: How Stuff Works)

10063 - Aadhaar shock for port trust ‘ghost pensioners' - TNN

Aadhaar shock for port trust ‘ghost pensioners'

Dipak K Dash | TNN | May 30, 2016, 04.15 AM IST

NEW DELHI: They are over 100 years old and yet, 18 former employees of Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT) were drawing pension regularly until technology called their bluff. 

While the linking of Aadhaar to the pensioners' bank accounts last year showed up the "ghost" pensioners, in five other cases, family members of beneficiaries aged over 110 were found to be drawing money on their behalf. 

Besides, the pension of 4,000 beneficiaries has been withheld since November as they have not submitted their "life certificates" to banks. 

"Once Aadhaar is linked to the pensioners' accounts, all bogus claims will be stopped. Our responsibility is to keep the living happy, not feed the ghosts," said an official. 

Plan on Aadhaar link to expose more ghost pensioners 

Government data shows that out of 26,699 pensioners of Kolkata Port Trust (KoPT), around 404 were in the age group of 90 and 100 years. 

The fraud was uncovered after shipping minister Nitin Gadkari had asked Kolkata port authorities last year to link pension payments to Aadhaar. 

In fact, using Jan Dhan, Aadhaar and Mobile (JAM) is being seen as a panacea for weeding out ghost employees, plugging a major loophole through which huge government funds for scholarships and fellowships flow out to bogus beneficiaries.

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The shipping ministry had started holding special Aadhaar camps a year go for pensioners while the legal basis of Aadhaar was awaited.

"Once the entire exercise of linking Aadhaar with pensioners' accounts is completed, we may have a bigger number of bogus beneficiaries," the official said.

Top Comment

Good that the technology is being used to stop such malpractices.

Concerned Citizen

Sources said major ports, including Mumbai Port Trust and Chennai Port Trust, have made good progress in the linking pensioners' Aadhaar number to their bank accounts. In case of KoPT, it has covered little over one-third of the beneficiaries.

Using JAM, the government has been trying to plug leakage of subsidised foodgrain for the poor that is reaching the open market and also to reduce illegal diversification of subsidised urea meant for agriculture for industrial purposes. 

10062 - Is Modi sarkar using Aadhaar to put a leash on Indians? - Daily O

Is Modi sarkar using Aadhaar to put a leash on Indians?

Making available private information indicates the state is seeing people as adversaries whose actions need to be monitored.

16-03-2016

NILANJAN MUKHOPADHYAY @nilanjanudwin

Added to the questionable parliamentary tactics of the government to bring the contentious Aadhar Bill in Rajya Sabha on a token basis on the last day of the first session of Budget session, the legislation raises concerns about the Modi sarkar's brazen style of creating a powerful infrastructure of surveillance which is probably unparalleled in its capacity in any democratic country.

This entire chapter of misuse of executive powers to circumvent legislative excesses has two dimensions. Firstly, the urgency displayed by the government to pass the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2016 is reminiscent of the anxiety displayed last year when the government, Prime Minister Narendra Modi downward, projected the Land Acquisition Bill as the most integral component of driving India's growth. Because the Opposition blocked the Bill, it was accused of blocking India's development.

Also read: Why do we need an Aadhaar law?

Eventually Modi realised that he had wrongly raised the stakes on the Bill because there were words of caution from within his own political Parivar. This time there has been no such signal from the Parivar and the hurry to pass the Aadhar Bill was evident in the fact that it was tabled in Lok Sabha on March 3 and passed by voice vote after just a brief debate on March 11.

Secondly, by arguing that the Aadhar Bill formed the basis of delivery of subsidies and benefits for the people, the government decided to convert the Bill into a Money Bill and thereby subverted the Rajya Sabha and the Bicameral system unanimously accepted by Indian Constitution makers. Because it only remotely adheres to the criteria laid under Article 110 of the Constitution for introducing it as Money Bill, the government's decision raises questions about the real intent of the Bill.

Is it to just "provide for targeted delivery of subsidies and services to individuals residing in India by assigning them unique identity numbers" as specified in the statement of purpose or does the move of the government need to be seen in the backdrop of rising levels of disapprovals towards any form of dissent in any sphere? Last May when the government completed one year in office, this writer was not alone in his views that dissent had become more risky in India under Modi.

Also read: Debate on Aadhaar is about right to privacy, not money

The idea of Aadhar card and the creation of Unique Identification Authority of India had been cause for concern among civil society groups and some political parties even when the UPA government first conceived of it. Justice K S Puttaswamy, retired justice of the Karnataka High Court, went to court arguing that "Aadhaar infringes on our fundamental right to privacy."

In August 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that the Aadhaar number shall remain optional for welfare schemes. It added that no one should be denied any benefit because they did not have an Aadhaar number, barring a few specified services. This case is still ongoing in the apex court. This order was modified in October and an expanded bench ruled that linking of "Aadhaar for providing these services will only be on voluntary basis and no person shall be deprived of any benefit," if they did not have one.

Modi sarkar's Aadhar Bill, certain to be sent in just a shade more than a fortnight to the president for approval, does not follow the ruling of the Supreme Court. This will naturally open the Bill to scrutiny because the matter is sub judice. This will result in a possible petition which may be filed by eminent citizens, rights' groups or other concerned individuals, questioning the extent of discretion that the speaker may use while deciding which Bill can be treated as Money Bill and which cannot be.

Already opposition parties have argued that the speaker's decision must conform to the constitutional provisions and if it does not, this would imply that the decision per se violates the Constitution. In any case, on several occasions it has been pointed out that the speaker's office is acting more as a convenient tool to enable the government deal with an alienated Opposition. The speaker, despite belonging to a political party is expected to rise above partisan politics after assuming office and impartiality of the office must be ensured.

Clauses 7 and 57 of the Aadhar Bill are major points of concern. These make it mandatory for citizens to provide Aadhar details if s(he) wishes to avail certain "subsidies, benefits or services". The relevant clauses also lay down that "any public or private person may use the Aadhaar number for establishing the identity of any individual for any purpose." In simple terms this means - as stated in a paperprepared by highly respected PRS Legislative Research - that this provision "will enable private entities such as, airline, telecom, insurance, real estate etc. companies, to require Aadhaar as a proof of identity for availing their services."

This means that the directive of the Supreme Court that Aadhar card or number should not become mandatory is being violated. 

The Aadhar Bill now passed by Lok Sabha does not declare it compulsory to have an Aadhar card, but de facto the situation is being created where a person will be forced (they are already doing so) to share her/his biometric details - this includes fingerprint and iris scan - with the UIDAI - if they are to live in peace and avail even basic services which are their rights guaranteed under the Constitution.

Another matter of worry is that the new Aadhar Bill gives the power to UID Authority the right to share information - about anyone who is enrolled - "in the interest of national security, or on the orders of a court." The problem with particular clause is because what constitutes "national security" is not specified and empowers government to use subjective discretion, it will open the doors to what Jean Dreze has argued "mass surveillance". 

Moreover, the apex court is already examining in Justice Puttaswamy's plea if abuse of privacy is violation of our Fundamental Rights as enshrined in the Constitution.

The question now arises is whether the government is using the smokescreen of national security and creating a system to keep citizens on watch? Arising from this is a worrying question – will such information – travels details, phone records, and other sundry personal details – be available at the click of a mouse in a centralised structure and will this used constantly? Because the Aadhar Bill has the potential to secure further and more private information, an extensive behavioural pattern of citizens will be available to the government and through it to chosen private parties.

Making available private information about citizens indicates that the State is increasingly seeing them as adversaries whose actions need to be monitored. This goes against the basic system of jurisprudence which lays down that a person must be considered innocent till proven guilty. Citizens can be subjected to scrutiny only after prima facie evidence.

Already, after realising that claims notwithstanding those who are not opting for the much publicised give-it-up scheme and forsake LPG subsidy, customers are being sent SMS messages to declare it their income is less than rupees ten lakh or not. Only those who have incomes below this will be eligible for subsidised LPG. In no society will people want their financial worth to be displayed on publicly available databases. Because cyber security is still evolving and awareness levels are low, such information will only make citizens more vulnerable.

It may be an over-reaction to say that with this move, Modi sarkar has taken a step towards establishing an authoritarian regime. But if safeguards are not put in place and the government does not convince people, such fears will be natural and will only gain currency.

10061 - Modinomics has made India a stronger economy today - Daily O

Modinomics has made India a stronger economy today

In the last two years, our ranking in terms of 'global competitiveness' and 'ease of doing business' has jumped by leaps and bounds.

Sanju Verma

Comparisons can be odious and yet they abound, especially in the case of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His perception is subjective to the different socioeconomic sections that view him through their own characteristic lenses.

It is, however, the uniqueness of "Modinomics" that runs through these perceptions. For, PM Modi welcomes FDI in insurance, railways, food processing, banks, retail, defence, etc, and yet he very well knows the importance of agriculture in Indian economy.

It is this emphasis for the farm sector that explains why his government has earmarked more than Rs 87,000 crore in the Budget for rural India and an additional Rs 2.2 lakh crore will be the government's spending on infrastructure in 2016-17.

Doubling farm incomes by 2022 and housing for all are not jumlas, as naysayers would have us believe. PM Modi has already taken the ambitious step of dismantling APMCs (agricultural produce market committee) and launching, e-NAM (e-National Agriculture Market) which will initially cover 21 wholesale markets in eight states across 585 mandis and gradually spread out a la Amazon, Flipkart, Snapdeal, etc.

Pradhan Matri Jan Dhan Yojana is one of the many inititaives taken by Modi sarkar to empower the masses. (PTI)

In contrast, all that an inept Congress-led UPA government did for the farming class was to keep doling lucrative MSP (minimum support prices) hikes year after year when statistically it has been proven that the benefits of MSPs rarely reached the small and marginal farmers.

Big farmers and middlemen looted the MSP bonuses and leakages in some cases were as high as 60 per cent. The MSP hikes only led to higher inflation with rich farmers getting richer, while the poor getting poorer.

Targeting subsidies through JAM trinity (Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar and Mobile number) and DBT (Direct Benefit Transfer) will ensure money from government coffers reaches those who need it most.

Also read - Is Modi sarkar using Aadhaar to put a leash on Indians?

These moves, howsoever small-ticket moves they may seem, have improved the country's economic outlook. So much so that the likes of S&P and Moody's have upgraded India's economic outlook from stable to positive, which is a far cry from 2012 when S&P had downgraded India's outlook to negative.

In the last two years, India's ranking in terms of "global competitiveness" and "ease of doing business" has jumped by leaps and bounds.

More than $95 billion in FDI in last two years is a towering testimony to how the Modi juggernaut is transforming India.

Also, Startup India has given entrepreneurs a fresh lease of life, even as Mudra Bank has empowered lives of over three crore ordinary individuals.

Modi baiters have often opined that "Modinomics" is inequitable and anti-minorities.

Also read - How SEBI is killing financial inclusion

This is nothing but a bunch of concocted lies. Even as the Gujarat CM, Modi's growth model boasted of lowest poverty ratio amongst Muslims at just 7.7 per cent.

Infant mortality rates had reduced to below 38 per cent versus the national average of more than 41 per cent. Five crore LPG connections to women by 2019 and the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana, which secures the financial emancipation of the girl child, are just a few examples of how "Modinomics" marries compassion with economic sagacity.

Critics have also slammed Modi for "jobless growth", which is again a myth. Ten lakh youth have already got enrolled with 70 per cent having completed their training for taking up meaningful jobs, under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana.

By 2017, 24 lakh youth would have got jobs as part of the Skill India mission. World Bank says that every ten per cent rise in broadband penetration leads to 1.38 per cent growth in GDP, with creation of millions of jobs. The Modi government has already started the process of digitising 2,50,000 gram panchayats.

Also read - Young India must escape quota trap, let the inner entrepreneur grow

Broadband users have risen from 60 million to 120 million in barely two years and internet users have grown to 400 million from less than 150 million in 2014.

A knowledge economy that "Modinomics" is working towards, will not only bridge the urban-rural divide but also create at least five crore new jobs in next few years.

Under the UPA, India had a lost decade as growth fell from nine per cent to below five per cent, industrial growth came down to barely 0.5 per cent, consumer inflation soared to above 11 per cent, and fiscal deficit was well over four per cent.

Under Modi, growth has risen to 7.6 per cent and heading north, current account deficit is 1.3 per cent and heading south, consumer inflation is below four per cent, and fiscal deficit is sub four per cent.

And, to top it all, we have a balance of payments surplus with record forex reserves at $360 billion and growing.

In two years, India is not only more vibrant and strong economically, but also the world now takes us much more seriously than ever before.

And it's just the beginning of "achhe din" PM Modi has promised.

(Courtesy of Mail Today.)

*The copy was updated on May 30, 2016.

10060 - Government mulling revising scholarship norms for SC students - Economic Times

Government mulling revising scholarship norms for SC students

By PTI | 29 May, 2016, 12.33PM IST

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The move comes in the backdrop of unearthing of corruption in implementation of centrally-sponsored 'post-matric scholarship and freeship' in six most backward districts of Maharastra recently.

NEW DELHI: In order to prevent duplication of applications and bring in greater transparency, the government is mulling revising the existing scheme of post-matric scholarship for Scheduled Caste students. 

The move comes in the backdrop of unearthing of corruption in implementation of centrally-sponsored 'post-matric scholarship and freeship' in six most backward districts of Maharastra recently. 

As per the revised guidelines, the uniqueness of the student will be ensured through the SSC Roll number and month and year of passing through ID of State Education Board or other Boards and making it mandatory for the beneficiaries to enroll with Aadhaar. 

It also proposes seeding of Aadhaar with the bank accounts of beneficiaries, said a senior official from the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. 

Also strict time lines for submission and processing of the applications have been proposed. 

For normal courses like BA, BSc, MA, MSc etc the last date for submission of applications by the institutions to the sanctioning authority should not go beyond August 31. 

For professional courses, the last date should be November 30, according to the new guidelines proposed, the official said. 

The guidelines also stress on institutional mapping so that only the institutions recognised by the appropriate body of the State and Centre will be eligible for the scheme. 

"Also, there is a need to cap the number of beneficiaries. The system has to ensure that the number of beneficiaries enrolling in the courses at Post-Senior Secondary level at any time does not exceed the number that availed the PMS in the 12th standard," the official said. 

The scholarships enable SC students to pursue post-matric education including engineering and medical courses. 

The scheme is implemented by the states, which receive 100 per cent central assistance from government of India . 

Scholarships are paid to students whose parents' income from all sources does not exceed Rs 2,50,000 per annum. 

While the tuition fee of the candidates is reimbursed to the colleges, the scholarship is deposited in the students' accounts.

10059 -Delhi police to set up tourist cell, all-women band - Asian Age

Delhi police to set up tourist cell, all-women band

• May 28, 2016 - Sanjay Kaw | New Delhi

Setting up a tourist police cell and an all-women band, effective use of Aadhaar cards, maintaining a data bank of all government employees, converting the Police Training College to the Delhi Police University and preparing digital version of policing with help of professionals are some of the priority areas that the Delhi police will be working on in the near future. In an action taken report sent to the Union home ministry, the Delhi police said that its traffic unit was utilising the services of school and college students to impart education on traffic rules in the city.

The report has been prepared by the Delhi police in wake of a conference of the DGPs and IGs chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will complete two years in office on Saturday. According to the report, the police force would not only broaden the scope of joint exercises with the neighbouring states, but would also hold state-level conferences in which chief ministers, home ministers and home secretaries could also participate.

On the concept of the smart police propounded by Mr Modi, the Delhi police said the same was being implemented in letter and spirit. “However, for focused future planning, a committee has been formed that has been tasked to set targets and timelines and a vision document for Delhi 2025.”

The report said that a proposal for creation of the tourist police cell with adequate staff and proper soft skills was being prepared and the same would be submitted for consideration of the competent authority. The cell is likely to have pan-India similarity in uniform.

At present, there is no system of tourist police in Delhi. There are 10 PCR vans that are reportedly deployed round-the-clock in three shifts at various iconic tourist places. The PCR vans had reportedly attended 3,716 SOS calls and guided and assisted 86,624 tourists till April 15. Information regarding emergency helplines has also been displayed in 4,700 taxis operating around the IGI Airport under the “Be Aware Travel Safe” campaign. The police said the same needed to be done at all bus and railway stations.

On policing parameters for grading police stations, the report said the system prevalent in the Rajasthan police was being studied for feasibility and implementation in the city. The city police has an in-house appraisal system through which three best police stations are selected every year. For the future, it is felt desirable to have a web-based survey/ feedback by which citizen ratings will also have a bearing on the grading.”

The report said that the Delhi police was perhaps the only state police other than Karnataka to have its own cyber highway that provides connectivity to all the police stations. It said that the police force was now examining how to use Aadhaar database for smoother functioning.

10058 - ODING ON THE OVERDRAFT - Mumbai Mirror

ODING ON THE OVERDRAFT

By Ajit Ranade, Mumbai Mirror | May 28, 2016, 12.00 AM IST

The PM's scheme to reach the poor by giving them bank access was a great idea, but giving them unsecured loans may not be.

Two years ago, on India's independence day, prime minister Modi announced an ambitious financial inclusion scheme. It was officially launched as the Pradhan Mantri Jana Dhan Yojana (JDY), with the explicit aim of reaching the unbanked population. The PM exhorted banks to reach out to the last person without an account in the remotest part of the country. Such was the missionary zeal of bankers, that in just a few months more than 100 million such accounts were opened. The pace set a Guinness World Record. There is a website which tracks these accounts, and as of May 11, 2016 it reported 218 million accounts. This achievement is simply outstanding.

Now cue to the Economic Survey this year. This is the official annual report card of the Indian economy tabled in Parliament by the Finance Minister. This year's Survey talked about spreading JAM across the economy. No, the finance minister did not suddenly think of the whole country as a slice of bread! JAM is a trinity of J - Jan Dhan Yojana, A - Aadhaar card or the universal ID number and M - mobile phone. The Survey argued that India's poor can be better accessed and served by using the technology of these three platforms, eventually graduated to cashless transactions.

The direct benefit transfer of cooking gas subsidy is an example of JAM in action. Here's how it works - your bank account and cooking gas connection are linked to your Aadhaar number. You pay full price for the gas cylinder at the shop, which eliminates the black markets in cylinders. Your subsidy amount is credited directly to your bank account. The JAM model is being applied to many other schemes such as old age and widow pensions, and disability payments. It is possible that even ration cards, and food subsidies under the Public Distribution System will become JAM enabled i.e. you pay full price for the food grain and the subsidy is deposited in your account.

There are many critics of JAM, and the loudest in the chorus are those worried about the "Big Brother" aspect that JAM can come parcelled with - when registering for an Aadhaar card, you submit biometric data. Linking your bank and biometric data to centrally administered schemes gives the government significant access into your personal life.

Others worry that the JAM can't extend far enough because there are very few physical bank branches in remote areas. How will people access money in their accounts, if there's no ATM nearby? The government's hope is that lakhs of business correspondents will spring up (like the village kirana store) who will be the extension counters of the banks they represent. The viability of expanding banking reach through agents is still untested.

Meanwhile the 218 million accounts of JDY have already got about Rs 37,000 crores of balance. The Prime Minister in his monthly radio address hinted that these account holders will get an overdraft facility along with a credit and debit card. Which means they can spend more money than they have in their account. When will they repay? Not clear. Will the account always be in overdraft mode, i.e. showing a negative balance?

Now think about this. If of our 218 million new account holders, even 100 million decided to draw an overdraft of Rs 5,000 each, that would amount to total bank credit of Rs 50,000 crores. Since this credit is being extended without any other paperwork, or collateral, is this not like a loan mela?

The amount of Rs 5,000 per account may seem small, and similar to loans given out by microfinance institutions (MFI). But MFI borrowers have an almost 100 percent repayment record, since they are organised as self-help groups, or as joint liability borrowers. One default can black list the entire group, hence there is great repayment discipline. The only way that the MFI model fails is when it is politicised, and borrowers sense loan waivers (as happened in the undivided Andhra Pradesh in 2009).

The recent suggestion of blanket overdraft for Jan Dhan account holders, if not thought through carefully, can easily become another loan mela with huge potential losses for banks. Then the JAM will taste bitter.

10057 - CS reviews NPR, Aadhaar enrolment status - Daily Excelsior

CS reviews NPR, Aadhaar enrolment status

Posted on 28/05/2016 by Dailyexcelsior

Excelsior Correspondent

SRINAGAR, May 27: Chief Secretary, B R Sharma today held a video conference with DCs to review district wise status of National Population Register (NPR) enrolment and Aadhaar generation in J&K.

Registrar General India (RGI) also participated in the video conference from New Delhi besides Secretary, IT, Additional RGI and other officers were also present in the meeting.
As on date, enrolment of over 90 lakh citizens in J&K has been completed along with generation of 82 lakh Aadhaar cards. The total census population being 125 lakh.

Districts lagging behind in capturing of Biometrics like Kupwara, Baramulla, Anantnag, Srinagar and Jammu were instructed to prepare a specific target action plan on priority within a week to capture the left out population.
In order to complete the exercise within the next three months, DCs were asked to form clusters of villages or enumeration blocks so that Biometric scan of every left out citizen in the cluster is facilitated in the camps to be set up for the purpose.
Meanwhile, vendors were strictly directed to deploy machines (Biometric kits) as per the requirement of the district, to enable capturing of Biometric data of the left out population and completion of the exercise within the next three months.

10056 - Karnataka govt to plug PDS leakages with Aadhaar authentication - Economic Times

Karnataka govt to plug PDS leakages with Aadhaar authentication

The move takes forward Karnataka’s efforts to weed out bogus ration cards by using the beneficiary’s Aadhaar number to validate genuine ones.

Sowmya Aji  |  ET Bureau  |  28 May 2016, 7:27 AM IST

A pilot project carried out by Karnataka for biometric authentication of PDS beneficiaries was a grand success though there were some teething problems. 

Taking forward Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Digital India initiative, the Congress government in Karnataka is trying to fix bugs in the use of Aadhaar to supply food grains through the public distribution system by adopting an old Gujarat model of using food coupons. 

A pilot project using this revised model in Bengaluru, covering the supply of four litres of kerosene a card in mere 50 shops, has shown runaway success: the state has managed to save Rs 12.16 lakh in one month. 

"The feedback has been very good. We are expanding it to other urban areas shortly and then take it to all rural areas," Dinesh Gundu Rao, Karnataka's food and civil supplies minister, told ET. 

The move takes forward Karnataka's efforts to weed out bogus ration cards by using the beneficiary's Aadhaar number to validate genuine ones. About 70% of the 1.08 crore ration card holders in the state have already submitted their Aadhaar numbers and the remaining is expected to be covered by July. 

At least 11 states have already gone in for supply of foodgrains against Aadhaar authentication at the ration shops, in an effort to weed out spurious cards and siphoning from the PDS. However, with the exception of Andhra Pradesh that has shown a saving of Rs 20 crore by using this method in the PDS, biometric authentication at the point of sale (PoS) has become almost a logistical nightmare. 

Karnataka has also set up PoS machines in 3,000 of the state's 20,000 fair-price shops and the experience has left both officials and beneficiaries struggling. Problems include lack of power supply, no battery backup, inadequate Internet connections and difficulties in reading the thumb on several machines. 

"The idea of giving us the rations based only on biometrics is good," says Poosamma, 65, an agarbatti roller at Swatantrapalya, Bengaluru. The problem she faces is a class example of issues with the PoS machine: her fingerprints are worn out due to the job she does. "Often, the PoS machine at our ration shop does not read my finger and it is a constant struggle till it works. This problem needs to be addressed," she says. 

The state's food and civil supplies department says Aadhaar authentication of the beneficiary is the answer, as all 10 fingerprints as well as the iris can be matched. 

By verifying the Aadhaar number against the ration card of the beneficiary, the authentication is done. And instead of doing this verification at the PoS and causing long queues, the beneficiary is given coupons - via SMS or the print ones - to collect rations easily. 

The mobile system is the easiest: the beneficiary sends a message to a number given by the department from the mobile that he or she has registered with Aadhaar. The number automatically works as Aadhaar verification in the F&CS server and a PDS coupon code is sent to the mobile. The beneficiary then shows the mobile code to the fair-price shop and collects his ration. 

For those not mobile-savvy, Aadhaar authentication is done either at the gram panchayat's kiosks in rural areas and civic centres like Bengaluru One in urban. Beneficiaries will be given paper coupons for six months against one authentication, which they will present to the shops. 

"It is an idea whose time has come. It will be a game changer," says the department's secretary, Harsh Gupta. "The Gujarat model using print coupons was very successful. 

We felt we could solve the problem of biometric authentication each time the beneficiary needs to pick up rations by giving them multi-month coupons against one authentication." 

ET visited a very backward part of Bengaluru, where the poorest, who use kerosene for cooking, are getting printed coupons in the pilot phase. They are not able to figure out the mobile method. 

Valliamma Ramamurthy, Rukmini Govindaraj and Shanti Gopal are at the Bengaluru One centre in Srirampuram for the third time this week, as the server was not connecting to the F&CS one each time they came. "I could have spent the money on a meal rather than on autos to reach this place each time," Valliamma says, while Shanti frets about having missed the domestic work she does at various homes to make time to collect coupons. 

They agree they have to be authenticated to get their rations. "We don't want other people to take our rations or siphon off subsidies in our name. Authentication is needed, but we wish the governments and services will get their act together and make supply for us hassle-free," Rukmini says. 

The server works at that moment and she is all smiles, as her coupon has been printed out in a minute. 

"Don't worry," F&CS deputy directors Sharanbasappa and Rajanna assure her. "Next time, we will give you three-month coupons and you will have fewer hassles." 

M Ramamurthy, who runs a cooperative fair-price shop in the same area, also needs convincing. "I am opening an app on my smartphone, scanning the barcode on the coupon the beneficiaries bring, uploading the bill and the coupon on to the server and giving people their kerosene quota. I am all for technology, but it is taking me 10 minutes to serve one person," he rues. 

"We are looking at the problems and how to solve them. These are still less than the errors and the problems the PoS machines have caused," minister Rao contended. 

Karnataka's Centre for e-Governance chief executive Rathan U Kelkar said the process of verifying all the ration card data against Aadhaar would start in a few days. "We are looking at a software that Andhra Pradesh used to authenticate data. They have used voice to pronounce names also, rather than just read it. We will decide on this in a few days and do the verification of the ration card database," he said.

10055 - Government to plug PDS leakages with Aadhaar authentication - Economic Times

Government to plug PDS leakages with Aadhaar authentication

By Sowmya Aji, ET Bureau | 28 May, 2016, 01.37AM IST

The move takes forward Karnataka’s efforts to weed out bogus ration cards by using the beneficiary’s Aadhaar number to validate genuine ones.

A pilot project carried out by Karnataka for biometric authentication of PDS beneficiaries was a grand success though there were some teething problems, writes Sowmya Aji. 

Taking forward Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Digital India initiative , the Congress government in Karnataka is trying to fix bugs in the use of Aadhaar to supply food grains through the public distribution system by adopting an old Gujarat model of using food coupons. 

A pilot project using this revised model in Bengaluru, covering the supply of four litres of kerosene a card in a mere 50 shops, has shown runaway success: the state has managed to save Rs 12.16 lakh in one month. 

"The feedback has been very good. We are expanding it to other urban areas shortly and then take it to all rural areas," Dinesh Gundu Rao, Karnataka's food and civil supplies minister, told ET. 

The move takes forward Karnataka's efforts to weed out bogus ration cards by using the beneficiary's Aadhaar number to validate genuine ones. About 70% of the 1.08 crore ration card holders in the state have already submitted their Aadhaar numbers and the remaining is expected to be covered by July. 

At least 11 states have already gone in for supply of foodgrains against Aadhaar authentication at the ration shops, in an effort to weed out spurious cards and siphoning from the PDS. However, with the exception of Andhra Pradesh that has shown a saving of Rs 20 crore by using this method in the PDS, biometric authentication at the point of sale (PoS) has become almost a logistical nightmare. 

Karnataka has also set up PoS machines in 3,000 of the state's 20,000 fair-price shops and the experience has left both officials and beneficiaries struggling. Problems include lack of power supply, no battery backup, inadequate Internet connections and difficulties in reading the thumb on several machines. 

"The idea of giving us the rations based only on biometrics is good," says Poosamma, 65, an agarbatti roller at Swatantrapalya, Bengaluru. The problem she faces is a class example of issues with the PoS machine: her fingerprints are worn out due to the job she does. "Often, the PoS machine at our ration shop does not read my finger and it is a constant struggle till it works. This problem needs to be addressed," she says. 

The state's food and civil supplies department says Aadhaar authentication of the beneficiary is the answer, as all 10 fingerprints as well as the iris can be matched. 

By verifying the Aadhaar number against the ration card of the beneficiary, the authentication is done. And instead of doing this verification at the PoS and causing long queues, the beneficiary is given coupons — via SMS or the print ones — to collect rations easily. 

The mobile system is the easiest: the beneficiary sends a message to a number given by the department from the mobile that he or she has registered with Aadhaar. The number automatically works as Aadhaar verification in the F&CS server and a PDS coupon code is sent to the mobile. The beneficiary then shows the mobile code to the fair-price shop and collects his ration. 

For those not mobile-savvy, Aadhaar authentication is done either at the gram panchayat's kiosks in rural areas and civic centres like Bengaluru One in urban. Beneficiaries will be given paper coupons for six months against one authentication, which they will present to the shops. 

"It is an idea whose time has come. It will be a game changer," says the department's secretary, Harsh Gupta. "The Gujarat model using print coupons was very successful. 

We felt we could solve the problem of biometric authentication each time the beneficiary needs to pick up rations by giving them multi-month coupons against one authentication." 

ET visited a very backward part of Bengaluru, where the poorest, who use kerosene for cooking, are getting printed coupons in the pilot phase. They are not able to figure out the mobile method. 

Valliamma Ramamurthy, Rukmini Govindaraj and Shanti Gopal are at the Bengaluru One centre in Srirampuram for the third time this week, as the server was not connecting to the F&CS one each time they came. "I could have spent the money on a meal rather than on autos to reach this place each time," Valliamma says, while Shanti frets about having missed the domestic work she does at various homes to make time to collect coupons. 

They agree they have to be authenticated to get their rations. "We don't want other people to take our rations or siphon off subsidies in our name. Authentication is needed, but we wish the governments and services will get their act together and make supply for us hassle-free," Rukmini says. 

The server works at that moment and she is all smiles, as her coupon has been printed out in a minute. 

"Don't worry," F&CS deputy directors Sharanbasappa and Rajanna assure her. "Next time, we will give you three-month coupons and you will have fewer hassles." 

M Ramamurthy, who runs a cooperative fair-price shop in the same area, also needs convincing. "I am opening an app on my smartphone, scanning the barcode on the coupon the beneficiaries bring, uploading the bill and the coupon on to the server and giving people their kerosene quota. I am all for technology, but it is taking me 10 minutes to serve one person," he rues. 

"We are looking at the problems and how to solve them. These are still less than the errors and the problems the PoS machines have caused," minister Rao contended. 

Karnataka's Centre for e-Governance chief executive Rathan U Kelkar said the process of verifying all the ration card data against Aadhaar would start in a few days. "We are looking at a software that Andhra Pradesh used to authenticate data. They have used voice to pronounce names also, rather than just read it. We will decide on this in a few days and do the verification of the ration card database," he said.

10054 - PMO happy as 13 crore people used Aadhaar for IDs and received benefits in March - Economic Times

PMO happy as 13 crore people used Aadhaar for IDs and received benefits in March

By Aman Sharma, ET Bureau | 28 May, 2016, 02.02AM IST

“This is the ultimate test of Aadhaar – whether people are actively using it to receive a service or benefit,” a senior government official said.

NEW DELHI: Over 13 crore people , the highest-ever for any month, used their Aadhaar this March to authenticate their identity and receive a government benefit or service, as per latest figures submitted to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) at a meeting chaired by the PM earlier this month. 

"This is the ultimate test of Aadhaar - whether people are actively using it to receive a service or benefit," a senior government official said, adding that PMO was enthused over the response and expects over 150 Cr Aadhaar authenticated transactions in 2016. "The online authentication platform is capable of handling 10 crore transactions daily," UIDAI chief AB Pandey told ET earlier this week. 

As per details with ET, nearly 174 Cr Aadhaar authenticated transactions have been carried out since inception of the facility till May 15 this year by over 42 Cr Aadhaar number holders out of the 101 Cr people with Aadhaar numbers as of today. Only 8.82 Cr Aadhaar authenticated transactions happened under the UPA. Things picked under the Modi government -about 47 Cr Aadhaar authenticated transactions were done in year 2015. 

The UIDAI chief told ET that authentication was also the way of sharing data, when asked about the tussle with Registrar General of India (RGI). "RGI can use our authentication mechanism. If they want to confirm whether the name of a person in the National Population Register is the same person or not, he can put his biometric and Aadhaar number, and his details will appear. So in this way, the data is being shared," Pandey said. 

The UIDAI chief said the system also ensures safety of data and privacy issues. "It is most optimal that data remains at one place and everyone uses the authentication mechanism. RGI may also like to do that. Rather than biometrics lying at 10 different places and everyone worrying about protecting privacy of data, we have said this is how we will authenticate," Pandey said. The Aadhaar Act says core biometric data will not be shared. 

Officials say authentication mechanism of UIDAI ensures any requesting authority obtains consent of Aadhaar number holder before authentication, inform the purpose of authentication and ensure that the collected identity information is used only for submission and no core biometric information is retained by the requesting authority.