AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 10050 - Soon, an 'Aadhaar' for Drones Might Be the Norm

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, May 30, 2016

10050 - Soon, an 'Aadhaar' for Drones Might Be the Norm - NDTV

Soon, an 'Aadhaar' for Drones Might Be the Norm

Gadgets 360 Staff , 26 May 2016

There are an increasing number of uses for drones in India and around the world. From small, personal use quadcopters, to high end devices that come with cameras mounted on them which stream high quality video remotely, there's a huge variety of drones in the sky. With the growing number of drones in the sky, the government has been talking about regulating these devices for some time now, and it appears that we're now close to seeing this actually happen.

As reported by Medianama, the Director General of Civil Aviation has uploaded a draft of the possible drone policy, titled "Guidelines for obtaining Unique Identification Number (UIN) and Operation of Civil Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS)". The circular was seeking comments until May 21, and is now going to be considered as a final policy, though the date for that announcement was not stated.

The Indian Railways plans to use drones to inspect projects, and drone monitoring to fight tiger poaching is being considered.

Apart from this, drones were used in Jammu and Srinagar to study traffic, and while helicopters have been used in the past for surveillance during assembly polls, drones were used to monitor the Bihar polls.

The growing number of drones in the sky - whether for government projects, or for personal use such as filmmaking and even deliveries - comes with its own set of concerns. The US has decided it requires the registration of drones and it appears that India is going to follow suit.

(Also see: Drones Are Coming, for Better and for Worse)

A read-through of the draft shows that civilian drones will be classified by size, and by the height at which they are operated. Drones flying at under 200 feet (roughly 60 metres) - or roughly the height of a typical 20 story building - do not require a license, but do require a permission from the local administration. What this means is that even a "large" drone, i.e. one that's greater than 150kg in weight, will not be regulated if flying under 200 feet, while a "micro" drone, under 2kg, will still be regulated at over 200 feet. However, large and small (20kg to 150kg) drones have to be fitted with SSR transponders that report the aircraft's altitude.

All drones will be required to have a Unique Identification Number - an Aadhaar for drones, if you will - and this will only be issued to citizens of India. You'll need to apply for permission before you can fly your drone, giving all specifications, a statement of purpose for operation of the drone, and documents such as police clearances and more. What's more, you'll have to install a fireproof ID plate inscribed with the UIN on the drone before you can operate it.

Plus, you'll also need a drone operator permit (if you're flying above 200 feet). This doesn't apply to model aircraft operating under 200 feet, or indoors, for recreational purposes, so your toy aircraft or quadcopter isn't going to get you into trouble, most likely.

There are several more requirements mentioned in the document - the drone has to remain with a 500 metre visual line of sight at all times, and a flight plan has to be filed before launching. The drones aren't allowed to drop anything unless specially cleared, which means that drone deliveries are not very likely, and drones can't be sold or disposed of without permission from the DGCA.

You can read the entire draft online, though once again, this is simply a draft and not the final guidelines, which will be in the near future.

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