AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 10072 - At IDFC's Bharat Banking, micro ATMs hold key to govt subsidy and micro finance business

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

Tuesday, May 31, 2016

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.