10199 - Aadhaar-linked e-health register mooted - New Indian Express

Aadhaar-linked e-health register mooted

By Express News Service

Published: 06th July 2016 05:41 AM

• Health Minister K K Shailaja Teacher talking to Aleena of Koonammavu who suffered bone fracture, after inaugurating Cardiac Cath Lab and Advanced Invasive Care Unit at General Hospital in Kochi | Melton Antony 

KOCHI: The State Government is planning to introduce a e-health register that is linked to Aadhaar card, with the aim of providing comprehensive healthcare to the common man, said Health and Family Welfare Minister K K Shailaja.

The e-register, containing health status of all citizens, will be an authentic document on the public health of Kerala society.

Speaking after inaugurating new the cathlab and advanced intensive care unit at Ernakulam General Hospital here on Tuesday, Shailaja said, "such a facility will be helpful when patients are rushed to hospital in emergency situations. In phase-II, the project will be implemented in seven districts, including Ernakulam," said the Minister, adding that the government had started inspecting the taluk  and district hospitals in the State.

"Government hospitals are still functioning with the staff pattern set in 1961. A change in staff pattern is essential to make functioning of the hospitals more effective. Despite Kerala being the best in the country in public healthcare, almost all hospitals in the State are over-crowded," said Shailaja, adding that the government's aim was to provide better treatment at reasonable cost.

"Primary Health Centres  will be converted into 'Family Health Centres,' where the health  status of people from a particular region could be monitored. There is nothing wrong in integrating Yoga into treatment, if it could have a positive  result. But, it should be done in a secular manner," she said.

Shailaja is of the opinion that hospital buildings should look beautiful. "The ambiance of hospitals can have an impact on patients. Beautifying hospital building and  their surroundings will be great relief to patients. The Hospital Development Committees can do a lot in this regard," she said.

The function was presided over by Hibi Eden MlA. District Collector M G Rajamanickam welcomed the gathering. MLAs M Swaraj, K J Maxi and John Fernandez; former MLA Ludy Louiz; former MP P Rajeev; district panchayat president Asha Sanil; councillors and senior doctors were also present

Govt service mandatory for PG doctors

Later, speaking at a meet-the-press programme held at the Ernakulam Press Club, the Minister said the government was planning to make government service mandatory for those who complete medical PG courses.

"A decision in this regard was taken as the government is finding it difficult to get specialist doctors to work in the public sector. There  have been complaints of dearth of specialist doctors in many hospitals. Though the government is ready to make appointments, most specialist doctors are not willing to join government service. The plan is to make government service mandatory for a minimum of three years. It is a fact that the government sector is not attractive in terms of monetary benefit. But, doctors should consider it as their responsibility to serve society," said the Minister, adding that a health policy  was being prepared. 

10198 - Indian passengers could soon be DENIED train tickets without an Aadhaar card, officials warn - Daily Mail UK

Indian passengers could soon be DENIED train tickets without an Aadhaar card, officials warn  

By RAKESH RANJAN

PUBLISHED: 10:07 +10:00, 6 July 2016 | UPDATED: 10:07 +10:00, 6 July 2016

The world’s largest biometric identity project may become the foundation of railway travel in India, and passengers attempting to travel without an Aadhaar card could soon be denied a ticket.

Sources say Indian Railways is set to link passenger ticketing services with the database scheme, in what is being seen as a bid to slash spending on subsidies and other concessions.

Officials say the plan is aimed at curbing cases of impersonation

The world’s largest biometric identity project may become the foundation of railway travel in India, meaning that passengers attempting to travel without a Aadhaar card could soon be denied a ticket

The Railways' move will be in contrast with a Supreme Court order last year restricting the use of Aadhaar to the public distribution system (PDS) and LPG connections.

The unique identity project was started seven years ago, with the aim of helping citizens, especially those who have no other form of portable ID, such as a passport or driving licence, to access banking and government services for the first time.

However, the top court said the programme cannot be made mandatory for access to government benefits.

The matter is pending before the Constitution Bench for a final decision. 

The Railways' plan will be implemented in two phases, sources say.

In the first stage, it will be necessary to provide an Aadhaar number to get concessions under various quotas, such as those for senior citizens, freedom fighters, the disabled, students, and unemployed youths.

Indian Railways provides concessions in fares to 53 categories. A senior ministry official said the policy in this regard will be approved and implemented in 15 days.

In the second phase, that will take nearly two months, the Railways will link all ticketing services to the Aadhaar card.

During travel, the Aadhaar number listed on the ticket will be entered into a mobile device provided to each ticket examiner

This means that a passenger will have to provide the unique identity number at the time of booking a ticket either online or at the reservation windows.

Initially, Aadhaar will be required for booking reserved tickets, but later it will be made mandatory for unreserved tickets too.

Railway officials justified the move by saying this will ensure only genuine passengers travel by train. 

They claimed that the majority of people are enrolled with Aadhaar, and so this will not affect them adversely.

A senior Railway Board official told Mail Today: “According to government statistics, 96 per cent of Indians have been given Aadhaar numbers. By making Aadhaar card mandatory, railways will be able to check impersonation and thus revenue losses".

Sources say Indian Railways is set to link passenger ticketing services with the Aadhaar scheme in a bid to slash spending on subsidies and other concessions

As per the plan, the Aadhaar number, provided at the time of booking, will be printed on the ticket. 

During travel, the Aadhaar number listed on the ticket will be entered into a mobile device provided to each ticket examiner.

The passenger's identity details, including their photograph, will be displayed on the device to confirm who they are.

Rail Ministry accounts show that the department offers passengers a 43 per cent subsidy on a single train journey.

This means that if the Railways spends Rs 100 on a train journey, it only charges Rs 57.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-3676246/Indian-passengers-soon-DENIED-train-tickets-without-Aadhaar-card-officials-warn.html#ixzz4FtmrqBjX 

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10197 - India’s Biometrics Market to Grow at 31 Percent CAGR Between 2016-2021: Report - Find Biometrics

India’s Biometrics Market to Grow at 31 Percent CAGR Between 2016-2021: Report

Posted on July 5, 2016

India’s biometrics market will be worth more than three billion dollars by the year 2021, according to a new report from TechSci Research. Entitled “India Biometrics Market By Type, By End Use Sector, Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2016-2021”, the report says this growth reflects a CAGR of about 31 percent during the forecast period.

Aadhaar is, of course, the major driver of the market. The biometric citizen ID program continues to grow in importance as it finds impactful links in a range of sectors and applications, including its emerging use in everyday banking. Security concerns are also helping to drive the adoption of biometric technologies, TechSci Research says.

Another strong area is consumer electronics, which “is offering huge growth opportunities” with respect to integrations of biometric technologies, according to a report synopsis. This tracks with growth in domestic use of smartphones and the internet in general, which TechSci Research says saw 36 percent and 24 percent increases, respectively, in users last year.

In short, it’s a national biometrics market very similar to many others around the world, save for its enormous government-driven component. But as Aadhaar shows its benefits and advantages in the years to come, governments around the world may similarly embrace their own biometric ID programs.

–

July 5, 2016 – by Alex Perala

10196 - UIDAI all praise for A.P.’s success - The Hindu

VIJAYAWADA, July 5, 2016

UIDAI all praise for A.P.’s success

• THARUN BODA

Use of Aadhaar architecture in PDS and others saved hundreds of crores: official

The success story of Andhra Pradesh in developing Aadhaar enabled applications through its initiative e-Pragati has prompted the entire high level team of Unique Identification Authority of India come down to learn the implementation of various schemes at the ground level.

About 200 officials led by UIDAI Director-General A.B. Pandey came down to the city to organise the two-day National Workshop on the applications on Monday and Tuesday.

The officers of UIDAI formed into six teams and visited villages in Krishna and Guntur districts on Monday to study the implementation of Aadhaar-enabled PDS at fair price shops. While four teams visited villages in Krishna, two teams visited villages in Guntur district in the afternoon.

Earlier speaking at the workshop held in a hotel here, Mr. Pandey said the use of the Aadhaar architecture in PDS, MGNREGS schemes, distribution of fertilizers, crop insurance and others saving hundreds of crores by the State administration had left him surprised.

I.T. Advisor to Government of A.P. J. Satyanarayana said Aadhaar needed an ecosystem to make its applications successful and Andhra Pradesh through the e-Pragati had developed it.

He explained the project People Hub which aimed to provide all services. Schemes would cover all the five crore people and connect them with all the government departments cutting out redundancy.

Through the People Hub, A.P. aimed to eliminate redundancy of citizens’ identity in the government records, provide faster relief during disasters, 360 degree view of citizens and others, he said.

Commissioner of Food & Civil Supplies department of A.P. G. Jayalakshmi gave details of the Aadhaar-enabled PDS. Later, speaking at a press conference UIDAI, Hyderabad region Dy. Director General M.V.S. Rami Reddy said A.P. stood tall among the few States that had achieved maximum results through Aadhaar and was able to save Rs. 1,100 crores and more in the PDS schemes alone.

10195 - SEBI may take Aadhaar route to tap buyers on e-comm platforms - Hindu Businessline

SEBI may take Aadhaar route to tap buyers on e-comm platforms

K RAGHAVENDRA RAO

This will help in easy on-boarding of customers, says Nilekani panel

MUMBAI, JULY 5:  

The Nandan Nilekani Committee set up by the securities market regulator has suggested that Aadhaar-based e-KYC be the enabler to achieve the objective of roping in 20 crore investors in the next few years, according to sources. At present, there are about 4.5 crore investors.

This would help in easy on-boarding of customers as Aadhaar already has an individual’s bank account number.

The committee was set up to outline the manner in which mutual fund schemes may be sold over e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart.

Spot registration

To help in increasing the number of e-KYC registration for Aadhaar holders, the industry has mooted spot registration at investor meets, incentivising banks and micro-finance institutions to do e-KYC, and putting up stalls at post offices, among other things. The Committee has also suggested doing away with the investment cap of ₹50,000 per fund house per annum based on Aadhaar and make it ₹ 50,000 per transaction as the Aadhaar Bill has been passed in Parliament.

The objective of the regulator is to expand the mutual fund industry by adding another distribution channel — the e-commerce platform — to the already existing banks/independent financial advisors, national distributors and direct to customer.

SEBI’s thought process takes into account that inefficient players from every distribution channel would not survive. Those from existing channels may also take advantage of the expanding market place and tailor their offerings accordingly to survive first.

“E-commerce players have to register themselves with SEBI before offering mutual fund schemes. They would be required to have an ARN (AMFI Registration) number and NISM certification in place before they offer schemes on their platform,” said a CEO of a mutual fund. To ensure that investors do not end up buying products that they are not supposed to, as per their risk profile, SEBI is considering implementing suitability norms for products to be sold to investors based on their risk profile.

First-time investors would have to provide details about themselves on the e-commerce platform and only after their risk profile is ascertained would they be able to buy those mutual products, said sources. Rules and guidelines that are specific to selling mutual fund schemes by e-commerce platforms are in the process of being framed, they added.

(This article was published on July 5, 2016)

10194 - Ration supply stopped to 15 lakh Aadhaar cardholders Found using card at multiple depots across the state - Tribune India

Posted at: Jul 6, 2016, 12:50 AM; last updated: Jul 6, 2016, 12:50 AM (IST)

Ration supply stopped to 15 lakh Aadhaar cardholders

Found using card at multiple depots across the state

Deepender Deswal

Tribune News Service

Hisar, July 5

The linking of ration cards with Aadhaar has hit a major roadblock as over 15 lakh duplicate Aadhaar number holders have been detected in the state. The Food and Civil Supplies Department has stopped the supply of ration under the public distribution system (PDS) to such beneficiaries.

A total of 1.32 crore people are enrolled under the PDS in the state. The process is being undertaken under the National Food Security Act, 2013, to eliminate fake beneficiaries and bringing transparency in the PDS.

The department said 88 per cent of the total ration cards had been linked to the Aadhaar under the Aadhaar seeding of the targeted public distribution system (TPDS) by July 4. However, it has been found that one Aadhaar number has been provided more than once in a large number of cases, which led to duplicity or repetition of the same Aadhaar number.

Though the officials have failed to detect the exact reason, there seems to be a possibility that individuals have more than one ration card and provided same Aadhaar at other ration depots. There is also a possibility of error by the data entry operators.

“There are instances where one Aadhaar number is being used at multiple places by the ration cardholders. We got all the Aadhaar numbers checked by the National Informatics Centre at the headquarters, which has detected this faux pas,” said Subhash Chander Sihag, Hisar District Food and Supplies Commissioner (DFSC).

NK Mittal, Deputy Director, Food and Civil Supplies, Chandigarh, however, said the error was being rectified by procuring documents from such persons who had furnished same Aadhaar numbers. “Ration cardholders will not get any supply till they provide valid Aadhaar numbers,” he said.

An NIC official said there was zero scope of any error in preparing Aadhaar cards. “It is impossible that one Aadhaar number is issued to two individuals. The mistake occurred either in the feeding of number or individuals deliberately used the same number at more than one place,” he said.

10193 - Centre tells states to plug subsidy leakage - Hindustan Times

Centre tells states to plug subsidy leakage

• Timsy Jaipuria |  Updated: Jul 05, 2016 07:29 IST
• 
  

NEW DELHI: In a nation-wide drive, the finance ministry has asked states and Union Territories (UTs) to take crack down on duplicate and bogus subsidy accounts and inform the Centre about action taken.

Sources said the states and UTs have been asked to weed out fraudulent beneficiaries for ration cards, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), kerosene and fertilisers, so that the subsidiaries reach the target audience.

The ministry has advised states to be more pro-active and use technology, as well as the Aadhaar database.

“The focus now is on the states to administer the intent of the policy, and through the use of technology and Aadhaar, they should weed out duplicate and bogus ration cards and accounts so that the Centre and states can cut expenditure and use the money judiciously,” Ashok Lavasa, expenditure and finance secretary , told HT.

The move is aimed at slashing state and central expenditures on subsidies.

The Budget 2016-17 pegged the subsidy bill on food, petroleum and fertilisers at about ₹2.31 lakh crore. This was 4% lower than the revised estimates of the subsidy bill of ₹2.41 lakh crore for 2015-16.

The directive issued by the expenditure department of the finance ministry comes after both the cabinet secretariat and the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) have red-flagged bogus and duplicate subsidy accounts.

The government till now has eliminated 16 million duplicate ration cards, which has alone helped save about ₹10,000 crore on the subsidy bill annually.

Highlighting how an IT-based system can be helpful in improving subsidy management and bring in transparency, the government has asked states to put all the rations cards online for easy monitoring. As of now, about 97% of the ration cards have been digitised, and the rest would be done soon.

The finance ministry also plans to provide fertiliser subsidy through direct benefit transfer (DBT), a system used for giving LPG subsidy.

DBT sends the subsidy directly into the bank account of the beneficiary after he or she has incurred the expenditure for buying the subsidised product such as an LPG cylinder.

This ministry’s plan is in accordance with the concept of JAM trinity — the linking of Jan Dhan accounts with Aadhaar and mobile numbers — to plug subsidy leakages.

A critical component of minimum government and maximum governance is to ensure targeted disbursement subsidies, sources said.

10192 - ‘Aadhaar Act may be notified soon’ - The Hindu

VIJAYAWADA, July 5, 2016

‘Aadhaar Act may be notified soon’

UIDAI Director GeneralA.B. Pandey

It will enable govt. to make mandatory for any initiative or welfare scheme, he says

Aadhaar can be made mandatory for any initiative or welfare scheme as per the discretion of State and Central governments, said Unique Identification Authority of India, Director General and Mission Director A.B. Pandey.

Announcing that over 102 crore persons in the country now had Aadhaar card and unique identity numbers, Mr. Pandey said the Central government would soon notify the Aadhaar Act, 2016, enabling the government to make Aadhaar mandatory.

He was speaking at the two-day National Workshop on Aadhaar Enabled Applications inaugurated in city on Thursday.

“Though Aadhaar Act sailed through both the Houses of Parliament quickly, time was taken to form various regulations. Now we have given our consent of readiness to the government and the Act may be notified at any moment. Once the Act is notified, the governments can ask for the beneficiary to provide Aadhaar,” Mr. Pandey said.

“As per the Act, Aadhaar can be practically used for everything. Section 7 of it says the Central government or the State government can make Aadhaar mandatory for any service, subsidy or benefit that is being given from the Consolidated Fund of India. It also enables a beneficiary who does not have Aadhaar to apply for it immediately. He or she will not be denied of service rather be assisted in getting an Aadhaar. But a beneficiary can’t deny producing their Aadhaar or applying for it,” he said.

He said 96.4 per cent of adults in the country now had Aadhaar and Aadhaar had been linked to 27.63 crore bank accounts, 12.87 crore LPG consumers, 13.66 crore ration cards and 7.02 crore MGNREGS workers.

10191 - Bihar, Tamil Nadu lagging in digitising fair price shops - NewKerala

Bihar, Tamil Nadu lagging in digitising fair price shops

Posted 26 days ago | IANS

New Delhi, July 4 : Bihar and Tamil Nadu figure among the states lagging so far in installing electronic point of sale (ePoS) devices at fair price shops. The scheme aimed at tracking sale of food grain to genuine ration card holders on a real-time basis, an official said on Monday.

"Andhra Pradesh figures on the top in the country with 100 per cent installation of ePoS in all fair price shops in the state. This has helped in saving food subsidy of an estimated Rs 1,000 crore, while the installation pace is going very slow in Bihar," a Union Food Ministry official said here.

"Only 9,000 cards in Bihar out of over 1.54 crore ration cards have been seeded with Aadhaar cards entries. Union Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan has sent in half a dozen reminders to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and others," the official said.

Out of two crore ration card holders in Tamil Nadu, so far only 36 lakh, that is 18 per cent, cards have been seeded with ePOS mechanism. 

In an interview with IANS last month, Paswan referred to the importance of pan-India roll-out of direct benefit transfer (DBT) through Jandhan scheme but lamented that some states were not showing the requisite enthusiasm.

"Our national target is to have at least three lakh shops equipped with e-POS devices by March 2017. We are urging the states to take it seriously," he had said.

Sources said here on Monday that so far over 1.22 lakh fair price shops, or 25 per cent of the target, have been ePoS-enabled. 

Streamlining of the public distribution system and deleting of 1.62 crore bogus ration cards has so far saved around Rs 10,000 crore for the exchequer.

"There have been positive responses from states like Odisha lately as Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has written to the Union Food Minister and informed him the state would speed up the process," the source said.

The direct-bank-transfer (DBT)-Aadhaar and ePoS could together reduce the Centre's subsidy bill. 

The central government allocates about 55 million tonnes of rice and wheat annually to implement the National Food Security Act, which leads to a pretty high food subsidy.

The DBT-Aadhaar and ePoS system with fair price shops across the country will help reduce the Centre's food subsidy bill, the official said. 

Besides Andhra Pradesh, the states of Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan and the union territories of Chandigarh and Andaman and Nicobar have completed seeding of all the ration cards with Aadhaar.

There is also notable progress in states like Kerala -- where the figure is 95 per cent. Similarly satisfactory progress has been reported from Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Gujarat.

The Food Ministry has announced that 24 crore ration cards in the country have been digitised and about 56 per cent of these have been seeded with Aadhaar numbers of the beneficiaries. This is enabling holders to get highly subsidised food grain under the National Food Security Act.

A high-level committee set up the Narendra Modi government in 2014 was headed by senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Shanta Kumar, who had served as Union Food Minister in the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's cabinet.

The committee had maintained that direct bank transfer mechanism with cash benefits going straight to bank accounts could save the exchequer more than Rs 30,000 crore annually.

According to a Union Finance Ministry estimate, the DBT scheme for subsidies has resulted in savings across welfare schemes, including Rs 27,000 crore in the PDS, LPG distribution and Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, sources said.

10190 - Aadhaar Watch: Newborns, school admissions, college, ration, LPG, DBT & More - Medianama

Aadhaar Watch: Newborns, school admissions, college, ration, LPG, DBT & More

By Nikhil Pahwa ( @nixxin , +NikhilPahwa ) on July 4, 2016

An overview of recent news related to Aadhaar, which points towards the increase in government schemes being linked to the scheme, and issues faced by citizens:

June 27, 2016: PTI reports that A PIL filed in the Bombay High Court, asking for the quashing of an order of the Maharashtra Government which made it mandatory for children to submit the Aadhaar card for school admission, has been dismissed, after the state government said the order wasn’t mandatory. The PIL argued that the order was against a Supreme Court order which said that the government cannot make the Aadhaar mandatory for most activities.

June 28th, 2016: Rajasthan Patrika reports that more than the fixed charge is being charged for the Aadhaar card printing

June 28th, 2016: Deccan Herald reports that Indian Oil corporation, BPCL and HPCL have sent messages to citizens that those who don’t submit their Aadhaar cards will lose oil subsidy.

June 29, 2016: The Hindu reports how ration shop employees told citizens that their supplies will be cut if Aadhaar cards of all family members aren’t linked to the ration cards. 9.39 lakh cards have been linked so far. Ration shops weren’t accepting Aadhaar authentication printed online. The collector now says there is no deadline for linking ration card to Aadhaar.

June 30, 2016: HuffingtonPost reports that Jaspal S Sandhu, the Secretary of the UGC sent a letter to Vice Chancellors of all universities, making it mandatory for the use of Aadhaar for “disbursement of all government subsidies, scholarships and fellowships“. This also appears to be in violation of the SC order.

June 30, 2016: The Hindu reports that Newborns in five government hospitals in Hyderabad will link Aadhaar with birth certificates. The program is expected to be expanded to the remaining government and private hospitals as well. No iris or biometrics of the newborn will be taken, but they’ll take a photo along with authentication of the parents. Re-enrolment using biometrics will be possible after the kids reach the age of 5.

July 1, 2016: Times of India reports that NITI Aayog is consulting states and NGO’s regarding tracking malnutrition schemes on a platform which will be linked to Aadhaar cards.

July 1, 2016: Dainik Bhaskar reports that in Mirzapur, the postal department isn’t delivering Aadhaar cards, and banks aren’t opening accounts without Aadhaar cards.

July 02, 2016: The Financial Express reports that the average balance in Jan Dhan accounts has more than doubled from Rs 795 in September 2014 to Rs 1735 in May 2016 according to IndiaSpend. This is because the Aadhaar-based DBT scheme transferred Rs 61,284 crore into these accounts in FY16. Close to 60% of all 24 crore ration cards in India are linked to Aadhaar numbers. Only a quarter of 5 lakh ration shops have biometric readers.

July 03, 2016: The Tribune reports that all land records, urban or rural, will be linked with Aadhaar, under the “Digital India Land Record Modernisation Programme”. Chandigarh will be the first Union Territory where urban land records will be linked to the Aadhar number.

July 04, 2016: Economic Times reports: by the end of 2015, 62.7 crore people above the age of 18 had received Aadhaar cards, around 101% of the adult population for that year. Delhi has 127% Aadhaar enrollment.

Updates: Corrected the date for one story

10189 - Holy cow! Cattle to get own Aadhaar cards - Business Standard

Holy cow! Cattle to get own Aadhaar cards

The animal husbandry department is set to launch a massive programme to tag all indigenous variety of cattle in a bid to improve progeny and milk production

Sanjeeb Mukherjee  |  New Delhi 

July 4, 2016 Last Updated at 07:28 IST

The government surely knows how to milk the Aadhaar card for ideas. The animal husbandry department is set to launch a massive programme to tag all indigenous variety of cattle in a bid to improve progeny and milk production. There are about 85 million milch cows — those that produce milk — in the country. They could all soon have their own Aadhaar-like identification cards. The ID cards will have all relevant information about the breed. This, in turn, will enable improved progeny and assist in augmenting milk yields. The government wants to double the country’s milk ...

10188 - 101 per cent of 62.3 crore adults in 23 states & Union Territories allotted Aadhaar numbers - Economic Times

101 per cent of 62.3 crore adults in 23 states & Union Territories allotted Aadhaar numbers

By Aman Sharma, ET Bureau | Jul 04, 2016, 05.52 AM IST

Enrolment levels exceeded 100% in 16 states, including Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, according to UIDAI data.

NEW DELHI: Almost every adult in the states and Union Territories allotted to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) now has an Aadhaar number, with enrolment in these areas exceeding the population figures estimated for 2015. 

As of June 15, Aadhaar numbers had been assigned to 62.7 crore people above the age of 18 in the 23 states and Union Territories designated to the authority, or 101% of the adult population of 62.3 crore projected by the agency for last year, according to data on the UIDAI website. 

Delhi had the highest Aadhaar seeding at 127% of the projected adult population, while at the other end, the proportion was 85% in Bihar and 91% in Gujarat. The data could imply that residents of states such as Bihar and Gujarat had migrated to Delhi and registered for Aadhaar in the capital, officials said. 

Enrolment levels exceeded 100% in 16 states, including Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, according to UIDAI data. 

In Uttar Pradesh, which was shifted to UIDAI last year from the Registrar General of India (RGI), Aadhaar enrolment among adults was 99%. UP and Bihar were added to UIDAI's jurisdiction last year. 

In comparison, the RGI achieved an 82% adult enrolment level overall, with 81% in J&K, 72% in Manipur, 66% in Nagaland and 52% in Mizoram. Enrolment in states and UTs had been divided between the UIDAI and the RGI by the previous United Progressive Alliance government, with the RGI supposed to forward its data to UIDAI to generate Aadhaar. 

UIDAI chief ABP Pandey had earlier told ET that more states may be transferred to UIDAI and discussions were going on with the RGI. Pandey had said the aim was to give every person in the country an Aadhaar number by next March. About 102.2 crore Aadhaar numbers had been issued as of June 16, covering about 80% of the estimated population in 2015.

10187 - Eko partners NPCI to allow Aadhaar-linked money transfers - Economic Times

Eko partners NPCI to allow Aadhaar-linked money transfers

By PTI | Jul 04, 2016, 06.07 PM IST

"Eko has successfully integrated with Aadhaar Based Remittance Service (ABRS) extended by NPCI," the fintech firm said in a release.

NEW DELHI: Mobile-based fintech startup Eko has tied up with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to launch Aadhaar-based remittance service that will allow the former's 12.5 million customers to send and receive money in a hassle-free manner. 

"Eko has successfully integrated with Aadhaar Based Remittance Service (ABRS) extended by NPCI," the fintech firm said in a release. 

"With the advent of this association, customers will reap various benefits as transactions will be made independent of information like bank name, account number, IFSC code, etc. that are currently required for any financial transfers," it added. 

The association will ease remittances for Eko's 12.5 million customers with hassle-free transfers to bank accounts linked with Aadhaar card, Eko further said. 

Eko said it is amongst the few wallet issuers or Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPI) issuers which provide this facility. 

"The partnership with the Aadhaar system is certain to bring forth a revolution in offering hassle-free yet secure financial transactions to customers," said Abhishek Sinha, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Eko India Financial Services. 

Dilip Asbe, Chief Operating Officer, NPCI said: "This development will enhance customer convenience towards remittance services. With Eko, we are opportunely exploring feasibility of using Aadhaar as a factor of authentication for payment transactions." 

It is also in line with the RBI's vision of building best of class payment and settlement systems for a 'less-cash' India, he said.

10186 - UT Estate Office starts linking land records with Aadhaar - Tribune India

Posted at: Jul 3, 2016, 1:43 AM; last updated: Jul 3, 2016, 1:43 AM (IST)

CHECKING LAND FRAUDS

UT Estate Office starts linking land records with Aadhaar

Project begins from Sector 16, two villages

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Tribune News service

Chandigarh, July 2

The UT Estate Office has started the work to link all urban and rural land records with Aadhaar number. 

In the initial phase, Sector 16 and two villages, Tatarpur and Bairmajra, are being taken up. Officials of the Estate Office are visiting door-to-door in these areas for Aadhar seeding relating to commercial and residential properties.

The project is being executed under the Digital India Land Record Modernisation Programme.

Deputy Commissioner Ajit Balaji Joshi said Chandigarh would be the first state where the urban land records would be linked to Aadhaar number. After the trial in Sector 16 is successful, other sectors would be covered in a phased manner.

Joshi said the move would help identify the actual land owners and prevent frauds in land dealings. He added that with Aadhaar details linked to the property, the parties involved in any property transactions would be identified and the authenticity of such transaction could be verified.

The process of digitisation of urban and rural land records at the Estate Office has almost completed. Soon, residents would be able to track the movement of the files. 

Joshi took up the task to make land records in Chandigarh linked with Aadhaar after successfully executing it in some parts of Jind district in Haryana.

Linking of Aadhaar number with land records is being taken as a big reform to curb corruption in the revenue department. It will be helpful in putting a check on fake registration and sale of land.

Sources said after the process was completed, the Estate Office would start geographical mapping of the land in the UT.

10185 - SCHOOLS TO INSTALL BIOMETRIC ATTENDANCE SYSTEM BY AUG 15 - Daily Pioneer

SCHOOLS TO INSTALL BIOMETRIC ATTENDANCE SYSTEM BY AUG 15

Saturday, 02 July 2016 | PNS | Ranchi | in Ranchi

The State Government’s initiative to install biometric attendance system in all Government schools to ensure the regularity of both students and teachers has been getting delayed since long and the deadline has been extended to August 15 again.

“The deadline to complete the installation process is extended to August 15. As per their convenience DEOs and DSEs have fixed the deadline for their respective districts accordingly. Few districts like Bokaro and Hazaribagh have achieved the target and have completed the installation process. In the first phase, the department is targeting all high schools and Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalaya (KGBV),” said, School Education and Literacy Department, Secretary, Aradhana Patnaik.

“The primary and middle schools will be covered in the next phase. All the technical glitches are being addressed. Moreover, one of the major hurdles like electricity too is being sorted out,” added Patnaik.

Earlier also, the deadline has been given to all the school administration staffs to ensure that all Government schools in the State capital must have biometric attendance device. “The instructions have already been issued. So far, we have stopped the establishment salary of school management personnel and will be only initiated after the fulfillment of the process. After receiving complete report on the biometric attendance status from school authority, the salary will be initiated accordingly,” said then Ranchi, District Education Officer (DEO), Rajkumar Prasad Singh.

“As per the list available with us, we have to install Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS) at 91 schools. So far, 50 schools have already installed the system in the state capital. All the School Management Committees (SMC) have been instructed to purchase the mobile box including the kit that can be installed easily at a nominal price of `12,000 and through mobile application of Jhar Net,” Singh said.

Notably, State Government schools have been instructed to equip the biometric system device in April 2014. The system comprises special fingerprint recording devices. All students and teachers have been provided with Aadhaar registration numbers.In the process, students and teachers have to put last six digits into a device and then give their thumb impression.

10184 - Aadhaar based DBT pumps in Rs 61,284 cr, Jan Dhan accounts skyrocket - Financial Express

Aadhaar based DBT pumps in Rs 61,284 cr, Jan Dhan accounts skyrocket

Progress on seeding PDS impressive, AP saved R1,000 cr

By: The Financial Express | Updated: July 2, 2016 9:38 AM

If the average balance in the country’s 219 million Jan Dhan accounts has more than doubled, from R795 in September 2014 to R1,735 in May 2016—according to IndiaSpend, the accounts themselves have quadrupled, from 53 million to 219 million—all the credit goes to the Aadhaar-based Direct Benefit Transfer scheme which pumped in R61,284 crore into them in FY16 for various scholarships and social benefit programmes. 

As FE’s lead story on Friday pointed out, close to 60% of all 24 crore ration cards in the country have been seeded with an Aadhaar number—which also means that, in 14.27 crore cases, at least, there is no duplicate or fake card. And of the country’s 5-lakh-odd ration shops, around a fourth already have an ePoS (e-Point-of-Sale) biometric reader to ensure only genuine beneficiaries get rations. The plan, which could do with considerable speeding up, is to have 3 lakh shops with ePoS by March 2017. The problem here is that poor and populous states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh fare very badly on this score. Just 9,000 of Bihar’s 1.54 crore ration cards are Aadhaar-seeded and there are no ePoS devices in the state—naturally, theft levels here are very high. Uttar Pradesh is slightly better off with a 44% seeding but has only 2 operational ePoS shops. Neither has made progress on automation, critical to track movement of PDS supplies from the FCI godown to the ration shop.

The savings with what has been achieved so far, though are considerable. The fact that 3.5 crore duplicate LPG accounts have been eliminated is well-known, but so have 1.62 crore bogus ration-card-holders—that has led to a saving of around R10,000 crore, including on kerosene supplies. 

In Haryana, just matching the LPG data with that of those receiving subsidised kerosene helped eliminate 6 lakh claimants. Another 1.5 lakh persons in the state were removed from the list of pensioners by using the Aadhaar de-duplication software. 

Uttar Pradesh claims to have saved R520 crore in the pension outgo using the same technique. Corruption in public service delivery is so rampant that there has been a 40% decline in post-matric scholarships in Haryana since Aadhaar-based de-duplication happened. 

In Kerala, Aadhaar-seeding of school children helped save R600 crore when it was found that, since Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan grants were based on the number of students, fake children were being enrolled in large numbers. That’s great progress, and we are not even talking of the payments and other revolutions possible based on Aadhaar and what Aadhaar-founder Nandan Nilekani calls the ‘India-stack’ of innovations.

10183 - Government changes Aadhaar tagline, drops 'Aam Aadmi' - Scroll.In

Government changes Aadhaar tagline, drops 'Aam Aadmi'

The amendment was made six months ago after several requests were made, including one from BJP's Delhi unit spokesperson Ashwini Upadhyay.

Jul 02, 2016 · 11:15 am 

Image credit:  Anumeha Yadav

The tagline for Aadhaar has been changed from ‘Aam Aadmi ka Adhikar’ to ‘Mera Aadhaar, Meri Pehchaan' after Bharatiya Janata Party’s Delhi unit spokesperson Ashwini Upadhyay and many others requested the government to drop the words ‘Aam Aadmi’ from its tagline, reported PTI. Though the tagline was changed six months ago, the Ministry of Communications and IT confirmed it on June 28.

Upadhyay had filed a petition at the Prime Minister’s Office on September 19, 2015. He argued that Aadhaar card is the right of every Indian whether they are below the poverty line, from low or high income groups.

The Unique Identification Authority of India has not yet confirmed this, though a UIDAI official told PTI that there had been discussions on changing tagline after the Aam Aadmi Party was formed. “In the meantime there were some requests filed for changing the tagline. The communication has been made now but it has been changed around six months ago,” said the official.

We welcome your comments at letters@scroll.in.

10182 - UIDAI changes Aadhaar tagline to ‘Mera Aadhaar, Meri Pehchan' - One India

UIDAI changes Aadhaar tagline to ‘Mera Aadhaar, Meri Pehchan' By: Reetu Sharma Updated: Friday, July 1, 2016, 16:50 [IST] 

New Delhi, July 1: The tagline of Aadhaar - ‘Aam Aadmi Ka Aadhikar' has now been changed to ‘Mera Aadhaar, Meri Pehchan'. In a letter to advocate and BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) informed that the tagline of the Aadhaar has now been changed to ‘Mera Aadhaar, Meri Pehchan'.

In his petition he had said, "AADHAR Card is right of every Indian whether he/she belongs to BPL, EWS, LIG, MIG, HIG category or elite class but contrary to it, it's written on the AADHAR card that - "AADHAR is right of common man". Here is the copy of the letter from Ashwini Upadhyay to UIDAI:

Here is the copy of the letter from UIDAI to the BJP leader:

Read more at: http://www.oneindia.com/india/uidai-changes-aadhaar-tagline-mera-aadhaar-meri-pehchan-2142171.html

10181 - Guest Post: Biometrics for inclusive banking and microfinance in developing countries -Planet Biometrics

Guest Post: Biometrics for inclusive banking and microfinance in developing countries 

30 June 2016 13:46 GMT

- See more at: http://www.planetbiometrics.com/article-details/i/4669/desc/guest-post-biometrics-for-inclusive-banking-and-microfinance-in-developing-countries/#sthash.ry9ZnAIc.dpuf

By Danny Thakkar, CEO, Bayometric “More than 130 million people used Aadhaar in March 2016 to authenticate their identity and receive a government benefit or service, according to the latest figures submitted to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).” -  The Economic Times, India [1] 

Aadhaar, mentioned above, is the name of biometric identification system of government of India. It aims to enrol 1.2 billion of India’s population using their biometrics which include 10 fingerprints, iris scans and a digital photograph. But India is not alone. Similar programs have been started in many developing countries to biometrically identify their citizens for efficient delivery of social benefits directly to them. “Many of such programs (the world over) use digital biometric identification technology that distinguish physical or behavioural features, such as fingerprints or iris scans, to help “leapfrog” traditional paper-based identity systems.” - Centre for Global Development [2] Biometrics has the potential to bring a sea change in the way banking and e-finance is delivered to the masses in the developing world. With financial inclusion of the masses into the mainstream, their development activities can be carried out in a targeted way. Biometric citizen databases are being linked to the direct delivery of state provided benefits and subsidies to the people. Banks play a key role in this transfer of benefits as they are the enablers of the money transfers from government to the people. It is in this context of government benefit transfers that e-finance enabled with biometrics is being embraced across the developing countries.   In this article, we will start by taking a look at what is biometric identification. We will then take a look at how developing countries are embracing biometric identification for enlisting their general population. Finally, we will look at how banks and microfinance institutions are using biometrics to facilitate financial inclusion of masses with the use of biometric banking. Biometric identification The term biometric refers to a measurable physical characteristic which is unique for every individual. Biometrics include traits such as fingerprints, iris patterns, retinal patterns etc. All these traits have well developed scientific measurement methods. Biometric identification refers to accurately determining the identity of a person based on his captured biometric traits. Biometric identification systems work in two steps - enrolment and identification. In the enrolment step biometrics of eligible individuals are captured. These captured images are then ‘read’ using sophisticated pattern recognition algorithms. Once read, the captured images are then encoded using established scientific standards to their equivalent digital biometric templates. These templates are then stored in a central biometric database. The authentication step happens when a previously enrolled individual tries to gain access to an access controlled asset. He presents his biometric for scanning which is then converted to its equivalent biometric template. This captured biometric template is then compared for a match against the templates stored for all the valid users in the biometric database. If a match is found, then the person is authenticated and is allowed to access the asset. Else, he is asked to re-attempt authenticating himself. Biometrics such as fingerprints, iris patterns, voice analysis etc. have been developed into mature technologies. They now possess the desired accuracy with FAR (False Acceptance Ratio) and FRR (False Rejection Ratio) being brought down to low insignificant levels. Multimodal biometrics, which refers to authentication using multiple biometrics concurrently, reduces the FAR and FRR even further. Majority of the public biometric programmes being carried out in developing countries capture multiple biometrics to create unique national identification database for their citizens. Biometric identification in the developing world Delivering efficient public services as well as targeted financial benefits to the masses requires accurate identification of its citizens. Developing countries were lagging behind their developed counterparts in citizen identification till a few years ago. But with the development of affordable and accurate biometric identification technologies, biometric citizenship databases are becoming a reality. Many developing countries such as India, Philippines, South Africa, Mexico among others, are creating such biometric databases. Biometric citizenship databases have become a key enabler in efficient delivery of benefits to the citizens. Such direct benefit transfer to citizens allows a government to surpass existing corruption and other systemic malpractices. In addition, such biometric database can be integrated with financial institutions such as banks and micro-finance companies. Such an integration allows building inclusive financial institutions which can reach the hitherto unbanked population using e-finance or e-banking. Under normal circumstances, rural or economically less-developed people in developing countries do not have any identification documents. Banks and credit organizations are thus hesitant in enrolling individuals from such poor classes because they cannot trust their identities. But with government-funded biometric citizenship databases being integrated with banks, and by ensuring security of the stored citizenship information, this economic divide can be safely bridged. Banking enabled by biometric citizenship databases Most of the banks and micro-credit organizations in developing countries have e-enabled their operations. With the creation of national biometric citizenship databases, they are now enrolling citizens using their biometrics. Since biometrics cannot be faked, money intended for a person cannot be usurped in a fraudulent way by someone else.   Fingerprints and Iris scans are the two biometrics primarily being used to facilitate direct cash benefit transfers in developing countries. Let us look at a few successful programs where biometric identification has been used to deliver benefits to citizens – ·         South Africa has used fingerprints to transfer as many as 5 million grants for provident fund using fingerprint-based biometrics. ·         14.5 million people have been enrolled using their fingerprints into a National Life Insurance Scheme in India. ·         Pakistan transferred cash to 200,000+ Afghanistan refugees under a scheme by UNHCR. It used iris-recognition for refugee identification ·         Ghana has been able to include 340,000 of their unbanked citizens using fingerprint-based identification. Micro-finance institutions can now expand their customer base using biometric citizenship databases. Disbursement of micro-credit to a vast section of population living in villages and remote areas will now be possible. Their credit history can now be tracked across locations in case they migrate. With biometric identification, loan recoveries will become better as a person’s identity can no longer be hidden. Micro-finance is thus poised for an inclusive and expansive growth in the developing countries. Conclusion Biometrics has the potential to uplift an entire section of population of the developing world who were till now devoid of benefits due to identification issues. National biometric identification schemes launched by governments of developing countries are an excellent step in this direction. The last enablement step is of integrating the national citizenship databases with banking and e-finance organizations. This will ensure financial inclusion of the unprivileged population with the accuracy and safety of biometric identification. [1] PMO happy as 13 crore people used Aadhaar for IDs and received benefits in March - The Economic Times [2] Identification for Development: The Biometric Revolution – Centre for Global Development - See more at: 

http://www.planetbiometrics.com/article-details/i/4669/desc/guest-post-biometrics-for-inclusive-banking-and-microfinance-in-developing-countries/#sthash.ry9ZnAIc.dpuf

10180 - Manmohan Singh has some words of advice for Modi - Asia Nikkei

June 30, 2016 12:00 pm JST

Chaitanya Kalbag: Manmohan Singh has some words of advice for Modi

India's former prime minister Manmohan Singh (blue turban) and Congress party president Sonia Gandhi cross a police barricade during a "Save Democracy" march to parliament in New Delhi in May. © Reuters

The man who launched India's economic revolution 25 years ago, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, believes the country needs a stronger political consensus on reform to fuel double-digit growth and lasting prosperity.

India's economy expanded 7.6% in the fiscal year ended in March and is set to be the fastest-growing in the world this year, outpacing China's -- but Singh is not sanguine. "We need a growth rate of 8 to 10% to be sustained over a long period of time," he told the Nikkei Asian Review in a rare interview. "We must move forward, we must build a national consensus on reform. We have to make sure that multiparty democracy does not inhibit the growth factor, the reform process."

Singh, 83, noted that India's economy has grown by an average of 6.5% a year since economic reforms were launched in 1991. China, which began its own economic modernization in 1978, has far exceeded India in the speed of its expansion.

Supporters of India's main opposition Congress party attend a protest against what they say is a rise in the prices of essential food items and fuel in Ahmedabad in June. © Reuters

The roots of India's economic revolution go back to when P.V. Narasimha Rao, the Congress party prime minister in 1991, gave then-Finance Minister Singh crucial support in freeing what was a closed, Soviet-style economy. The two men overturned a protectionist industrial policy and started dismantling a corrupt and inefficient licensing regime.

Singh's tenure as finance minister ended when his party lost an election in 1996. He returned to government as prime minister in 2004, running quarrelsome coalition governments for a decade. He is pleased that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party administration, which replaced the Congress party two years ago, is now taking forward most of his initiatives.

For instance, Modi has set up a ministry of skill development, giving more muscle to Singh's National Skill Development Agency. "Employment and skilling our people is the major problem, and the youth of the country are desperate for jobs," Singh said. "About a million young people enter India's workforce every month. Better vocational training will create a vast blue-collar army and provide manpower for millions of small and medium enterprises."

Anxious to expand the half-finished social sector reforms of the 1990s, Singh as prime minister kicked off financial inclusion for India's vast under-banked rural population. Modi has continued that process, opening nearly 300 million bank accounts with zero balances for the rural poor and creating a conduit for the direct transfer of subsidy payments to beneficiaries.

Modi has promised cooking-gas connections for the poor. Singh ended a gasoline subsidy; Modi ended subsidies on diesel. Singh's government launched the world's biggest unique identity project, Aadhaar. Modi has extended it to more than a billion Indians and given the ambitious program constitutional permanence.

"The BJP had opposed the universalization of these processes. They opposed the Aadhaar scheme," Singh said. "Now they've picked it up."

Singh opened up India to foreign direct investment, but Modi has flung the doors wide open, declaring after the latest burst of liberalization on June 20 that India was the world's most investor-friendly country.

10179 - Centre takes to tech to slash Food bill subsidy burden; here’s how - Financial Express

Centre takes to tech to slash Food bill subsidy burden; here’s how

With this and the headway made in financial inclusion under the Jandhan programme, pan-India roll-out of direct benefit transfer (DBT) would be possible sooner than expected, official sources said.

By: Sandip Das | New Delhi | Updated: July 1, 2016 9:33 AM

According to the food ministry, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, besides UTs Chandigarh and Andaman and Nicobar, have completed seeding of all the ration cards with Aadhaar. (Reuters)

In what would aid the government’s effort at curbing the pilferage from the public distribution system and rationalising its food subsidy outgo, all 24 crore ration cards in the country have got digitised, with more than half of these seeded with the unique identification number Aadhaar. This has already led to the weeding out of a large number of duplicate ration cards.

With this and the headway made in financial inclusion under the Jandhan programme, pan-India roll-out of direct benefit transfer (DBT) would be possible sooner than expected, official sources said. The rapid spread of mobile telephony would accelerate the process, they added.

The process of installation of electronic point of sale (ePoS) devices at fair price shops (FPSs) , which is meant to track the sale of foodgrains to actual cardholders on a real-time basis, is also under way. So far, 1.23 lakh FPSs or close to a quarter of such shops in the country have been ePoS-enabled. The target is have 3 lakh shops equipped with e-POS devices by March, 2017. With 100% of the states’ FPSs having e-POS, Andhra Pradesh has saved an estimated R1,000 crore in food subsidy, a pointer to by how much DBT-Aadhaar and ePoS could together reduce the Centre’s subsidy bill. The Centre allocates 50-55 million tonnes of rice and wheat annually to implement the National Food Security Act.

Also Read: FCI gets Rs 25,000 cr as food subsidy a month in advance

Thanks to a pilot project to use the DBT platform for food subsidy, some 2.4 lakh households in Puducherry, Chandigarh and Dadra and Nagar Haveli already get the subsidy in their bank accounts.

In a recent interview to FE, finance secretary Ashok Lavasa said disbursal of benefits under as many as 147 schemes will be facilitated by the DBT platform by the end of the current financial year; last year, 67 schemes were DBT-enabled. The Centre disbursed Rs 62,000 crore to 30.8 crore beneficiaries via DBT-enabled schemes in FY16.

According to the food ministry, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, besides UTs Chandigarh and Andaman and Nicobar, have completed seeding of all the ration cards with Aadhaar.

States such as Kerala (95%), Haryana (88%), Jharkhand (87%), Maharashtra (87%) and Gujarat (78%) have also reported significant progress in terms of seeding of PDS beneficiaries’ cards with Aadhaar.

Among the laggards, Bihar, which has 1.54 crore ration cards, still has only 9,000 cards seeded with Aadhaar. Similarly, Tamil Nadu with around two crore ration cards has only 18% of these cards linked with Aadhaar.

On ePoS device installation, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat have almost completed the process, while others like Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan are catching up. States with large poor populations like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha have, however, yet to make any headway in equipping their fair price shops with ePoS instruments.

The food subsidy in the current fiscal estimated at Rs 1.34 lakh crore, compared with Rs 1.24 lakh crore (revised estimate) for FY16.

10178 - Disregarding Supreme Court Order, UGC Makes Aadhar Mandatory For Scholarships - Huffington Post

Disregarding Supreme Court Order, UGC Makes Aadhar Mandatory For Scholarships

30/06/2016 6:16 PM IST | Updated July 15, 2016 08:27

Betwa Sharma

Politics Editor

MINT VIA GETTY IMAGES

NEW DELHI, INDIA - JULY 24: People stand in queue during Aadhar card camp, pilot project for authentication of UID cards at Mayur Vihar, Phase 2, on July 24, 2012 in New Delhi, India. (Photo by Ramesh Pathania/Mint via Getty Images)

NEW DELHI -- Disregarding the Supreme Court order, which limited linking the Aadhaar card to six government schemes, the University Grants Commission has made it "mandatory" for students to provide biometric data before they can avail of "government subsidies, scholarships and fellowships."

On June 29, 2016, UGC secretary Jaspal S. Sandhu sent a letter to Vice-Chancellors of all universities and institutes, which said that Aadhaar has been made "mandatory for disbursement of all government subsidies, scholarships and fellowships" for the financial year 2016-2017.

The letter, which HuffPost India has seen, requests all universities to "seek the details of the beneficiaries and put all information on universities/institutions' websites," and email a copy to the UGC, a statutory body of the Government of India. “The HRD Ministry, vide its letter dated June 10, 2016, has instructed the commission that from financial year 2016-17 Aadhaar has been mandatory for disbursement of all government subsidies, scholarships and fellowships, which are to be disbursed directly into the beneficiaries’ account,” Sandhu wrote.

On October 15, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that Aadhaar could only be linked to six government schemes (Public Distribution Scheme, L.P.G Distribution Scheme, Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employement Guarantee Scheme, the National Social Assistance Programme, Prime Minister's Jan Dhan Yojana and Employees' Provident Fund Organisation) on a "voluntary" basis.

The Aadhaar Bill, which allows the government to ask any citizen for Aadhaar to avail of government subsides or schemes, was recently passed by Parliament, but the The Aadhaar Act, 2016, is yet to come into force. And until that happens, the Supreme Court order reigns supreme, according to lawyers and activists.

Furthermore, in view of the several petitions challenging the Aadhaar card scheme, and the Supreme Court still mulling over whether the Right to Privacy is a Fundamental Right in India, the Aadhaar Act is still not home free.

"This is a clear and unequivocal violation of the Supreme Court order," said Prasanna S., a Delhi-based lawyer, who is handling litigation challenging the Aadhaar scheme in the Supreme Court, referring to the UGC order.

"This is contempt of court," he said.

For the Act to come into force, the Centre will issue a notification which states that the Act and its regulations have come into force, and this could still take several months, according to Prasanna. In the meantime, the Centre cannot connect Aadhaar in either a "mandatory" or "voluntary" capacity to any scheme other than the six mentioned in the Supreme Court order.

UGC's Sandhu has not responded to HuffPost India's request for comment.

The Modi government orchestrated the passage of the Aadhaar Bill by treating it as a money bill, which allowed for it clearing the Lok Sabha, where the Bharaitya Janata Party forms the majority, while ignoring the amendments suggested by the Rajya Sabha.

"Both this and the previous government, have brazenly violated the Supreme Court's orders, making a mockery of the Court and causing hardship to people in getting their legal entitlements--be it scholarships, rations or work," said Reetika Khera, an economist in the humanities and social sciences department at Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.

The issue of Aadhaar cards, which links government schemes and services to biometric data and unique identity numbers, has been controversial. Both the Congress Party led-United Progressive Alliance government, and the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government have argued that Aadhaar will allow subsidies to reach beneficiaries directly, and prevent middlemen from siphoning off subsidies worth thousands of crores of rupees.

On the other hand, there are many activists, academics and politicians who believe that such a bank of biometric data can be used by the government for "mass surveillance"" in the name of "national security." Speaking in the Rajya Sabha during the Budget Session in March, Biju Janata Dal's Tathagata Satpathy said that he feared that the Modi government would use the data for "mass surveillance" and "ethnic cleansing."

Following the Lok Sabha's rejection of the amendments proposed by the Rajya Sabha in the Budget Session, senior Congress Party leader Jairam Ramesh challenged the passage of the Aadhaar Bill as a money bill, which will come up for hearing in the Supreme Court, later this month.

Ramesh's challenge, combined with the pending decision by the Supreme Court on whether the Right to Privacy is a fundamental right in India, would also impact the future of the Aadhar Act. "The implication of both these is that the provisions of the Aadhaar Act will be subject to review imminently," said Raman Jit Singh Chima, Policy Director at Access Now.

10177 - What’s wrong with MGNREGA? All you want to know - Financial Express

What’s wrong with MGNREGA? All you want to know

The rural development ministry has identified unrealistic planning at gram panchayat level, lack of quality assets created, inadequate capacity of functionaries, inadequate technical staff, lack of monitoring and delay in...

By: Sandip Das | New Delhi | Published: June 29, 2016 6:23 AM

On the impact of MGNREGA since the mega programme was launched in 2006, the report stated that when implemented properly, “it has reduced distress migration and provided a safety net for the poor during the lean agricultural season”. (Reuters)

The rural development ministry has identified unrealistic planning at gram panchayat level, lack of quality assets created, inadequate capacity of functionaries, inadequate technical staff, lack of monitoring and delay in wage payment, as factors adversely impacting the implementation of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

The report on performance, initiatives and strategies (FY15-16 and FY16-17) for MGNREGA released by the rural development ministry also identified issues such as poor maintenance of records, funds constraints, inadequate coverage of persons with disabilities and women in many states and non-compliance with the transparency and accountability provisions which are impacting the implementation of the mega scheme, which guarantees 100 days of manual work to each of the rural households annually.

However, the report also stated that in a bid to create durable assets under MGNREGA, states took upon themselves the targets relating to creation of farm ponds, vermi-compost, anganwadi centres and roadside plantation. “There is considerable thrust on individual assets creation like poultry, goatery and cattle sheds and various work related to Integrated Natural Resource Management since 2016-17,” the report stated.

Besides, the ministry has given thrust on seeding of MGNREGA beneficiaries’ bank accounts with Aadhaar for ensuring transparency. According to the report, 2.8 crore workers out of around 7 crore MGNREGA workers have started getting their wage payments through the Aadhaar-based payment system. On the impact of MGNREGA since the mega programme was launched in 2006, the report stated that when implemented properly, “it has reduced distress migration and provided a safety net for the poor during the lean agricultural season”.

‘Onus is on states’

Rural development minister Birender Singh on Tuesday said the onus is on the states to generate more work under MGNREGA especially during drought years. “Though we have made the provision of providing 150 days of work to each family in the drought-hit states, the demand for jobs under MGNREGA is inadequate because of other avenues available in the villages,” he said.