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

Friday, August 5, 2016

10257 - Tech-savvy generation to drive online payments in emerging markets: PwC report - Business Standard


Tech-savvy generation to drive online payments in emerging markets: PwC report

Moulishree Srivastava  |  Mumbai 
July 19, 2016 Last Updated at 20:18 IST

The tech savvy generation between the ages of 15 and 34 will be one of the key drivers of growth for electronic payments in emerging markets, said a new report by PwC on Tuesday.

Nearly 90% of people under 30 reside within the emerging market. Based on PwC research in India, this is also the age segment that accounts for most online transactions.

According to the report, by 2019, 800 million people will have access to online payment options in India and 80 million users will be transacting over online channels, with internet users reaching 900 million and those with household income above Rs 20 lakh touching 125 million.

In 2014, while internet users in the country stood at 302 million and those with households income more than Rs 20 lakh were 50 million, there were 400 million users with access to online payments options and 20 million users transacting over online channels.

The report noted that the population  between 15–34 years in India and Indonesia will move to the next age level over the next ten years and continue to transact online, thus increasing the percentage of active users by at least 15%.

"This age group also has a strong appetite for new technologies. It is this tech-savvy generation that has transformed digital solutions from being a convenience to an essential part of how people transact," it said.

More than 50% of consumers in the age group 18-24 are likely to try new technology-enabled payment tools.

"Whether it’s renting movies, purchasing coffee or reserving a rental car, providing an alternative payment option that caters to the increasingly digital lifestyle of the consumer has great potential for merchants to gain a new generation of loyal customers," the report said. 

"The millennials’ comfort with technology is driving businesses to provide new and more innovative ways of enabling transactions, reflecting the demands of this tech-savvy generation," added the report

Meanwhile, the proliferation of smartphones and tablets, internet/mobile access, which is serving as a convenient, cashfree and card-free financial transaction medium,  is helping to promote financial inclusion.

There is an exponential growth in mobile phone penetration in emerging markets, which now exceeds 100% in countries like Brazil with 141 handsets per 100 population. South Africa, India and China have mobile penetration rates of 90%, 84.6% and 76%.

"Mobile wallets in markets such as India, China and Nigeria have had a massive impact on financial inclusion, with people moving from no previous banking history to being able to make payments via a mobile phone, the report said. 
"With a majority of the world’s population living in the emerging markets, these economies will be at the forefront of innovation and the adoption of mobile technology for payment."

For instance, mobile banking transactions in India tripled between 2012 and 2014, hitting 150 million in 2014, while mobile-wallet transactions have gone past m-banking transactions.

Another key driver for the growth of e-payments in India is Aadhaar.

"Innovations leveraging the ‘Aadhaar’ card are expected to assist the financially excluded segments with the explicit aim of removing financial untouchability," PwC said in the report.

"Because of Aadhaar, Indian payment industry thus stands out and is driving above-average growth in non-cash payments," said the report.
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