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, November 20, 2017

12391 - Playing safe: SIM-Aadhaar linking to be fully automated - Economic Times

Playing safe: SIM-Aadhaar linking to be fully automated
By Aman Sharma, ET Bureau|
Nov 17, 2017, 06.57 AM IST

Now, there are two ways of verifying one’s SIM to Aadhaar that have been approved by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
Related
People will need to go to the websites of telecom service providers (TSPs) or call up their phone helplines for getting a onetime password (OTP) to link their SIM to Aadhaar from December 1, in a process that will be totally automated and without any human intervention. 

These two ways of verifying one’s SIM to Aadhaar have been approved by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) now. Earlier, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) had proposed that citizens could also do the linking through OTP on sending as SMS to a number provided by the telecom operator but UIDAI did not find the same “safe”, and has proposed that the linking must be done by generating an OTP either by logging onto the TSP’s website or placing a call to the latter’s phone helpline, a senior government official told ET. Also, one needs to have a mobile number registered with Aadhaar to go through either of the two processes – or you will need to first visit an Aadhaar Centre to update your mobile number in Aadhaar records. 

On the web portal, a resident will first enter the mobile number which he needs to re-verify. The TSP will generate an OTP on the entered mobile number which the person will enter on the website. “This will confirm that the mobile to be re-verified is available with the resident,” as per UIDAI. A consent message, as per Aadhaar Act, will be displayed on the website and resident will enter his Aadhaar number after checking the consent box. 

The TSP will generate an OTP request to UIDAI and the resident will then get an OTP on the number he already has registered with Aadhaar, which he will enter to re-verify his SIM with Aadhaar. Aadhaar number entered on TSP’s website will be masked and encrypted during transmission to UIDAI. The process will be similar if a person calls up the TSP’s IVR helpline from the number he wishes to re-verify. The IVR will play a consent message to him before a person enters his Aadhaar number and then receives an OTP on his Aadhaar registered mobile number. He will subsequently enter this OTP on the IVR. 

“The IVR language should be in English, Hindi and other regional languages of the respective states/circles,” UIDAI has said. TSPs have been asked to ensure the security of voice channels, keep the process completely automated, ensure the security provided is at par with security of banking transactions through IVR and also make sure that the application that interacts with the IVR masks or encrypts the Aadhaar number as soon as it is received by the application, for ensuring robust security and secrecy of Aadhaar number. 

“TSPs will ensure that Aadhaar number is not accessible the operator’s customer relationship executives,” UIDAI has said. 


Regarding the website, operators have been asked to ensure the same is secure against known cyber-attacks and are secured through certificates. “TSP’s must ensure that they have Service Engine Optimisation services for their websites and their sites feature on top during Google searches. If TSPs can provide these services through a user name and password authentication which may already exist on their websites for customers, this will further enhance the security,” the UIDAI has said.
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