AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 12417 - Beware! Mobile firms may be misusing Aadhaar

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

Wednesday, November 22, 2017

12417 - Beware! Mobile firms may be misusing Aadhaar - Deccan Chronicle

Beware! Mobile firms may be misusing Aadhaar

DECCAN CHRONICLE. | KAMALAPATHI RAO H

Published

Nov 21, 2017, 2:29 am IST

Following a direction of the Supreme Court making it mandatory for people to link their mobile numbers with Aadhaar.

While basic m-wallet doesn’t require KYC compliance, an RBI official claimed that banks will be penalised if any account was found to be without KYC compliance.(Representational Image)

Hyderabad: Mobile operators, who have got payment bank licence from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), have been accused of opening m-wallet or payment bank accounts for their customers without their knowledge. Some customers, who had visited mobile customer service centre for linking their mobile numbers with Aadhaar, claim to have received messages about activation of m-wallet/payment bank account without them downloading the app or providing their consent.

Following a direction of the Supreme Court making it mandatory for people to link their mobile numbers with Aadhaar, telecom companies have been bombarding with reminder messages about the Aadhaar linkage. While basic m-wallet doesn’t require KYC compliance, an RBI official claimed that banks will be penalised if any account was found to be without KYC compliance.

“Payment banks are not exempted from this rule. In a few circumstances, KYC is not required for transfering an amount below Rs 15,000. But, without knowledge of customers, opening an account is against the norms of the RBI,” he said. Some customers, whom this newspaper had spoken to, believe that the staff of the customer service centre are sharing the Aadhaar details of customers — submitted for mobile-Aadhaar linkage — for activating the M-Wallet app and in some cases payment bank accounts, without express consent of the customers.

S. Siddharth Mohan, a techie from AS Rao Nagar, said he got a message soon after providing the biometric authentication, stating that his M-Wallet app of the mobile service provider has been activated and he could send money, recharge phones, pay bills etc., through the app by depositing some money in it. “How did they create my account without my requesting it?” he asked. “Immediately I went to the same outlet where I had provided biometric authentication and questioned the operator. They raised a complaint ticket and closed my m-wallet account,” he explained.

J.V. Ramana, who owns a retail store in Uppal, said that he has not submitted his Aadhaar details to the mobile provider but he is frequently receives messages insisting to download the pre-activated m-wallet app. “I use m-Banking app frequently for my business and have a few third-party payment apps like Paytm. We have a family CUG (Closed User Group) with the same mobile operator. Surprisingly, the operator is sending messages to only me, leaving out the 12 CUG numbers. I doubt if the telecom firm is monitoring my m-banking transactions, he said.

Mobile operators are creating Payment Bank Accounts of customers without their knowledge
As per the guidelines of the RBI, the mobile operator can create an account only after receiving KYC from customers for fund transfers above Rs15,000. Customer must provide PAN details to the M-wallet app to transfer funds up to Rs 1 lakh.
In cases of pre-activated M-wallet apps, raise the issue with your concerned customer service centre or mobile operator outlet.
To avoid such practices by mobile operators, customers should be careful while providing biometric authentication.
Mobile operators who have online/offline stores are luring customers with gift vouchers and cash back offers after activating M-wallet app account without their knowledge.