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

Thursday, December 21, 2017

12527 - Aadhaar Articles Dated 20th December 2017



The Hindu
Following the Airtel India-Aadhaar subsidy fiasco, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on Tuesday has tightened the norms for mapping Aadhaar number to a different bank account. According to the latest rules, 'explicitly informed consent' from customers has been made compulsory.



The Hindu
Aadhaar enrolment in Jammu and Kashmir has crossed the one crore mark against a total population of 1.25 crore as per 2011 census and cards of 97 lakh residents have been generated to date. “Aadhaar enrolment, which is being done on a continuous basis, has reached 1.09 crore and the Aadhaar ...






NDTV
A deadline of March 31, 2018 has been set by the government for taxpayers to link their PAN card or Permanent Account Number with Aadhaar card number. Linking of Aadhaar number or the 12-digit personal identification number known as Unique Identity Number (UID), issued by the UIDAI or Unique ...






The Hindu
The Department of Posts will launch the second phase of Aadhaar enrolment-cum-update services in 10 post offices in the State from December 20. A press note issued here on Tuesday said the services would be available at the Thiruvananthapuram General Police Office, the Kollam Head Office, the ...






Livemint
ICICI Bank Ltd has announced a new digital service through which existing customers of the bank can open a Public Provident Fund (PPF) account instantly online. PPF is a fixed income instrument designed to achieve long-terms goals. PPF fits in almost all types of portfolios, as the returns are better ...






The Hindu
The first phase of special camps for differently-abled persons, who have not taken photographs for Aadhaar cards, will be held from December 20 to March 10 next year at all panchayat unions. According to a press release, differently-abled persons, who have not taken photographs for Aadhaar cards ...






The Indian Express
There was no proposal to make Aadhaar linkage mandatory for property transactions, Parliament was informed today. In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri, however, said the rural development ministry had ...



The Indian Express
Aadhaar enrolment in Jammu and Kashmir has crossed one crore mark against a total population of 1.25 crore as per 2011 census and cards of 97 lakh residents have been generated till date. “Aadhaar enrolment which is being done on a continuous basis has reached 1.09 crore and the Aadhaar ...



Times of India
As per the plans, the administration will deploy maximum operators and machines in the next two months to bring most of the population under Aadhaar coverage. Sharing this information with TOI, Pune district collector Saurabh Rao on Tuesday said a total of 231 Aadhaar kits have been operational ...






Times of India
"She appeared to be a foreigner from her way of speaking, so we've written a letter to IUIA to verify her Aadhaar card. We have requested the detailed documents which were used to make this Aadhaar card. We are also verifying her passport. The guest house where the sex racket was being run from, ...



The Telegraph
New Delhi: In a significant U-turn in the drive against black money, the government on Tuesday said there was no proposal to make Aadhaar mandatory in property deals. "The rural development ministry had advised the states and Union territories to explore the possibilities of using consent-based ...



Times of India
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Food and Consumer Affairs C R Chaudhary said the purpose of Aadhaar-based biometric authentication of beneficiaries is to correctly identify the eligible beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act (NFSA). He said states and Union ...






The Telegraph
Balasore: Aadhaar may have become a subject of controversy across the country, but it has its uses. Last week, a missing girl from Soro reunited with her family after mysteriously disappearing from her home about six years ago. Rohida Singh's only daughter Meenarani, now 14, went missing from ...






Hindustan Times
Authorities from state health department said most of these patients, who claim to have trouble getting their aadhaar verification done could be really old cases. Dr Raju Zotkar, additional director health services, said leprosy patients with disability of more than 40% are entitled to get a pension of Rs1,000 ...






The Hans India
Participating in the inaugural ceremony of Aadhaar enrolment centre at the Bank's main branch in Nandyal town on Tuesday, the RDO said that the bank was creating an opportunity to the people to get new Aadhaar cards besides making correction in them. He made an appeal to all the people to utilise ...






Swarajya
There was no proposal to make Aadhaar linkage mandatory for property transactions, Parliament was informed on Tuesday. In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Union minister of state (independent charge) for housing and urban affairs Hardeep Singh Puri, however, said the rural development ministry ...






Financial Express
Raising the matter during the Zero Hour, Sukhendu Shekhar Roy claimed that in recent months, over 130 million Aadhaar database has been leaked from government websites. He said the Wikileaks had indicated that the CIA had allegedly accessed the sensitive biometric data from the Aadhaar card ...






Governance Now
If you thought that by getting the coveted Aadhaar card number your job is done, then think again as the National Register of Indian Citizens (NRIC) is the next big thing that is going to happen to you. Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, minister of state in the home ministry, has informed parliament that the ...






BFSI Post Magazine | Elets
Certainly with Aadhaar being one of the most secure databases in the world. Also with two-way identification with IRIS and thumb and also the OneTime Password (OTP) Aadhaar has been decently futuristic and is now opening opportunities for safe transactions. You may find in the public domain that ...






The Indian Express
Retirement funds manager EPFO has its plate full, going into the next year — from full digitisation to Aadhaar seeding, with the sole purpose of making service delivery better for its nearly 4.6 crore users. Raising the bar when it comes to investment in the stock market also figures high on its to-do list.






Swarajya
Government Says No Proposal For Mandatory Aadhaar Linkage To Property Deals: A move that could bring relief to citizens, the government on Tuesday informed Parliament said that there was no proposal to make Aadhaar linkage mandatory for property transactions. “At present, there is no proposal ...