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, January 12, 2018

12694 - Aadhaar adds fresh security layer with 16-digit ‘Virtual ID’ - TNN

Aadhaar adds fresh security layer with 16-digit ‘Virtual ID’

Mahendra Singh | TNN | Updated: Jan 11, 2018, 08:22 IST

HIGHLIGHTS
  • UIDAI’s Virtual ID will allow over 119 crore Aadhaar holders to generate a 16-digit temporary number.
  • The number can be shared with a bank, insurance company or telecom service provider instead of the 12-digit Aadhaar number.
  • “It will not be possible to locate an individual’s Aadhaar number by using the Virtual ID,” an official said.
NEW DELHI: Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on Wednesday unveiled a fresh layer of security — a 'Virtual ID' to prevent your Aadhaar from being shared — as it sought to address privacy and security concerns. 

It also added a safety feature to ensure only need-based sharing of information, by way of a limited KYC, even as it asserted that the system and data were safe. 

UIDAI's Virtual ID, which will be issued from March, will allow over 119 crore Aadhaar holders to generate a 16-digit temporary number that can be shared with a bank, insurance company or telecom service provider instead of the 12-digit Aadhaar number. All service providers will have to upgrade their systems to mandatorily allow for the new tool from June. You can opt to use the Virtual ID as many times as you want, or keep generating a new one every time you have to share your unique ID. 

"It will not be possible to locate an individual's Aadhaar number by using the Virtual ID," an official said. 

The other safety feature introduced relates to limited sharing of information, again aimed at preventing possible misuse and data theft. Instead of the current system where the five details — name, date of birth, photo, address and mobile number — are shared with the service provider at the time of authentication, the new feature will allow only needbased sharing of data. For instance, if you want a new mobile connection, the telco will get only your name, photo and address. For a passport, though, all data may be shared. 

Aadhaar is here to stay. Happy that UIDAI has introduced Virtual ID and limited KYC in the spirit of continuous innovation to enhance privacy and security, former UIDAI chief Nandan Nilekani tweeted on Wednesday. 

"This is a unique innovation to strengthen privacy and security of 119 crore Aadhaar holders. This is unparalleled in the world," UIDAI CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey said.

An official said agencies had been given sufficient time to migrate to the new system by updating the software needed to offer the additional option of Virtual IDs to users. "Departments will tell us the data that is required to be shared and we will design the protocol accordingly," the official added.

"Aadhaar holder can use Virtual ID in lieu of Aadhaar number whenever authentication or KYC services are performed. Authentication may be performed using the Virtual ID in a manner similar to using Aadhaar number," a UIDAI circular said. Users can go to the UIDAI website to generate their Virtual ID which will be valid for adefined period of time, or till the user decides to change it.

TOP COMMENT

This is a classic example of closing the stable door after the horse has gone. Already we have forced to share with almost with everyone under the sky- banks, telcoms, gas agency etc etc. How the virtual card is ''helping" in protecting the privacy ? Can UIDAI explain to the public?
Ramachandran Kalyanasundaram

Muralee Shanmugam
govt is working without any concrete plan in the system...we citizen fools are blindy following

Eddy
everyone have already seen your card. now keep hiding it doesn't matter. 😆😆😆.

They can give this Virtual ID to service providers along with fingerprints at the time of authentication. Since the system generated Virtual ID will be mapped to an individual's Aadhaar number at the back end, it will do away with the need for the user to share

Aadhaar number for authentication. It will also reduce collection of Aadhaar numbers by various agencies. As per UIDAI, agencies that undertake authentication will not be allowed to generate Virtual IDs on behalf of Aadhaar holders. 


In Video: UIDAI introduces 'Virtual ID' to address Aadhaar privacy concerns
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