AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 12831 - UIDAI Refuses To Disclose Details On Money Spent On Aadhaar Branding

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, February 19, 2018

12831 - UIDAI Refuses To Disclose Details On Money Spent On Aadhaar Branding - Outlook

UIDAI Refuses To Disclose Details On Money Spent On Aadhaar Branding

The RTI was filed on the basis of a 2014 report which claimed that the govt had approved Rs 30 crore a year budget for Aadhaar 'image makeover'.
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The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has refused to divulge details on the money it spent on branding and advertising Aadhaar since its inception in 2009.

After an RTI was filed by economist Reetika Khera in November last year seeking details on expenses incurred on advertising and promoting Aadhaar, the UIDAI responded saying it is not liable to disclose the details, citing Section 8(1)’s clauses D and J of the RTI Act, reports The Hindustan Times.

Section 8(1) clause D allows the information officer to deny disclosing the sought information if its disclosure would "harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information."

According to Section 8(i), clause J of the RTI act, "there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information which relates to personal information the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual unless the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be, is satisfied that the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of such information." It, however, also goes on to say that information which cannot be denied to the Parliament or a State Legislature must also not be denied to any person.

RTI Applicant Reetika Khera reportedly argued that it is in the interest of the public to know how much of tax payers' money has been spent. “As per the RTI Act, the UIDAI should be disclosing this (information) proactively on its website. The disclosure is in public interest and the nature of the information is such that it cannot be denied to Parliament.” the report quoted her as saying.

The RTI, according to the report, was filed on the basis of a 2014 report which claimed that the govt had approved Rs 30 crore a year budget for Aadhaar 'image makeover'.

The UIDAI, in 2014, had received the go-ahead from the government to spend Rs 30 crore a year on 'image-makeover' of Aadhaar. The Aadhaar-issuing body had put up a proposal to hire an advertising agency to dispel rumours and misconceptions over functioning of the Aadhaar. This also included new media strategy that would also cater to social media as well.

The UIDAI has been struggling to counter allegations over concerns surrounding the safety of citizens’ for years. Former UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani, had recently, admitted to security issues, and said that while Aadhaar has not been hacked yet, “but people (hackers) have tried to get users to do an OTP and give their details.”

The UIDAI had reportedly appointed Percept/H- one of India's top advertising agency- after the thumbs up from the Prime Minister. The agency's brief was to focus on implementing a national-level communication strategy to send customised messages on Aadhaar benefits, so that it reaches a large audience.
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The UIDAI had also appointed the best of minds in the marketing sector for aggressive branding of Aadhaar, according to a 2010report by the Live Mint.

"The organization’s branding and awareness team is headed by UIDAI official Shankar Maruwada and advised by a team of five of India’s top communications and marketing professionals, who are not on the organization’s payroll but meet frequently, discussing plans via email and teleconference and reporting to (then) UIDAI chief Nandan Nilekani and director general R.S. Sharma," the report said.