AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 13570 - The complete guide to 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

Friday, May 25, 2018

13570 - The complete guide to Aadhaar - Live Mint

The complete guide to Aadhaar

From bank account to insurance, we tell you where Aadhaar details are must

Last Published: Sat, May 19 2018. 11 09 AM IST

Ashfaque Ismail

After the Supreme Court indefinitely extended the deadline to link Aadhaar, RBI amended its KYC guidelines to include Aadhaar as an identification document. Photo: Mint

If you have been reading about the Supreme Court verdict on Aadhaar, you might be wondering whether you should have an Aadhaar or not? We tell you where it is mandatory and where it isn’t.

Bank account

After the apex court indefinitely extended the deadline to link Aadhaar, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) amended its know-your-customer (KYC) guidelines to include Aadhaar as an identification document. The directive says if you are eligible for enrolment of Aadhaar, you have to provide the Aadhaar number, Permanent Account Number (PAN) or form No. 60. Proof of application of enrolment for Aadhaar will also be accepted if the enrolment is not older than six months and in case PAN is not submitted. If you are an existing account holder, you don’t need to link to Aadhaar as of now. If you are opening a new account, you will have to submit Aadhaar within six months of opening it. Non-resident Indians don’t need to submit Aadhaar.

Mutual fund

Earlier, Association of Mutual Funds of India (Amfi) asked mutual fund house to insist new investors provide Aadhaar details for investments. However, later the directive was withdrawn. “You don’t need an Aadhaar to invest, reinvest or for redemption of mutual fund at the moment at least,” said Srikanth Meenakshi, founder and chief executive officer, FundsIndia.com. You can continue to provide documents such as PAN, voter ID and passport as identity proof.

Insurance

Although the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) says Aadhaar linking is not mandatory, experts say it is being considered compulsory all practical purposes. “For old policies, there is a bit of a reprieve. It is treated as mandatory. For new policies, you need to submit Aadhaar within six months. The process doesn’t go through without Aadhaar. If you threaten the insurer, may be they will agree. But by and large, they don’t go ahead without Aadhaar. In case of claim settlement, it is mandatory,” said Kapil Mehta, said Kapil Mehta, co-founder, SecureNow.in.

Small savings

Currently, providing Aadhaar for small savings schemes such as post office deposit, post office time deposit, national savings certificate and public provident fund is optional. In a notification, the department of economic affairs, ministry of finance, said that it has extended the date to submit Aadhaar until further notice. Earlier, the depositors were required to submit Aadhaar number at the time of opening of account or purchasing certificates. Every depositor who didn’t give the Aadhaar number at the time of application was required to provide it too. But not anymore as of now.

Real estate

If you are going to buy a new house, you don’t need to produce Aadhaar card. Currenly, there is no proposal to provide Aadhaar for any kind of property transactions. Realty developers ask for PAN card and other documents for completing a deal. However, developers say making Aadhaar compulsory in real estate would be useful to collect tax. Amit Ruparel, managing director, Ruparel Realty, said, “Linking Aadhaar with real estate will help government collect more taxes from multiple home-buyers.”

Gold

If you are buying or selling gold, you don’t need to provide your Aadhaar card details. “Aadhaar is mandatory in sectors where there is a government regulator. We need an OTP-based mechanism to sustain Aadhaar-based KYC in gold sector,” said Surendra Mehta, national secretary, India Bullion and Jewellers Association Ltd. Currently, it is mandatory to provide your PAN card details if you buy gold jewellery worth more than Rs2 lakh.

First Published: Sat, May 19 2018. 11 01 AM IST