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, February 21, 2019

14055 - Aadhaar Articles Dated 20th Feb 2019


'No Aadhaar number is hosted on this website': Indian Oil denies data leak claims

The News Minute
Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. on Tuesday denied claims by a French security researcher that the company's Indane website leaked Aadhaar data of over ...

6.7 Million Aadhaar card numbers leaked by Indane gas endpoint - 2-spyware.com (blog)

More orders of NEXT Biometrics fingerprint tech for Aadhaar-based applications
Biometric Update
The sensors are sold through its distribution partner AqTronics Technologies and will be used in Aadhaar-based applications. “We are very pleased ...

State gas company leaks millions of Aadhaar numbers in second breach
Biometric Update
A state-owned gas company in India has exposed the personal information of an estimated 6.8 million people to Google searches, including Aadhaar ...

Aadhaar numbers leaked in the millions, says security researcher - TechShout!

Aadhaar Operator's Biometrics Stolen & Misused, UIDAI Documents Prove
HuffPost India
JIND, Haryana — If you go by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)'s record of each time Vikram Sheokhand pressed his thumb down on ...

Aadhaar details of enrolment operator stolen and misused, show UIDAI records: Report - Scroll.in

India: Linking Of Aadhaar Card To PAN Mandatory For The Assesment Year 2019-2020 ...
Mondaq News Alerts
Aadhaar as everyone know is a 12-digit unique identity number that can be obtained by residents of India, based on their biometric and demographic ...

Aadhaar data can't be misused, says Nilekani
The Hindu
“Why is the picture on my Aadhaar card not recognisable even to my mother?” This question had Nandan Nilekani, the former chief of the Unique ...

Elliot Alderson on Aadhaar leaks, Is your Aadhaar data safe? | The Urban Debate With Faye D'souza
Times Now
On the debate tonight, In an exclusive conversation with Mirror Now's Faye D'souza, French researcher Elliot Alderson has claimed that a data leak by ...

How to update address in Aadhaar card online - Here is the easiest way to change it
Zee Business
If you have changed your residence or moved to a new city, then do not forget to update your new address in your Aadhaar. As everything is online, ...

Know the list of services where Aadhaar card is mandatory and not mandatory
Zee News
New Delhi: While there was a lot of confusions regarding the usage of Aadhaar card in host of services, the Supreme Court last year made it clear that ...

How to check if your PAN is linked with Aadhaar in One Minute? - ABP Live

No Leak Of Aadhaar Data By Us: Indian Oil Corp Clarifies
EnergyInfraPost
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the country's largest fuel retailer, today issued a clarification saying no leakage of Aadhaar data occurred through its ...

Rahul Gandhi and real tests of leadership
The Hindu
Mr. Gandhi has also lambasted the BJP's use of Aadhaar as an instrument of authoritarianism, intended to disempower citizens. Will the Congress do ...

Book looks at constitutional interpretation of today's issues
Outlook India
And Aadhaar - the government's national biometric identification programme - was upheld while its use was significantly curtailed," he says.

Collecting data on 50L Maharashtra farmers eligible for subsidy a challenge
Hindustan Times
Moreover, absence of land records linked with Aadhaar and scientific procedure for verification of banks accounts and farmers from excluded ...

India's $1 trillion digital economy target by 2025 possible by improving digital business, fostering ...
Moneycontrol.com
During the stated time period, the country saw 1.22 billion Aadhaar registrations, 870 million Aadhaar-linked bank accounts and 98 million daily ...

Hunger-free Kottayam from today
The Hindu
Further, Akshaya entrepreneurs belonging to the Scheduled Tribes will be given free Aadhaar enrolment kits. The event will also mark the district-level ...

Regulation of encrypted apps by the State for national security
Firstpost
... financial transactions online, storage of sensitive personal data such as Aadhaar and in online messaging apps like Whatsapp and Telegram.