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

Sunday, November 17, 2019

14311 - Aadhaar Articles Dated 16th Nov 2019


Norms of Aadhaar KYC eased, not of changing address in Aadhaar card
Economic Times
The revenue department of the finance ministry has clarified that only norms of Aadhaar KYC have been eased for opening of bank accounts and not ...

Making a Case for AI-driven Video KYC Using Aadhaar
Entrepreneur
Aadhaar has become a must-have identification document in India. That's because unlike other identification documents such as driving license and ...

Aadhaar card update: No document required to change these things
Livemint
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) allows you to update name, date of birth and gender in Aadhaar card. Recently UIDAI in a tweet ...

Has SC questioned its own Aadhaar ruling of last year?
Times of India
For instance, it observed: “It is clear to us that the majority dictum in KS Puttaswamy (Aadhaar-5) did not substantially discuss the effect of the word ...

Govt eases Aadhaar KYC norms for opening bank account for migrants; allows self-declared local ...
Firstpost
The Department of Revenue on Thursday said its notification is with regard to easing of Aadhaar KYC use for the opening of the bank account for the ...

Aadhaar impact?: 7-judge bench to look at passage of 2017 Finance Act
Hindustan Times
The decision virtually reopened the 2018 Aadhaar judgment since it upheld the validity of the passing the Aadhaar Act, 2016 as a Money Bill.

Aadhaar-property linking will be gamechanger for the sector
Moneycontrol.com
Aadhaar-property linking will be gamechanger for the sector ... Murmurs that the government may soon make it mandatory to link Aadhaar with real ...

Masked Aadhaar card: From where, how-to-download, benefits. Details inside
Times Now
New Delhi: In order to make Aadhaar more secure, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) introduced 'Masked Aadhaar Card', where the ...

Speculation grows on Aadhaar linkage with property
Outlook India
New Delhi, Nov 16 (IANS) Over the last 2-3 years, there has been off and on buzz about an impending decision to link Aadhaar with property and the ...

New Aadhaar card centre alert: This one is in Shimla; know where you can register
Moneycontrol.com
A new Aadhaar registration centre was established in Shimla earlier this week, adding to the already-existing 30-plus at the former summer capital of ...

Rohingya held with Aadhaar, PAN cards
The Hindu
A 24-year-old Rohingya Muslim was arrested on Friday for obtaining Aadhaar card, driving licence, voter and PAN cards, by submitting fake ...

Government eases norms for change of address on Aadhaar
The Siasat Daily
NEW DELHI: The government has allowed migrants to change the address on Aadhaar by giving self-declaration, a move aimed at helping them open ...
How you can e-verify your Income Tax Return and get a refund
Free Press Journal
This e-verifying process has to be done using Aadhaar OTP or through net-banking. Here's how you can do it: 1. Visit the Department's e-filing portal ...

Incorrect PAN number on documents can lead to Rs 10000 fine
Moneycontrol.com
In case one's PAN card is lost and the number is forgotten, then one can provide details of their Aadhaar card. But providing a wrong Aadhaar number ...

Privacy in the digital age
The Statesman
The trigger is the government's Aadhaar scheme, which collects personal details and biometrics to identify beneficiaries for government welfare ...

Govt apathy leaves elderly widow starving
OrissaPOST
A poor elderly widow turned to begging due to such apathy by authorities and due to the law of mandatory linking of Aadhaar number with social ...
Epidemic indifference
The Hindu BusinessLine
... refused to allow administration of anti-rabies vaccine because the child had no Aadhaar card — in reality, it only signifies the routine functioning of ...

All the joys and pleasures of having snotty rug rats
Free Press Journal
Basically it's the same Aadhaar Card but with a much bigger photograph to accommodate for the animated expression of the kid. Bear in mind, kids ...

National Population Registration Process Creates Panic, Deaths In Bengal, Is It Really Harmless?
Outlook India
But many a poor villager returned empty-handed from government offices—land ownership documents were not found; some could not get Aadhaar ...

Digital ID in India to expand into census efforts
SecureIDNews
India, of course, already has a digital identity program known as known as Aadhaar. As well, the country's government is issuing India driver's licenses ...

Noida: Girl gang-raped in green belt near police post
Times of India
However, there was confusion over the girl's age. While the girl's family claimed she was 16, her Aadhaar card mentioned 21. Currently, the cops are ...

Rajasthan: Online pension, ePDS key milestones in digital transformation
Express Computer (press release) (blog)
“After making it Aadhaar-based pension disbursement, the elderly people were supposed to visit nearby kiosks for KYC, if the KYC is done that ...

India Post Mobile App: How to activate, benefits, usage, all you need to know
Financial Express
The account holder will then have to give the Aadhaar details for further Aadhaar authentication. After this, the account holder can follow the on-screen ...

How to read a book: Life Hacks by Charles Assisi
Hindustan Times
An episode of Inside Bill's Brain: Decoding Bill Gates on Netflix has it that he reads 150 pages of a book every day and retains 90% of it. It sounds ...

Only 700 pilgrims cross over by Kartarpur Corridor despite fee waiver on Parkash Purb
Hindustan Times
“Most of the devotees wanted to cross over with their Aadhaar cards. Many had even brought their passports along but were not aware about the ...

Bhopal: Need for expansion of banking facilities in rural areas: CS
Free Press Journal
He also issued directives to make available the necessary technical system in the selected bank branches for Aadhaar Centre to give digital life ...

Govt strikes off 11000 fake DSSS beneficiaries
The Navhind Times
He said that ineligible beneficiaries were also weeded out with the help of Aadhaar-enabled authentication process. Interestingly, the department has ...

Businesses over Rs 50 crore must have electronic payment mode from November 1: CBDT
Hindustan Times
In her budget speech, the minister said there are low-cost digital modes of payment such as BHIM UPI, UPI-QR Code, Aadhaar Pay, certain Debit

BHU controversy: What's the problem with a Muslim scholar teaching Sanskrit?
ThePrint
You can dismiss him by judging his command over the Sanskrit language, but not on the basis of the name written on his Aadhaar card.

Kakinada: Mini Job Mela in city on Nov 18
The Hans India
Those interested can attend with their certificates, Aadhaar identification and Xerox copies of certificates before 9 am. For further details the interested ...

Ex-DSGMC chief asks PM Narendra Modi to simplify Kartarpur process
Times of India
"He also said PM should intervene and advise MHA to evaluate feasibility of granting access through Aadhaar card verification or using other identity ...

Sukhbir Badal writes to PM Modi, says urge Pak to remove passport requirement for visiting Kartarpur
Moneycontrol.com
Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Friday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to request Pakistan to revise the memorandum of