12868 - After Tussle With Top Bureaucrat Over Denial of Rations, Delhi Govt Drops Aadhaar Link - The Wire

After Tussle With Top Bureaucrat Over Denial of Rations, Delhi Govt Drops Aadhaar Link

BY GAURAV VIVEK BHATNAGAR ON 20/02/2018 • 

While Anshu Prakash claims the meeting was called to discuss advertisements, AAP said it was called to discuss denial of rations on 2.5 lakh cards in January. Data now reveals that number to be much higher, at around four lakh.

Credit: Reuters

New Delhi: In the wake of Delhi chief secretary Anshu Prakash’s complaint that he was abused and assaulted by Aam Aadmi Party MLAs at a meeting called at chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence to discuss “the issue of difficulty in release of certain television advertisements relating to completion of three years of current government of Delhi”, the ruling party had contended that he was lying as the meeting had nothing to do with the issue of advertisements and had instead been called to discuss the public interest issue of denial of rations to 2.5 lakh card holders.

By evening, the Delhi government announced that Aadhaar identification would no longer be mandatory for the capital’s poor to access subsidised food through the public distribution system. “We decided today to put on hold the old decision to allow the distribution of ration through Aadhaar card. Therefore, it will go back to the old system for some time now. Aadhaar card will not be mandatory,” deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia told reporters.

Although the immediate backdrop for Sisodia’s announcement was the claim and counter-claim aired publicly by Prakash and AAP leaders over Tuesday’s incident at the secretariat, a statement issued by Delhi Rozi Roti Adhikar Abhiyan and Satark Nagrik Sangathan underlined the gravity of the problem Delhi’s poor are facing because of Aadhaar.

The two organisations have been spearheading the campaign against denial of legal entitlements of rations to citizens since Aadhaar was introduced.

‘Much higher exclusions than 2.5 lakh’

“The Delhi government has not disclosed the source of data it relied on to arrive at the figure of 2.5 lakh families deprived of ration in January 2018 due to Aadhaar. The data available online show much higher levels of exclusions,” the statement said.

Pointing out that “Aadhaar based biometric authentication through Point of Sale (PoS) devices has been made mandatory in Delhi since January 2018 in order to access rations under the National Food Security Act,” it added that “introduction of PoS has led to large scale exclusions of the poorest from their monthly legal entitlement to food”.

DRRAA and SNS had also organised a public hearing on the issue earlier this month in which the testimony of several people denied rations due to problems with Aadhaar registration, linkage or with PoS machines, were presented.

“Many of the people who participated in the public hearing testified that they were not provided ration as their biometric authentication failed. Further, at the public hearing, it emerged that there are scores of people whose fingerprints do not even get recognised as human fingerprints as such and therefore, the process of authentication is not initiated. These people are neither reflected in the database of successful transactions, nor in the database of failed transactions,” the statement said.

‘No rations provided on four lakh cards in January 2018’

Giving a complete picture of the ration problem in Delhi, the statement said, “of the nearly 19.5 lakh ration cards in Delhi, the online transaction information (success or failure) is only available for about 15.5 lakh ration cards. This implies that four lakh ration card holders, despite being linked to Aadhaar and thereby by the government’s own admission being genuine beneficiaries, have not been able to procure their rations.”

At the public hearing, the statement said, it had also emerged that Aadhaar has enabled a new form of corruption in the Public Distribution System (PDS) which is allowing the ration shopkeepers to pilfer grains.

Charge, counter-charge

In his complaint to the north district of Delhi police, Prakash had stated that yesterday he was informed via  telephone around 8.45 pm by V.K. Jain, the adviser to the chief minister, that he had to reach Kejriwal’s residence by midnight to discuss the issue of the difficulties faced in release certain television advertisements related to the completion of three years of the current government in Delhi.

The chief secretary had further stated that on reaching the Kejriwal’s residence, he was led by the chief minister’s adviser to the front room where Kejriwal, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and around 11 MLAs were present. “The chief minister told me that persons present in the room were MLAs and they had come to ask him about government’s publicity programme on completion of three years,” he said in his complaint to the Deputy Commissioner of Police.

Prakash said, “I explained to them that the officers were bound by guidelines laid by Hon’ble Supreme Court and any advertisement to be released must be in consonance with the said guidelines.”

The MLAs, he then said, started shouting at him and abused him while blaming him and the bureaucracy for not doing enough for publicity. Subsequently, he complained that he was assaulted by MLA Amanatullah Khan, who was sitting besides him, and others.

While the chief secretary’s complaint maintains that the meeting was called to discuss the issue of advertisements, AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bharadwaj, as well as the MLAs accused of assault, have  claimed that the issue of advertisements was not on the agenda at all and that the problems faced by ration card holders were raised by the MLAs instead. They have claimed that Prakash had been called to discuss the same issue. Khan also said that that the meeting was called to discuss non-distribution of rations through doorstep delivery mechanism.

9770 - Corridors of Power: Just issuing 100 crore Aadhaars not enough - Financial Express

Corridors of Power: Just issuing 100 crore Aadhaars not enough

Utilisation of Aadhaar in disbursement of subsidies and entitlements has been slow and patchy, and there is hardly any sign of a major change in this in the NDA regime also

By: Santosh Tiwari | April 7, 2016 2:37 AM

Utilisation of Aadhaar in disbursement of subsidies and entitlements has been slow and patchy, and there is hardly any sign of a major change in this in the NDA regime also

April 4, 2016, will be remembered as a landmark day in the Indian reforms history. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) generated the 100th crore Aadhaar on this day, after traversing a tumultuous journey of five-and-a-half years. Though the first Aadhaar number was issued on September 29, 2010, that it took so long to reach the 100-crore mark tells its own story.

The project faced opposition from within the government during the UPA regime, before the Congress party projected it as a game-changer scheme. It almost appeared stuck after the party got a drubbing in 2014 polls, but thanks to the political masterstroke of latching on to it by the NDA Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the whole exercise has got a much-needed centre-stage attention now, due to the Jan-Dhan and other flagship schemes of the government like Digital India.

The UIDAI was constituted on January 28, 2009, as an attached office of the erstwhile Planning Commission. Nandan Nilekani, who was appointed its first chairman on July 2, 2009, steered the project despite teething troubles, especially due to its overlap with the National Population Register (NPR) programme and privacy issues, until he decided to fight the 2014 Lok Sabha polls on a Congress ticket. Although the UPA government had launched the Aadhaar-based direct benefit transfer (DBT) scheme on January 1, 2013, in the absence of adequate preparation and the non-UPA states’ reluctance to embrace it, it didn’t yield desired results in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections for the party.

While there is no doubt that the current government has done well by continuing with the Aadhaar project, the pace of implementation of Aadhaar-based identification process in the government schemes and services still remains a big concern area. The government release issued on Monday after Aadhaar enrolment touched the 100-crore mark is self-explanatory. 

Though 93% people above the age of 18 have Aadhaar now—over 90% population in 13 states and Union Territories, and 75-90% in 13 other states, has been covered by Aadhaar—when it comes to the real objective of bringing a systemic change in the way services, subsidies and benefits will be directly delivered to the deserving, the situation is hardly encouraging. The only big success area is DBT in LPG, both in the UPA and the NDA regimes, and that too because of efficient handling by the public sector oil companies and not the government.

According to the government release, the estimated savings through the Pahal scheme (DBT in LPG) are R14,672 crore, while in PDS these are just R2,346 crore across four states—Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Puducherry and Delhi. The situation in other schemes—in scholarship, the estimated savings are Rs 276 crore across three states of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Punjab; in pensions (NSAP), these are Rs 66 crore across Jharkhand, Chandigarh and Puducherry—shows that the objective of saving substantial amount by using Aadhaar-based identification in the about R5 lakh crore annual payments of entitlements and subsidies is far from taking off in any serious manner.

It is true that 25.48 crore bank accounts, over 12.28 crore (71%) LPG connections, more than 11.39 crore (45%) ration cards, over 5.90 crore (60%) NREGA cards, and 45 lakh income-tax returns are now linked to Aadhaar, there is a need to extend the Aadhaar-based payment system in a big way. 

Although the government has claimed that the total number of transactions on the APB (Aadhaar Payment Bridge) was logged at 94.71 crore worth R28,363 crore—a handsome rise compared to the data on May 31, 2014 (7.13 crore APB transactions worth R4,474 crore)—this is far from the required level to have any substantial impact.

The extension of Aadhaar-based DBT to PDS, fertiliser subsidy and also other government schemes and its utilisation has to match the Aadhaar penetration level, and that can only be done through a coordinated national strategy to be implemented with the full participation of states. It will be a good idea to create a separate Aadhaar-based DBT implementation set-up by the Centre, which will coordinate with all the stakeholders—central government ministries and departments, states, banks and other financial institutions, and the UIDAI—to quicken its pace.

The passage of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits, and Services) Bill 2016 in Parliament in the current session and its notification—providing Aadhaar the badly-needed statutory status—can prove to be a big catalyst in this exercise. As it seeks “to provide for, as a good governance, efficient, transparent, and targeted delivery of subsidies, benefits and services, the expenditure for which is incurred from the Consolidated Fund of India, to individuals residing in India through assigning of unique identity numbers to such individuals”, the central government can use this law now to not only quell the opposition from various quarters in the extensive use of Aadhaar, but also in persuading states to adopt Aadhaar in their schemes and administrative functioning.

The Act clearly states that “the Central Government or, as the case may be, the State Government may, for the purpose of establishing identity of an individual as a condition for receipt of a subsidy, benefit or service for which the expenditure is incurred from, or the receipt there from forms part of, the Consolidated Fund of India, require that such individual undergo authentication, or furnish proof of possession of Aadhaar number or in the case of an individual to whom no Aadhaar number has been assigned, such individual makes an application for enrolment:

Provided that if an Aadhaar number is not assigned to an individual, the individual shall be offered alternate and viable means of identification for delivery of the subsidy, benefit or service.”

Even though the government has tried to ensure that the subsidy and benefits are not denied to anybody not fulfilling the Aadhaar-identification requirement, it is imperative that an efficient national system is put in place to keep track of all transactions and beneficiary data, and this is where the dedicated DBT department of the government can prove to be a game-changer.

Some positive signs of successful Aadhaar use, undoubtedly, are visible in the PM Jan-Dhan Yojana, NREGS, and in the government employee attendance system, but this is not enough—the real celebration for 100 crore Aadhaar cards will be putting them to good use.

santosh.tiwari@expressindia.com

9713 - Device with Aadhaar authentication feature launched - Economic Times

Device with Aadhaar authentication feature launched

By PTI | 1 Apr, 2016, 01.10AM IST

Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said the government's entire focus is on DBT across board and the key to that is the ability to have machine like this one.

NEW DELHI: To support Digital India and Make in India programmes, hardware industry body MAIT in association with Intel and Datamini launched a mobile tablet which has got fingerprint scanner for Aadhaar authentication.

The tablet is likely to be priced at around Rs 13,000 and can be used for initiatives such as direct benefits transfer (DBT) via Aadhaar-linked savings bank accounts.

Launching the device, Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said the government's entire focus is on DBT across board and the key to that is the ability to have machine like this one.

"We must understand that a machine like this radically reduces the cost of transaction," Kant said.

The device, can also be deployed in the 'Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana' (PMJDY), to extend banking services to the rural and urban poor; make wage payments linked to Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS); deliver subsidised foodgrains to BPL families via the e-PDS (Public Distribution System); monitor public health services under the National Health Mission (NHM) and so on.

"Intel actively collaborates with the government, educational institutions and civil society organisations to empower local communities through the use of technology. The launch of the Intel architecture-based Datamini Janunnati Pad is another step towards supporting the vision of Digital India," Debjani Ghosh, Vice President, Sales and Marketing Group & Managing Director, South Asia - Intel, and President, MAIT said.

7920 - Aadhaar-enabled PDS to help Krishna Dt. save Rs. 92.62 crore - The Hindu

VIJAYAWADA, May 7, 2015

Updated: May 7, 2015 08:00 IST

Aadhaar-enabled PDS to help Krishna Dt. save Rs. 92.62 crore

P. SUJATHA VARMA

The State government is upbeat and Krishna District Collector Babu A. explains the reason: “Our experiment with the Aadhaar-enabled Public Distribution System (AePDS) with PoS devices for automation of 511 fair price shops (FPSs) in Krishna district as a pilot project has saved Rs. 1.91 crore a month.

If the same mode is applied to the existing 2,155 FP shops across Krishna district, it would enhance the monthly savings to Rs. 8.05 crore and annually, it would save us Rs. 92.62 crore,” explained a beaming Mr. Babu.

To bring in transparency, accountability and efficiency, Andhra Pradesh has digitised the entire ration card database and seeding of Aadhaar number into the database.

The objective of the AePDS through e-PoS is to ensure that only genuine cardholder or his/her family members whose name is listed in the ration card can buy the commodities.

It would help record all FPSs transactions electronically which enables real time accounts of opening stock, daily sales and closing stock. This would in turn facilitate monthly allotment of stocks to the FPSs based on the stock position available in the MIS and to facilitate monitoring and detection of fraudulent transactions, if any.

Besides expanding the electronic mode of distribution to the remaining 1,644 FP shops in the district during the current month, the district administration is also contemplating introduction of portability in PDS. “This would mean that the ration card holder can procure commodities from any FP shop irrespective of the place where his card belongs to,” said Mr. Babu.

The Collector said there is also a proposal to increase commission for the FP shop dealers from the saved money. “This would be done without causing any extra burden to the exchequer,” he said.

Linkage of ePoS to the supply chain management is a crucial step that enabled the whole process. Mandal-level stock points have been linked to FP shops through seamless integration of supply chain management and ePoS. “Computers and electronic weighing machines have been provided at all mandal level stock (MLS) points in Krishna district,” informed Mr. Babu.

Chief Secretary I.Y.R. Krishna Rao, meanwhile, has complimented ‘team Krishna’ led by District Collector Babu for being in the forefront in installation of ePoS in all fair price shops across the district.