12562 - Arun Jaitley says Congress changed its position on Aadhaar - Business Today

Arun Jaitley says Congress changed its position on Aadhaar

 PTI        Last Updated: December 25, 2017  | 12:00 IST

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has alleged that the previous UPA regime had divergent views on Aadhaar and the Congress-led government changed its position to oppose the legislation after assuming the role of Opposition in Parliament.

Also, the initial legislation related to Aadhaar during the UPA regime was a "bald" one, Jaitley said.

The finance minister recalled that Nandan Nilekani gave a "forceful and persuasive" presentation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who decided to go ahead with it, soon after the NDA government came to power.

However, he said, when the Act was reworked by the present government, "one thing which was clear that the privacy provisions were required". "...the UPA government had two clear schools of thought. One which was not enthused by Aadhaar at all and therefore raised issues... relating to national security. And the other (school of thought) which was pushing it. As a result, (it) was a very bald legislation," said Jaitley.

He further said that when the present government decided to go ahead with Aadhaar, the UPA, now in Opposition, almost made it clear that they were opposed to this idea.

On Congress' stance on the legislation, Jaitley remarked, "Where do you stand now literally depends upon where you sit in the House."

Jaitley was speaking at the launch of a book 'Aadhaar: A Biometric History of India's 12-Digit Revolution' written by Shankkar Aiyar here.

12559 - Open to improvements in Aadhaar-based privacy framework: Jaitley - TNN

Open to improvements in Aadhaar-based privacy framework: Jaitley

PTI | Dec 23, 2017, 20:31 IST

HIGHLIGHTS

• Aadhaar was an evolving idea and the last word on Aadhaar hasn't been said as yet, said Jaitley
• The govt would always remain open for any further improvements which strengthen Aadhar, he said.
• He pointed out that curb on linkages through Aadhaar has led to huge savings for the govt.

NEW DELHI: Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said the government will remain open to suggestions for improving the privacy framework surrounding Aadhaar. 

Jaitley further said that the issue of 'right to privacy' was "hopefully" settled by the Supreme Court judgement. 

Speaking at a book launch event, the finance minister said, "I think if tomorrow you have a situation where either the court or somebody in public domain or Parliament suggests ways and means of strengthening that privacy as technologies evolve for further securing them..., this is something which is not adversarial at all." 

"And therefore no government of the day should ever look at it from an adversarial point of view," Jaitley said. 

The minister said that Aadhaar was an evolving idea and he is "quite certain" that the last word on Aadhaar hasn't been said as yet. 

The government would always remain open for any further improvements which strengthen Aadhar, he said.

"Obviously you will have to make the adequate firewalls, but at the same time the larger public interest will always have to prevail over the individual's personal interest," Jaitley said.

He added: "I am not going to say that what was done by this government was a step better than what was floated by the previous government."

TOP COMMENT

Will be better for bjp to listen to others. Economics and finance are not easy to be dealt if arrogance comes in path.

ra

Jaitley pointed out that curb on linkages through Aadhaar has led to huge savings for the government.

On savings through Aadhaar, he said, "There are estimations and its expanding, it'll continue to expand." 

12198 - Supreme Court’s judgment on right to privacy protects Aadhaar: Jaitley - Indian Awaaz

Supreme Court’s judgment on right to privacy protects Aadhaar: Jaitley

Published On: 12/10/2017 - 11:00 AM By INDIAN AWAAZ

AMN

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said that the recent Supreme Court order on the Right to Privacy has laid down the correct exemptions, which protect Aadhar.

Responding to a question at Columbia University on how the government is planning to handle Aadhaar after the recent verdict, Mr Jaitley said he believes that the Supreme Court verdict in accordance with the current timing is a correct judgement.

He said some of the judges also went into what would be the exceptions to the law of privacy. He said that the first exception the judges say is national security. The second exception is detection and prevention of crime and the third exception is distribution of socio-economic benefits.

The Minister said the third exception was carved out specifically to protect the Aadhar. Mr Jaitley also said that there is a chapter in the Aadhar law which deals with certain aspects like the manner in which data is to be protected and the consequences of violation. He said all those safeguard provisions have been brought into the law.

The apex court judgement has been interpreted by many as a setback to the Aadhar card, under which the government collects vital personal information of the citizens. In its judgement in August, the Supreme Court decreed that that right to privacy is part of the fundamental rights to life and liberty enshrined in the Constitution.

12189 - Was Yashwant Sinha right in personally attacking Arun Jaitley? He should have written to PM: Ravi Shankar Prasad- Indian Express

Was Yashwant Sinha right in personally attacking Arun Jaitley? He should have written to PM: Ravi Shankar Prasad

Union Minister for Law and Justice and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad says economic growth will pick up again, insists that Aadhaar is “safe, secure”, denies any breakdown in relationship between the Executive and Judiciary, and says the delayed MoP in higher judiciary appointments is a “work in progress”

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad with Chief of National Bureau Ravish Tiwari at The Indian Express office. Renuka Puri

RELATED NEWS

• 
  Ravi Shankar Prasad targets Rahul Gandhi over ‘Ease of Doing Business’ tweet
• 
  
• 
  Ravi Shankar Prasad to strengthen BJP base in five Assam Lok Sabha seats
• Victims’ rights not raised in debates: Ravi Shankar Prasad

Senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha’s article criticising the government on the poor state of the economy caused a stir in the NDA government, and prompted the Prime Minister and several senior ministers, including Ravi Shankar Prasad, to defend the growth numbers. The landmark Supreme Court judgment, declaring privacy as a fundamental right, with questions being raised about its impact on Aadhaar, has also made Prasad’s role as Law Minister crucial. As the Minister for Information Technology, the Rajya Sabha MP has been working on creating a model framework for regulating the online marketplace.

RAVI SHANKAR PRASAD: The fundamentals of the Indian economy are strong, whether it is inflation, current account deficit or FDI. The Prime Minister has made an extraordinary initiative, that is to make the Indian economy from informal to formal, from black to white, from tax avoiding to tax complying. Some momentary disruptions can take place but we have a very good record of growth. This quarter if it has dipped, it will pick up again because our fundamentals are strong.

Mr Yashwant Sinha has been the Bihar BJP president, he has been the national vice-president, he was also the leader of Opposition in Bihar, he was the finance minister and external affairs minister. After occupying so many important posts, he knows the reeti and neeti (tradition and policy) of the BJP. He could have written a letter to the PM, expressing all his concerns. Going public with an article… some of the observations are deeply personal. Was he right? I will leave that to his own judgment and understanding of the BJP.

Ravi Shankar Prasad talks about Apple agreed to align its plans with Make In India

Idea Exchange With Ravi Shankar Prasad

A lot of questions have been raised on Aadhaar. What does my Aadhaar card contain? It contains my photograph, but it does not contain the name of my parents, my caste, my community, my religion, my income profile, my educational profile or my medical profile, through which I can be tracked. The Aadhaar system has my fingerprints and my iris, both of which are kept in safe, secure conditions in an encrypted format. We need to understand that there is a one-in-a-billion chance of this encrypted data being leaked. Sections 27, 28, 29 and 30 of the Aadhaar law are so tough that even if I as the IT and Law minister of India, disclose my iris and fingerprint, I can be prosecuted.

RAVISH TIWARI: Why have Yashwant Sinha’s observations about the BJP and government been met with such criticism and disapproval? Is this how the BJP takes criticism from within the party?

The Prime Minister has clearly said that we are open to criticism, and that criticism per se is not bad. But to criticise in this manner is unfair. He could have written a letter to the Prime Minister. The BJP believes in democracy, in exchanges.

Was it right on his part to unleash an almost personal attack on Arun Jaitley? The last line of the article published in your newspaper said, “The prime minister claims that he has seen poverty from close quarters. His finance minister is working over-time to make sure that all Indians also see it from equally close quarters.”… Arun Jaitley has done a good job as Finance Minister. He worked to forge a consensus on GST.

Read | I need to speak up now: Yashwant Sinha

COOMI KAPOOR: There was a subtle tone of criticism in RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s Vijayadashami address, where he said that economic advantage has not filtered down to certain sections of the society — unemployed youth, traders etc.

Mohan Bhagwatji, while appreciating the overall economic architecture, said that the concerns of the traders etc should also be properly addressed. The Indian economy is undergoing a big metamorphosis. The income tax (collections) have risen enormously; by over 15 per cent. A large number of traders have become a part of the GST platform.

We will take note of the suggestions. When a government goes in for this kind of disruption and transformation, you need to be open to suggestions.

HARISH DAMODARAN: Yashwant Sinha raised the issue of raid raj in his piece. The PM has said that there will be no retrospective tax, inspection, survey and opening of books. But this doesn’t seem to be happening on the ground.

First of all, the country has the Prime Minister’s assurance. It was publicly made and was broadcast live on television. So, we should not be worried about that. Both the PM and the Finance Minister have repeatedly said that there shouldn’t be any kind of harassment of genuine taxpayers. The message will definitely reach the ground.

RAVISH TIWARI: After Yashwant Sinha’s piece, there was an attempt to defend the economy and take on those who were criticising the government. However, after the death of Bangalore-based journalist Gauri Lankesh, there was no attempt to pull up those who were cheering her murder.

The comparison is misplaced. All of us condemned Gauri Lankesh’s murder.

Read | Yashwant Sinha hits back at Arun Jaitley: ‘He wouldn’t be there if I had been a job applicant’

SUNIL JAIN: Nobody expects the Prime Minister to come out and condemn the death of every journalist. But when it is brought to his attention that a person he follows is using extremely abusive language against a dead journalist, he still continues to follow him.

I am sorry to say but that was explained very clearly. Also, the next day, a Congress general secretary tweeted. Was there a similar condemnation of his words on certain news channels?

The whole system must be following the Prime Minister on Twitter. You are being too judgmental on this. You are being grossly unfair and harsh on the Prime Minister only because of one irresponsible tweet by someone. It is wrong and I am condemning it, but what about the silence on Digvijaya Singh’s irresponsible tweet against the Prime Minister.

RISHI RANJAN KALA: Has Apple agreed to align its plans with Make In India? Has the government agreed to give Apple the concessions that it had asked for?

The IT Ministry, the Finance Ministry and the Corporate Affairs Ministry are all working on it. Let the process go on. India is a huge market. While we expect Apple to come here, Apple also needs to understand that India offers a big market.

KRISHN KAUSHIK: Consent forms a major part of the privacy judgment. When it comes to Aadhaar, where does consent stand?

First of all, whenever one opts for such things, consent is taken under Section 7. Today, we have 100 crore bank accounts, of which 60 crore are linked to Aadhaar. The moment your bank account is linked to Aadhaar, you cannot say that this account, which, let’s say, was being used for extraneous purposes, is not mine.

KRISHN KAUSHIK: So, at the time of enrolment there is a form for consent. But then what about minors and newborns? How do you get consent there? And can they revoke their consent later?

Parents provide consent for them (minors). Has any poor person complained against Aadhaar? Has any beedi worker or MNREGA beneficiary, whose payment was earlier sliced by mukhiyas complained about Aadhaar? Tea garden workers are feeling empowered because now their money is going straight into their bank accounts. Earlier, the trade unions took a cut from their salaries.

I have got full respect for those who criticise Aadhaar, but the benefits of Aadhaar are there for all to see. It is a measure of our own foresight that while Aadhaar was started by the previous government — there was no law for it — we passed a law, provided statutory back-up, and laid down the do’s and don’ts. And I want to repeat that Aadhaar is safe and secure.

ANANTHAKRISHNAN G: What is the latest on the Memorandum of Procedure (MoP) for higher judiciary appointments?

All I can say is that it is a work in progress. The matter is pending with the Supreme Court, and beyond that, I should not make any comment. (Work on a new MoP began after a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court, in October 2014, declared as ‘unconstitutional and void’ the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act passed by Parliament. The bench later directed that a new MoP be finalised by the government in consultation with the CJI).

RAVISH TIWARI: It has been three years since the NJAC Act was passed. You were the Law Minister in 2014. However, since then, things have not moved. Who is not yielding? Is there a breakdown in the relationship between the Executive and the Judiciary?

Firstly, it is about principles. This government is led by the Prime Minister and it has senior ministers such as Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Arun Jaitley, Ravi Shankar Prasad and some others. All of us have fought against the Emergency. We fought for three freedoms: individual freedom, media freedom and independence of the judiciary. This government is led by leaders who have suffered, gone to jail, suffered lathi blows for the sake of independence of the judiciary. That is the level of our commitment.

Secondly, yes, on May 26, 2014, the Prime Minister gave me the law portfolio. In August 2014, the NJAC Act was passed. It was challenged, and it continues to be challenged. In December 2015, the final order came, which said that the government must recast the MoP in consultation with the judiciary. I would not like to divulge the developments that happened thereafter. But there have been cases where there has been no movement from the other side as well. The judgment stated that the MoP shall be framed by the Chief Justice of India in consultation with and with the unanimous view of the collegium. So, unless it comes from there, I could not have taken any action.

We are not unyielding at all. The point is that there should be appointment of good judges. The judiciary must also represent the diversity of India. There have to be women, people from the backward castes etc. I get very disturbed when I see that from one high court only one particular caste of people are recommended by the collegium. I try to protest in a gentle manner. These are issues. But I have the best relationship with the judiciary, of mutual respect and frequent interaction.

ANANTHAKRISHNAN G: After the privacy judgment, you tweeted that we want privacy for people. However, former attorney general Mukul Rohatgi described it as a case of ‘judicial overreach’. In hindsight, do you think the situation was not handled well? Maybe the counsel was not properly briefed? Could you have taken a different stance?

See, the judgment has come and Mukul Rohatgi did a good job on the case. Remember one thing, at the time, the law itself stated that it was not a fundamental right. Decisions have to be made on a case-to-case basis.

Let me give you an example. If anybody decides to go to Mumbai, it is his personal choice. But the mode of transport he takes can make his details public. If he takes a flight, the ticket will be digital. At the airport, his image will be captured by the CCTV. If he goes by train, there too he will have a digital ticket. So anyone with access to the website will know the details of his travel. If you want your privacy to be absolute, then you will have to cycle to Mumbai. That’s the only way.

Read | Yashwant Sinha complains too much. India isn’t what it was when he was FM: Shesh Narayan Singh 

Similarly, the kind of food you choose to eat is your personal choice. But then when you go out to eat at a restaurant, a bill will be generated with details of what you have eaten.

COOMI KAPOOR: Justice Jayant M Patel, the seniormost judge of the Karnataka High Court, was not made the chief of the court and instead transferred to the Allahabad High Court. Was there any government pressure to do so? Also, the CBI arrested a retired Odisha high court judge in a graft case. What do you make of that?

See, no recommendation for his (Justice Patel) transfer ever came to us. The collegium has publicly stated that it was a unanimous decision to transfer him. He has now resigned and the resignation has been accepted. I would like to set the record straight that we did not receive any recommendation for his transfer.

As for the second judge, I am saying with a great degree of pain: Does being a high court judge, serving or retired, give you a licence to be corrupt? That question would have to be answered at some point in time. What is the real authority of a judge? I think the real authority of a judge is moral authority. And moral authority flows from probity, propriety and integrity.

SHOBHANA SUBRAMANIAN: Why is your government opposed to FDI in multi-brand retail?

First of all, India has attracted the biggest FDI in all the brands, apart from e-commerce. If you see India’s evolution, the neighbourhood grocery store has been a big tradition in India. The government has to keep their concerns in mind also. An architecture that responds to the needs of both (local stores and multi-brand ventures) has to be undertaken.

ANANTHAKRISHNAN G: What is your ministry’s view on the demand for audio and video recordings of constitutional courts?

We need to work together with the judiciary. The judiciary has certain reservations on the issue.

KRISHN KAUSHIK: Aadhaar has been made mandatory for many things. But isn’t it time to also make Aadhaar compulsory for political funding?

That’s an idea for thought.

RAVISH TIWARI: You talked about the moral authority of the judiciary. Doesn’t our position on Rohingyas take away from our moral authority? Also, with Nitish Kumar returning to the NDA fold, after a rather bitter exit earlier; doesn’t the question of moral authority arise there?

The issue of Rohingyas, it is purely a question of national security. I cannot share many things publicly. In government, we are privy to all kinds of information, including sensitive ones.

As far as Bihar is concerned, I cannot deny what has happened in the state. Nitish Kumar left us, but then why did he come back to us? Out of probity and propriety. In all fairness, I must say that Nitish Kumar has some degree of commitment. I know it for sure. When Lalu Prasad’s misadventures as far as impropriety are concerned crossed all limits, he had to take a call. And he took a call and we have come back together.

RAVISH TIWARI: The Ram Janmabhoomi case is going to be heard in the Supreme Court from December 5. Who is going to represent Ram, the deity. You were his lawyer.

11915 - 1 bn bank accounts set to be linked to 1 bn Aadhaar numbers, says Arun Jaitley - Live Mint

1 bn bank accounts set to be linked to 1 bn Aadhaar numbers, says Arun Jaitley

Finance minister Arun Jaitley says the government now directly transfers Rs74,000 crore to the accounts of 350 million beneficiaries annually

Sahib Sharma

Finance minister Arun Jaitley says so far 524 million Aadhaar numbers have been linked to 736.2 million bank accounts in India. Photo: PTI

New Delhi: Measures to promote financial inclusion, transfer of entitlements to people’s bank accounts using Aadhaar and access to credit to the unorganized sector are making sure that no citizen is left outside of the national mainstream, finance minister Arun Jaitley said on Sunday.

Jaitley’s remarks, in an article released by the finance ministry, marked the completion of three years by the Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan Yojana, a scheme aimed at offering access to basic banking services to the poor.

Jaitley wrote that just as the goods and services tax (GST), rolled out on 1 July, had united Indian states into a common market, Jan Dhan Yojana and a revolution driven by the use of Aadhaar and mobile phones can link all Indians into “one common financial, economic, and digital space.”

“No Indian will be outside the mainstream. This is nothing short of a social revolution,” wrote Jaitley.

Aadhaar, the 12-digit number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), establishes the identity of individuals using biometrics and helps in minimizing diversion of the benefits meant for the needy.

The finance minister said the country was within reach of achieving 1 billion bank accounts being linked with 1 billion Aadhaar numbers and 1 billion mobile phones. So far 524 million Aadhaar numbers have been linked to 736.2 million bank accounts in India.

The second volume of the Economic Survey 2016-17 released earlier this month said the Jan Dhan scheme helped in reducing gender disparity in savings bank accounts. The proportion of women account holders increased from 28% in March 2014 to 40% in March 2017, the Survey said. The total number of savings accounts stood at 1.09 billion at the end of March.

“The government now makes direct transfer of Rs74,000 crore to the financial accounts of 35 crore beneficiaries annually, at more than Rs6,000 crore per month,” wrote Jaitley in the article, which was also shared as a Facebook blog.

Entitlements under anti-poverty and welfare schemes including cooking gas subsidy, wages to workers under the employment guarantee scheme, old age pensions and student scholarships are transferred directly to the bank accounts of beneficiaries.

“Direct benefits transfer linked to Aadhaar is the right technological solution in making subsidy targeted. A blanket subsidy is a flawed system since it benefits the undeserving,” said Rajat Kathuria, director and chief executive, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (Icrier).

The government saved Rs21,000 crore in subsidies by blocking fake liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) connections, PTI reported in February.

Under the Prime Minister Mudra Yojana, a scheme meant to provide credit to non-corporate businesses, loans of up to Rs10 lakh are directly credited into the bank accounts of beneficiaries. Jaitley said until 18 August, Rs3.66 trillion had been distributed to 87.7 million beneficiaries under the scheme.

11184 - Arun Jaitley at CII meet says debate over Aadhaar and EVM or other 'obsolete' ideas are diversions- First Post

Arun Jaitley at CII meet says debate over Aadhaar and EVM or other 'obsolete' ideas are diversions

IndiaPTIApr, 28 2017 15:31:42 IST

New Delhi: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday slammed the debate on "obsolete" ideas like paper ballot versus electronic voting machines and cash as opposed to digital payment, saying they are diversionary tactics. Speaking at CII's annual meeting in New Delhi, he said there is a need to take the debates on use of Unique Identity Number and electronic voting machines (EVMs) head on as the world has moved forward.

"We need to worry about the shrillness and the diversion in the nature of debate," he said, referring to the call by opposition parties against use of EVMs for casting votes in elections.

The opposition attack got shriller after the results of Assembly elections in five states, including Uttar Pradesh. "In (my) budget speech I quoted (Mahatma) Gandhiji that a right cause never fails. And therefore there is going to be a debate on obsolete ideas that cash is better than digitisation, paper is better than EVMs, arbitrary selection of individuals is better than a unique identity," he said.

These debates "are all diversions of going back to obsolete ideas", he said.

Giving citizens a 12-digit unique identification number or Aadhaar, which can be verified biometrically, is one of the greatest reforms in India, he said.

"We must have broad shoulders to encounter this debate but we must eventually realise that as the world moves forward, it is the unique identity which will be one of the greatest reforms in India," he said.

He said EVM with all its additionalities being preferred over paper ballot would mean "much better proposition and a digitised economy will be much better than a cash economy".

"And therefore those who argue going back to the obsolete ideas, eventually is not a cause which is likely to ever succeed," Jaitley added.

Published Date: Apr 28, 2017 03:31 pm | Updated Date: Apr 28, 2017 03:31 pm

10747 - Govt, RBI taking steps to lower digital transaction cost: Arun Jaitley - Indian Express

Govt, RBI taking steps to lower digital transaction cost: Arun Jaitley

Less cash, he said, can be gradually substituted to the possible extent through digital transactions.

By: PTI | New Delhi | Updated: December 15, 2016 6:54 pm

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. (File Photo)

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said the government and the Reserve Bank are taking measures to bring down the digital transaction cost with an aim to move towards a less-cash economy. Chairing the 5th Meeting of the Consultative Committee attached to his ministry, Jaitley said digital transactions are a parallel mechanism, not a substitute, for cash transactions and “cashless economy is actually a less cash economy as no economy can be fully cashless”. He told the participating Members of Parliament (MPs) that the government is trying to encourage digitisation as much as possible because an excessive cash economy has its own social and economic costs and consequences.

Less cash, he said, can be gradually substituted to the possible extent through digital transactions. According to an official release, Jaitley said the Centre has announced various incentives to attract people to shift to digital mode of payment and the response is quite positive so far in this regard. Jaitley further said the government and the RBI have taken various steps to bring down the cost of digital transactions and specifically mentioned about MDR charges.

ALSO READ: To push digital payments, Niti Aayog announces cash awards worth Rs 340 crore

The Finance Minister added that 55 per cent petrol pumps in the country are accepting payment through digital means and with the government providing incentives, more people are switching to this mode. Jaitley further said the government is conscious of the need of cyber security of high level to secure digital payments.

He told the MPs that the government and RBI are fully aware of cyber security challenges and ensuring strong firewalls around the systems. As part of efforts to promote e-payments, the Finance Minister said the government is providing various incentives for digital transactions including on debit card use.

Regarding the availability of POS machines, he said POS machines are manufactured by two companies in China and the government has waived duties on them so that these machines become cheaper and reach the shopkeepers easily.

Expressing views, one MP cited the example of Bangladesh Bank heist and expressed the concern about cyber security if digitisation is done at such a fast pace. The issue of virtual currency, bitcoins was also raised as they are believed to be used by black money hoarders. Regarding connectivity and infrastructure issue in rural India, suggestions were made to strengthen the institution of business correspondents. Some members raised the concern that Aadhaar alone should not be basis for bank transactions and banks should keep their KYC norms strict along with Aadhaar.

Some members also requested the Finance Minister to relax conditions for Tamil Nadu in view of recent cyclone that caused major disruptions in supply of electricity and internet connectivity. Suggestions regarding infrastructure for having internet facility on continuous/permanent basis, without disruption, has to be ensured for making digital payments successful especially in sub-urban and rural areas were also made.

Some of them suggested that security measures are required both in case of hardware and software in order to secure the data and transactions made through digital mode. Jaitley assured the members of the Committee about cyber security measures being taken by the banks under RBI supervision. He said the government was trying its best to minimise common man’s pain.

MPs who attended the meeting include Baijayanta Jai Panda, Dilip Kumar Mansukhlal Gandhi, Ram Charitra Nishad, Subhash Chandra Baheria, Supriya Sadanand Sule, Poonam Mahajan, Sharadkumar Maruti Bansode and Shri Suresh Chanabassappa Angadi (all Members of Lok Sabha).

Digvijaya Singh, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Ranvijay Singh Judev, Sanjay Seth, Satish Chandra Mishra and Kumari Selja were among the Rajya Sabha MPs.

10520 - Lots of elbow room for Jaitley’s next Budget - Hindu Businessline

Lots of elbow room for Jaitley’s next Budget

J MULRAJ

All in all, given the good macro-economic signals, Jaitley will still have elbow room for a tax cut. A fiscal stimulus will work much much better than a monetary one.

October 7, 2016:  

The income declaration scheme (IDS) received declarations of ₹65,000 crore, which, taxed @ 45 per cent, yielded an additional ₹29,000 crore in tax revenue. Telecom spectrum auctions have so far fetched ₹63,000 crore in revenue. It would have been far higher if TRAI had set an affordable base rate for spectrum in the popular 700 MHz, which nobody bid for. Since the idea of an open auction is to gauge a fair market value on competitive bidding, setting an unaffordably high base price defies logic.

Favourable pointers

Arun Jaitley thus, has plenty of elbow room to give us a Budget in February, that would further propel the economy. Other macro-economic parameters are also helping. The current account deficit in Q2 has fallen to $300 million (0.1 per cent of GDP) from $6.1 billion (1.2 per cent of GDP) in Q2 last year, thanks mainly to low crude oil prices. Combine this with the foreign portfolio investment inflows of ₹20,000 crore in September, an 11-month high, and the elbow room on the foreign exchange front also widens.

The extra revenue will be supplemented by savings in subsidies, which were a leaky sieve, after direct benefit transfer.

Rate cut

The benefits of Aadhaar card are just starting to manifest themselves. Using Aadhaar identification, Reliance Jio, for example, is able to induct a customer in just two minutes! Millions of citizens, so far excluded from the economic mainstream, for want of an identity, will now participate in it.

The new RBI Governor has done his bit by reducing interest rates by 0.25 per cent. This reduction must be taken with some caveats. First, as Usha Thorat, a former Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, points out, in BusinessLine dated October 6, it discourages savers. Whether it helps consumers is to be seen; so far only two banks have cut interest rates, by far less than the 25 basis points cut by the RBI.

So, the FM has plenty of room to, for example, reduce tax rates, if he wishes. Part of the extra revenue would, doubtless, go for higher defence spending, necessitated by a belligerent neighbour. The FM needs to ask himself why the IDS did not collect more than ₹65,000 crore, by itself a commendable figure, but lower, as a per cent of GDP, than the previous one.

Agri under tax net

Part of the answer is that black money has an official laundry to become white. This is ‘agriculture income’ which is completely tax-free. There is no distinction made, as there should be, between the small, struggling farmers, who should be given tax concessions, for struggling in the fields to feed us, and those who misuse this provision to convert their black money into white. The CAG is examining this.

As these columns have suggested, it would be a good idea to grant a higher exemption limit to small farmers (say, ₹25 lakh instead of ₹2.5 lakh for others) and then tax anyone earning more. That stops blatant misuse of this provision without hurting small farmers (vote banks).

A lot of money will have to go into skill development. A study by the World Bank feels that 69 per cent of jobs in India are under threat from automation.

All in all, given the good macro-economic signals, Jaitley will still have elbow room for a tax cut. A fiscal stimulus will work much much better than a monetary one.

×

10514 - Direct benefit transfers will become the norm: Arun Jaitley - Live Mint

Last Modified: Mon, Oct 03 2016. 01 39 AM IST

Direct benefit transfers will become the norm: Arun Jaitley

If anyone wants benefit of public revenue through subsidies or any other form, the authorities can insist on production of the unique identity, says Arun Jaitley

Komal Gupta / Suranjana Roy

A file photo of finance minister Arun Jaitley. Photo: Mint

New Delhi: Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday emphasized the importance of Aadhaar for cashless transactions and government schemes at a conference on digital payments.

“Eighty percent of people have mobiles in the country; we have crossed the one billion mark. Aadhaar card enrolment has reached close to 95% mark as far as adult population is concerned,” Jaitley said at the ‘Digital Payments: Inclusion, Growth and Opportunities’ meet.

The meet was organized by the Observer Research Foundation, a global think tank, in association with the Better Than Cash Alliance, a tie-up of governments and organizations that seeks to accelerate the transition from cash to digital payments to drive inclusive growth.

Direct benefit transfers, where subsidies and other benefits are directly paid to the benefiary’s bank account, will be the rule, Jaitley said.

“If anyone wants benefit of public revenue through subsidies or any other form, the authorities can insist on production of the unique identity,” added Jaitley.

Aadhaar will help rationalize, target and implement subsidies better.

The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana was an exemplary programme with nearly 240 million people being enrolled within weeks, Jaitley said.

“No Indian can really today say that he didn’t have the facility of a bank account,” he added.

The Digital India initiative, along with the JAM, or Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile, Trinity, and Less-Cash India, are examples of such inclusive growth efforts.

Jaitley on 6 July released the ‘less cash campaign road map” of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), which has launched a nationwide campaign to promote the usage of digital payments .

With over a billion a mobile connections, a quarter of a billion bank accounts (Jan Dhan) and a digital identity database (Aadhaar) of a billion, the aim is now to give a strong push to the digital future of the country.

Niti Aayog chief executive officer Amitabh Kant shared similar views in his speech during one of the sessions.

“Nothing is going to transform India other than the spread of Internet, in a rapid and fast manner. The habit of using cash has to do away,” he said.

With the help of four game changers namely Digital India, Unified Payment Interface (UPI), JAM and the expansion of Point of sale (PoS) terminals, India should move towards a completely digitized payments by 2025, Kant said.

“We have around 1.2 million PoS terminals in India. We need to take it to around 20 million in the next two years,” Kant added.

A lot of innovations in the payments landscape have happened such as doing away with Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements for transactions up to Rs10,000, exemptions of wallets from two-factor authentication and use of regional languages in payment gateways. ‘The right of way’ policy which will be finalized by the government soon is expected to be another game changer.

However, digital payments still constitute just 22% of all consumer payments. The aim should be to scale this Rs50 billion industry to Rs500 billion by the end of 2020.

Komal GuptaSuranjana Roy

10001 - Big-bang versus baby-bangs: FM Arun Jaitley is right; India needs small, but regular reforms - Financial Express

Big-bang versus baby-bangs: FM Arun Jaitley is right; India needs small, but regular reforms

Small, but regular, reforms are what India needs

By: The Financial Express | Updated: May 17, 2016 8:04 AM

Focussing on getting the Aadhaar Act through and on eliminating the 40-50% leakage levels through Aadhaar-seeding, as the government is doing, is the way to go, though it needs considerable speeding up. (PTI)

Finance minister Arun Jaitley is right in calling the desire for “big-bang reforms” a “column writer’s favourite”, in an interview to Business Standard. While big-bang reforms sound good, more can be achieved with smaller but regular reforms. 

Announcing the privatisation of an Air India or a BSNL would certainly qualify as a big-bang reform, but how many takers will there be for the large employee base both PSUs have? Selling a stake in PSUs banks, similarly, makes for good optics but little else given the poor value they will fetch—full-scale privatisation of several banks is a good idea, but cannot be done without getting Parliament’s approval and so is ruled out. In such a situation, plucking the low-hanging fruit is critical. The government lost two years in the oil and gas sector by not clearing stuck projects such as Cairn’s application for extending its oil mining lease in Rajasthan’s Barmer and in not freeing up prices of natural gas. In the case of telecom, another area where investors were lining up two years ago, the government needlessly got embroiled in the call-drop matter instead of focusing on getting more spectrum for telcos—in both cases, the government appears to have learned its lessons and is working on fixing the investment environment.

On subsidies, similarly, trying to limit the subsidised foodgrain entitlement under the Food Security Act (FSA) is impossible given Parliament passed it, but it would be wise to take the opportunity provided—FSA allows a review after 3 years—and raise the issue prices moderately. Focussing on getting the Aadhaar Act through and on eliminating the 40-50% leakage levels through Aadhaar-seeding, as the government is doing, is the way to go, though it needs considerable speeding up. Also, if the government wants to move foodgrains cultivation to eastern India, the only way to do this is to offer cash support to farmers and that can only be got by disbanding the hugely inefficient FCI—that, however, is rarely considered big-bang. LPG and kerosene subsidies are under control thanks to low oil prices but, were their subsidy to be cut gradually as the UPA did with diesel, this would qualify as a big reform albeit in baby steps. Indeed, funding the NDA’s crop- and other insurance-schemes—all of which add up to a big bang for both the poor and rural India—also need subsidies to be rationalised. If there is a criticism here, it is that the government didn’t get BJP states like

Maharashtra to repeal the APMC Act or Punjab and Haryana to repeal their mandi taxes—all are small-bang reforms which would enable big farm reforms.

Ironically, the one big bang the government tried, to amend the UPA’s disastrous land acquisition law, backfired and gave wind to the suit-boot-ki-sarkaar tag which, primarily, ensured the government couldn’t move on the retrospective tax cases such as Vodafone and Cairn. Indeed, tax changes such as removing the tax on FIIs had a larger financial impact—or not appealing the Shell tax judgment—got through because they were low-profile. Reducing small savings rates by linking them to GSecs is also a big reform but was seen as low-profile and so escaped attention. Flying under the radar is always a good thing provided you don’t fly so low, you ground the plane.

9831 - FM Jaitley Wants States to Maintain to Fiscal Deficit Targets - New Indian Express

FM Jaitley Wants States to Maintain to Fiscal Deficit Targets

By ENS Economic Bureau

Published: 12th April 2016 03:16 AM

NEW DELHI: With the share of states in Central taxes seeing a quantum jump, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday asked state finance secretaries to maintain fiscal discipline.

Noting that meeting the 3.9 per cent target of 2015-16 has brought immediate gains of lower interest rate and better credibility in the global economy, Jaitley advised them to spend on infrastructure and development activities and to use Aadhaar for transferring benefits to people.

Speaking at the second conference of state finance secretaries, Jaitley said, “All of us will have to spend within means. We have seen that ever since we have shown this tendency of spending more yet sticking to fiscal discipline, this has brought immediate results in terms of interest rates and India’s credibility.”

The Centre has decided to lower the fiscal deficit to 3.5 per cent of the gross domestic product in 2016-17.

“The tendency to spend on non-developmental activities may in the short term appear to be attractive but in longer run it doesn’t reap results,” he noted.

The states’ share in Union taxes has substantially gone up after implementation of the 14th Finance Commission report. The FC  recommended a record 10 per cent increase in their share in the Union taxes to 42 per cent.

Talking of the manner in which resource must reach people, Jaitley said greater reliance on Aadhaar-based direct benefit transfer is going to be a clear agenda in future.

Jaitley marks focus areas for spending

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said national focus is on larger expenditure on social sector, infrastructure creation and rural areas, which have conventionally been found lacking in the past. “And therefore we must focus on specific expenditure in those areas,” he said.

9816 - Jaitley to States: Stick to fiscal discipline, invest more in social sector, rural areas - Indian Express

Jaitley to States: Stick to fiscal discipline, invest more in social sector, rural areas

Jaitley said national focus is on larger expenditure on social sector, infrastructure creation and rural areas, which have conventionally been found lacking in the past.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and MoS for Finance, Jayant Sinha during the second conference of the State Finance Secretaries, in New Delhi on Monday. (Source: PTI)

The government may have last week given nod to states for extra borrowing, but it wants them to spend within the fiscal limits and adhere to fiscal discipline. Finance minister Arun Jaitley wants states to do meaningful spending, focused on developmental activities in rural infrastructure and social sector, which were the thrust areas of 2016-17 Union Budget as well.

“It is quite obvious that what states were getting in Thirteenth Finance Commission and what they are getting now, it may have come down in one-two heads but substantially other overall volumes have increased. Now an important onus on us is to actually spend and then make sure how and where we spend it. The tendency to spend it on non-developmental activities may in the short term appear to be attractive but in longer run it doesn’t reap results,” Jaitley said while addressing the second conference of states’ finance secretaries.

“There is now an important national focus that larger expenditure must be done in the social sector.. into infrastructure creation, into rural areas..which have conventionally been found lacking in the past..and therefore we must focus on specific expenditure in those areas,” he said adding that though states have been given some additional fiscal space but they will have to learn to live and spend within means and stick to fiscal discipline.

RELATED ARTICLE

• Arun Jaitley: This is largest ever simplification of tax laws; addressed concerns of rural India
• Budget 2016: Everything you need to know
• Budget 2016 reactions: Was Arun Jaitley's Budget a sucCESS?
• Arun Jaitley blames Left for ‘poor state of Bengal’
• Govts must stick to fiscal discipline: Arun Jaitley
• So that it can spend for growth, Government to ease deficit targets
• Arun Jaitley: This is largest ever simplification of tax laws; addressed concerns of rural India
• Budget 2016: Everything you need to know
• Budget 2016 reactions: Was Arun Jaitley's Budget a sucCESS?
• Arun Jaitley blames Left for ‘poor state of Bengal’
• Govts must stick to fiscal discipline: Arun Jaitley
• So that it can spend for growth, Government to ease deficit targets
• Arun Jaitley: This is largest ever simplification of tax laws; addressed concerns of rural India
• Budget 2016: Everything you need to know
• Budget 2016 reactions: Was Arun Jaitley's Budget a sucCESS?
• Arun Jaitley blames Left for ‘poor state of Bengal’
• Govts must stick to fiscal discipline: Arun Jaitley
• So that it can spend for growth, Government to ease deficit targets

Jaitley even highlighted that ever since India has shown the tendency of spending more yet sticking to fiscal discipline, it has brought immediate results in terms of interest rates and credibility.

The Union Cabinet last week approved additional headroom to a maximum of 0.5 per cent over and above the normal fiscal deficit limit of 3 per cent in any given year to the states. Subject to fulfillment of conditions as specified in the Fourteenth Finance Commission (FFC) recommendations, states will be given year-to-year flexibility for relaxing fiscal deficit beginning 2016-17.

States should have had no revenue deficit this year and in the preceding year. The states will be eligible for flexibility of 0.25 per cent over and above the fiscal deficit limit of 3 per cent of GSDP if their debt-GSDP ratio is

less than or equal to 25 per cent in the preceding year.

States will be further eligible for an additional borrowing limit of 0.25 per cent of GSDP this year if the interest payments are less than or equal to 10 per cent of the revenue receipts in the preceding year.

In line with recommendations of Fourteenth Finance Commission, the states’ share in Union taxes has risen sharply by 10 per cent since last year to 42 per cent.

Fiscal discipline of states is important in view of its corresponding impact on Centre’s borrowing space and thus, the country’s fiscal deficit. For instance, post October 2015, too many government securities were simultaneously off-loaded by the state governments to meet their normal borrowing requirements, resulting in higher yields on state development loans as compared to central government securities. Having learnt from this experience, the government has now proposed a better coordinated and more evenly spaced borrowing schedule over the financial year 2016-17.

According to RBI data, States borrowed a total of Rs.2.95 lakh crore last year, around 23 per cent higher than a year ago, while Centre’s gross borrowing stood at Rs 6 lakh crore in last fiscal.

The government has now realigned its focus on combined fiscal situation of both states and Centre. Finance secretary Ratan Watal said there is a need to stop looking at Centre and States separately. “We need to take a national view of the problem, and start looking at the general government deficits and the impact they have on the savings-investment equilibrium in our economy as well as internal and external balances.” He further added, “To grow in a sustainable manner we need to maintain a fine balance between crowding-in and crowding-out.”

The combined fiscal deficits of states and Centre have hovered over 9 per cent of GDP during 2001-02 and 2002-03, after which it saw a steady decline, falling to one of the lowest levels of 4 per cent in 2007-08. Subsequently, combined fiscal deficit of states and Centre has risen to around 7.2 per cent of GDP in 2012-13 and 6.8 per cent of GDP in 2013-14. In 2014-15, the fiscal deficit of states and Centre was estimated at 6.9 per cent of GDP, which declined to around 6.3 per cent of GDP in 2015-16.

- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/business/economy/states-should-stick-to-fiscal-discipline-spend-on-infra-jaitley/#sthash.JamvWJbN.dpuf

9775 - Congress moves Supreme Court against Aadhaar Bill - The Hindu

NEW DELHI, April 8, 2016

Congress moves Supreme Court against Aadhaar Bill

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

The controversy now takes a new twist as it is generally believed that the Speaker’s discretion is final in the matter.

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday said he had challenged the Aadhaar Bill in the Supreme Court, seeking to block its implementation unless it was cleared by the Rajya Sabha.

Since Finance Minister Arun Jaitley introduced the Aadhaar Bill as a money Bill in the last session of Parliament, the Opposition parties could not challenge it in the Rajya Sabha.

“It is important because declaring the Aadhaar Bill as money Bill violates Article 110 of the Constitution and has grave implications for the future of Rajya Sabha itself,” Mr. Ramesh told The Hindu. “I believe we have an iron clad case. This has relevance to the future of the Rajya Sabha itself and that is why I took this step after a great deal of consideration and consultation.”

The Congress’s move in the Supreme Court opens a new debate that whether or not a money Bill can be challenged on legal grounds. Usually, if the Speaker in Parliament recognises any particular Bill as money Bill, the decision is considered indisputable, and the Bill is passed even if it is facing criticism from the Opposition parties.

Accusing the NDA government of showing “utter contempt” towards the Rajya Sabha, Mr. Ramesh said that in order to avoid discussion over the drawbacks of the Aadhaar Bill, Mr. Jaitley dodged the Upper House scrutiny by tabling it as a money Bill.

Back then, Congress leaders in the Rajya Sabha recommended five amendments to the Bill but the Lok Sabha on March 16 brushed them aside and went ahead to pass the Bill.

Though Aadhaar, a biometric identification system that aims to weed out corruption and malpractices in distribution of government subsidies was the UPA-led government’s initiative, Mr. Ramesh urged a caution that certain clauses in the Bill could harm personal freedom as it gave “sweeping powers” to the government on the grounds of national security.

Mr. Ramesh said it was unclear how much power the Aadhaar authorities would have when it came to data collection.

9766 - Jairam Ramesh moves Supreme Court challenging decision to treat Aadhaar as money bill - Economic Times

Jairam Ramesh moves Supreme Court challenging decision to treat Aadhaar as money bill

By PTI | 7 Apr, 2016, 04.49PM IST

Post a Comment

NEW DELHI: Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh has moved the Supreme Court challenging the decision to treat Aadhaar bill as a money bill, which was passed during Budget session last month, overruling amendments moved in Rajya Sabha.

"Yesterday I have filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court challenging the decision to treat Aadhaar as a money bill," Ramesh, a former Union Minister during UPA, said here.

With this, the controversy over treating Aadhaar as a money bill, which refuses to die down ever since its passage, has taken a new twist as it is generally believed that Speaker's discretion is final in the matter.

Accusing the BJP-led NDA government of showing "utter contempt" of Rajya Sabha for taking the money bill route to pass the Aadhaar bill, the oppositon party had earlier indicated that the matter could be challenged in the court.

Rejecting Rajya Sabha's five amendments and opposition's appeal not to make "haste", the Lok Sabha had on March 16 passed the Aadhaar bill, that aims at better targeting of subsidies through the Aadhar unique identity.

Shortly before it was adjourned for more than a month-long recess for scrutiny of budget, the Lok Sabha had adopted the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other subsidies, benefits and services) Bill, 2016, by a voice vote after rejecting the recommendations for five amendments made by the Upper House earlier in the evening.

Armed with the Speaker's decision that it was a money bill, the government pushed it in the Rajya Sabha, which cannot amend it but only make recommendations for amendment to the Lok Sabha.

Once the Lok Sabha passes a money bill with or without amendments recommended by the Rajya Sabha, it is deemed to have been passed by both the Houses.

Showing urgency in getting the law through, the government, which enjoys a comfortable majority in the Lok Sabha, had brought the measure to the lower house within an hour of being returned by the Rajya Sabha.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who moved the bill and piloted them in both the Houses, had also turned down opposition argument that Parliament cannot legislate since the matter is before Supreme Court.

Parliament cannot abdicate its duty under the Constitution which clearly separates powers among various institutions, he had said.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh while proposing amendments in the bill in Rajya Sabha, had then expressed "anguish" that the Bill was brought as a money bill, an act he likened to "knocking a nail in the coffin of the Upper House".

9708 - FM Jaitley sees FY16 GDP growth at 7.6%; hopes for better rate next year - dna India

FM Jaitley sees FY16 GDP growth at 7.6%; hopes for better rate next year

Thu, 31 Mar 2016-05:35pm , Canberra , PTI

Arun Jaitley also talked about various initiatives taken by the Modi government like Swachch Bharat, Aadhaar and Jan Dhan.

Pegging India's GDP growth rate at 7.6% for the fiscal 2015-16, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said it is "much less" than its potential and expressed hope for better numbers next year.

Jaitley also said that India earlier had a bad reputation of not being the best place to do business, but the governments at the Centre and states have made considerable headway in reforming the system.

"As the current financial year ends today, we hope to finish this year at 7.6% growth rate which is much less than our potential... we are hopeful that we will do better than this next year. Our current account deficit is well under control, inflation rate is under control. In last 16 months, the wholesale price index has been negative. Consumer index has been in the range of 4-5%... interest rates are slowly coming down," he said.

"We had to reform our systems. There is a considerable amount of ease which has come in and we have moved up in global rankings," Jaitley said while delivering a K R Narayanan Oration series lecture here on the topic of 'New Economics of Financial Inclusion in India'.

The Narayanan Lectures are hosted by the Australian National University in honour of the former Indian President K R Narayanan. The annual oration is delivered by eminent Indian thinkers and the past speakers include Raja J Chelliah, Jagdish Bhagwati, U R Rao and P Chidambaram.

In his speech, Jaitley further said, "We had a fairly aggressive tax system which we have rationalised." Stressing on the importance of GST, Jaitley said its implementation could further add to the growth story of India.

Elucidating on long term vision for India, Jaitley indicated that there were very challenging tasks for the ruling government to bring and integrate rural India with similar facilities with urban India.

"Our main thrust of expenditure now would be development of rural areas and infrastructure sector," Jaitley said. "We have 700,000 villages in India and by 2019 we intend each village to be connected by a regular pucca road," he said, adding that the allocation for rural road works were increased by almost three times this year.

Jaitley also talked about various initiatives taken by the Modi government like Swachch Bharat, Aadhaar and Jan Dhan. He later attended a special reception organised by the Indian High Commission here.

9700 - Government notifies Aadhaar Act - ECONOMIC TIMES

Government notifies Aadhaar Act

By PTI | Mar 28, 2016, 04.52 PM IST

The Centre has notified the new Aadhaar Act which gives the numbers assigned by it a statutory backing for transfer of subsidies and benefits to people eligible for them.

NEW DELHI: The Centre has notified the new Aadhaar Act which gives the numbers assigned by it a statutory backing for transfer of subsidies and benefits to people eligible for them. 

The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, benefits and services) Act, 2016 will provide for "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", said the notification dated March 26. 

It will be used for all benefit that will linked to consolidated fund of India. 

The Aadhaar Bill for this act was approved by Parliament on March 16. It was tabled in Parliament as money bill. 

However, those individuals to whom Aadhaar number has not been assigned, the Act said that they "shall be offered alternate and viable means of identification for delivery of the subsidy, benefit or service". 

The Aadhaar number will not be a proof of citizenship or domicile. 

"The Authority (UIDAI) shall take special measures to issue Aadhaar number to women, children, senior citizens, persons with disability, unskilled and unorganised workers, nomadic tribes or to such other persons who do not have any permanent dwelling house and such other categories of individuals as may be specified by regulations," said the Act. 

It has provision that both centre and state government can use Aadhaar for disbursal for benefits and subsidies. 

The Act provides for statutory backing to the UIDAI by providing for establishment of the Unique Identification Authority of India consisting of a Chairperson (part time or full time) and two Members (part time). 

The bill has penalty provision which includes imprisonment in the range of one to three years or penalty in the ranges of Rs 10,000 to Rs 1 lakh for violation of the rules. 

Till date 99.64 crore Aadhaar numbers have been issued. 

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had informed Parliament this month that targeted subsidy through Aadhar cards of LPG consumers had resulted in over Rs 15,000 crore of savings at the Centre. 

Four states which had started PDS delivery by a similar exercise on a pilot basis, had saved more than Rs 2,300 crore.

9624 - Government Invades Privacy Under Money Bill - New Indian Express

Government Invades Privacy Under Money Bill

By Yatish Yadav

Published: 20th Mar 2016 08:18:33 AM

NEW DELHI: When Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told Parliament last week that privacy is not an absolute right during a debate on Aadhaar Bill, he was expressing the hidden intention of the government that camouflaged several vexed clauses in the Bill to present it as a money bill. The question is not that the government misled the nation on issues of privacy, but it also tried to misinform the beneficiary for whom it claims to have authored the legislation by saying that enrolment under Aadhaar is optional and not mandatory.

The scrutiny of Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2016, by The Sunday Standard reveals that the government introduced Clause 3 in the Bill, making it voluntary but added Clause 7, taking away that choice from residents. Clause 3 gives every resident the right “to obtain an Aadhaar number by submitting his demographic information and biometric information by undergoing the process of enrolment”.

Clause 7 reads: “The Central Government or... 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.” A proviso in Clause 7 says 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 or service”. It shows the government is not imposing Aadhaar on its citizen. A marginal note in Clause 7 reveals the true intention: “Proof of Aadhaar number necessary for receipt of certain subsidies benefits and services etc.”

What makes this intention more clear is how the government will authenticate identity in case the individual is not assigned an Aadhaar number. Clause 2 (C) (n) says: “Identity information in respect of an individual includes his Aadhaar number, biometric information and demographic information.”

The proviso and a hidden section make it absolutely clear that no one can escape Aadhaar enrolment.

Through Clause 57, the government has allowed corporates to access individual biometric and related information. The sole intention of this new law is not only to provide efficient, transparent, and targeted delivery of subsidies, benefits and services but to also invade privacy under the guise of money bill. Clause 33 of the Bill paves the way to use Aadhaar for purposes other than providing services and benefits. Sub-section 2 of the clause empowers a joint secretary-level officer authorised by the government to disclose the information in the interest of national security.

contradiction

Government says in Rajya Sabha that Aadhaar enrolment is not mandatory and it is an ‘entitlement’

Clause 7 Note: Proof of Aadhaar number necessary for receipt of certain subsidies, benefits and

services, etc.

From Sunday Standard

9607 - Aadhaar Bill: Here is how Arun Jaitely justified Lok Sabha's refusal to adopt proposed amendments -dna

Aadhaar Bill: Here is how Arun Jaitely justified Lok Sabha's refusal to adopt proposed amendments

Fri, 18 Mar 2016-09:50pm , ANI

The core bio-metric information cannot be shared with any person even with the consent of the Aadhaar card holder, said Jaitley.

Justifying the Lok Sabha's turning down the five amendments to the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial, Other Subsidies, Benefits & Services) Bill 2016 suggested by the Congress in the Rajya Sabha, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said had the amendments proposed in the Rajya Sabha had been accepted, the encroachment to the Right of Privacy would be much wider.

"The Oversight Committee, on issues of national security, would have consisted of either an auditor or an anti-corruption authority, and the Money Bill would have gone beyond the scope of the Money Bill. These lacunae would have pushed the Aadhaar law to the realm of unconstitutionality. Obviously, the Lok Sabha did not agree with the suggestions, and in my view, rightly so," said the minister.

Explaining the potential ramifications had those five amendments been accepted by the Lower House, Jaitley wrote on his Facebook post, "The 2010 Bill drafted by the UPA had [certain] provisions in chapter VI, which led to debate. The Bill provided for sharing of identity information with the consent of the Aadhaar number holder, or by an order of any court, or a Competent Authority, disclosing the information on the grounds of 'National Security'."

The draft Bill was criticised for making provisions, which could compromise an individual's Right to Privacy, he said, adding: "I have always strongly believed that, notwithstanding the jurisprudential debate on the Right to Privacy, it would be essential to recognize that, Privacy, is an essential aspect of personal liberty guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution."

Arun Jaitley on Friday

Why the Lok Sabha did not adopt amendments to the Aadhaar Bill proposed in the Rajya Sabha

The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial, Other Subsidies, Benefits & Services) Bill 2016 came up for consideration before the Rajya Sabha on 16th March 2016. Consistent with the spirit of democratic debate, the Congress in the Rajya Sabha suggested five amendments to the Bill, which were not accepted by the Lok Sabha. This blog explains why? (The Bill has now got Parliamentary appr...

See More

Maintaining that the denial of privacy must, thus, be based on procedure that should be fair, just and reasonable, the minister said, "The 2016 law, therefore, contained stringent provisions both substantially and procedurally with regard to the Right of Privacy." "The core bio-metric information cannot be shared with any person even with the consent of the Aadhaar card holder. The information cannot be unlawfully shared. Instead of permitting any Court to direct production of any such information, only a Court of the District Judge or above has been given the power to order disclosure of information excluding core biometrics," he said. Stating that 'National Security' is the only ground on which a competent authority can share this information, he said, every decision of the competent authority has to be reviewed by a committee comprising the Cabinet Secretary, the Law Secretary and the Secretary, Information Technology, before it is given effect, while the period of the direction of this competent authority has been limited to a maximum of three months. "National Security is a well defined concept. The phrase exists in several legislations and also finds indirect reference in the Constitution in Article 19(2). National security has always been held to be an exception on account of larger public interest, wherein individual's rights give way to larger public interest," said the minister. This principle is followed in most advanced liberal democracies; for example, in the United Kingdom, Section 28 of Personal Data Protection Act, 1998 provides that personal data are exempt from the data protection principles on grounds of safeguarding National Security, he said. "The Congress, using its superior numbers in the Rajya Sabha, forced an amendment to replace the words 'National Security' with the words 'Public Emergency or in the interest of public safety'. None of these two phrases are well defined. They are vague and can be elastic. It is also not clear as to how Aadhaar information would have been used in dealing with situations of public emergency or public safety. Certainly, they would have provided a scope much wider for encroaching upon privacy than the words 'National Security', which existed in both the 2010 and 2016 law, and would have potentially become the grounds for constitutional challenge at a later date," he maintained. "The proposed another amendment that the Oversight Committee to review the competent authority's decision should also comprise either the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) or the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). One is an anti-corruption authority and the other audits the government's accounts. Both have no nexus whatsoever with the issues of 'National Security'," said Jaitley. They, further, proposed to delete Section 57 of the 2016 law, which merely says that if under any other law the use of Aadhaar number for establishing the identity of an individual is permitted, the same law is not being over-ruled, while the proposed amendment wanted all future laws to be over-ruled, said the minister, adding that had a Money Bill started over-ruling future unknown legislations, it would have ceased to be a Money Bill.