4942 - EC wants citizens' 'senstive data' off states' portals - Business Standard

EC wants citizens' 'senstive data' off states' portals

Meanwhile, EC working on creating a national database of electoral rolls to create common standards

The Election Commission of India (EC) has instructed states such as Uttarakhand to get rid of citizen information such as photographs of voters from their portals, to prevent possible violation of citizen privacy.

The chief electoral officer’s (CEO) department in the state has complied.

In a two-part series published on Monday and Tuesday, this newspaper noted several states and central departments might be, unwittingly, following a bare-it-all approach in posting citizen data online, such as bank account details and income status, to push the government’s agenda on greater transparency and accountability. As the electoral roll is a public document, websites of places such as Delhi had an easy search feature without any security layer that could possibly lead to instances of profiling of a particular community, category or section of society. The stories are available at mybs.in/248eb (Your private data may be online, courtesy govt) and mybs.in/2efe4 (Saving privacy as we knew it).

Experts say criminals can combine public databases to create profiles of citizens, which could lead to invasion of privacy and financial fraud.

Along with other details such as voter identity number and address, some states had also posted pictures of voters.

Deputy Election Commissioner Alok Shukla had earlier told Business Standard states were not allowed to put photographs of voters online, to ensure their privacy was safeguarded. “These will be removed if such cases are found.” On the report’s publication, he said instructions had been given to the CEO of Uttarakhand.

The Chief Election Office of Uttarakhand in a written reply told Business Standard that it will "get an enquiry done" on the matter.

Meanwhile, the EC is working towards creating a national database of the voter lists of all states, with the objective of creating common standards. Though the state data will be in the state servers, it will seamlessly interact with other databases over the cloud, Shukla said. He added this’d enable voters to access various services over a centralised portal. More, it will prompt all states to follow a common protocol while handling electoral rolls in the digital format.

“EC will benefit by way of better management of rolls, as we will be able to check for fakes and duplicates across states and also gain by putting in place some data analysis tools.” The proposal is waiting for  approval from the ministry of communications and information technology, he added.

4940 - Saving privacy as we knew it - Business Standard

Saving privacy as we knew it

Long overdue protection law still on the back-burner; meanwhile, depts put more of one's personal details online

Surabhi Agarwal & Somesh Jha  |  New Delhi  October 29, 2013 Last Updated at 00:49 IST

It was in 2010 when the central government decided to institute a legal framework on privacy. This was in the wake of increasing data collection by both government and corporate agencies. Concerns had mounted in the wake of projects such as the National Population Register, Aadhaar and the National Intelligence Grid.

Over three years and hundreds of consultations later, several drafts of the proposed Bill were written and rejected, and at least two committees have given recommendations. However, the law has not seen the light of day. Meanwhile, citizen data digitisation is moving at a pace like never before in the country.

Business Standard had reported on October 28 about how an investigation revealed that several states and central departments might be, unwittingly, following a bare-it-all approach in posting citizen data online in order to push the government's agenda of greater transparency and accountability. While the Centre's National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme puts out full bank account numbers of its beneficiaries, government website of Uttar Pradesh has put out full details of ration card holders, including annual income along with address and information about members of the family. By putting such sensitive information online, the government could be jeopardising the privacy of its 1.2 billion citizens, who stand exposed to a variety of risks, including those of 360-degree profiling and financial frauds. (INFORMATION DELUGE)

According to government officials, the department of personnel and training has finished compiling the final draft of the privacy legislation, now awaiting approval from the prime minister; the department is under him.

"In the absence of a privacy Bill, the only data protection, pseudo, is through Section 43A of the Information Technology (IT) Act. Unfortunately, that is not a data protection law; it is only a data security provision," said Sunil Abraham, executive director of the Centre for Internet and Society.

Pavan Duggal, a Supreme Court lawyer and cyber security expert, said India needs more security while collecting data and "currently a lot of these websites don't have these security layers". Take for instance, the website of the chief electoral officer of New Delhi. Type a person's first or last name and select the constituency - the website throws up the details of all people with this name, along with all the details such as address and voter identity number. According to officials of the Election Commission, the searchability feature helps in easy access of voter details by people themselves or by interested political parties. "There has been no evidence to prove its use otherwise," an official of the EC told Business Standard.

However, experts said otherwise. Abraham said the electronic version of the electoral roll has a unique identifier, the voter ID number. "And, if there are other databases with the same identifier, a comprehensive profile of a citizen can be created." He added, at the moment, we are saved from 360-degree profiling to some extent, since there is no common identifier.

Once a privacy law comes into being, the government or a private agency will have to adequately inform citizens before collecting data, stating the reasons and only collecting as much information as is necessary for the purpose. It will also have to clearly define the time period for which the data will be stored and the security measures taken to protect it from misuse. The law also lays down the penalties in case of a breach.

Though in a less detailed manner, the current IT Act also addresses some of these issues. It defines anything which reveals financial information, biometric, health and medical records, etc, as sensitive financial information which cannot be put in the public domain.

However, experts said the government is lax in even enforcing the existing laws. To be fair, some states and departments have started being prudent about the data they put online. For instance, the state government of Chhattisgarh, a trend setter in effectively implementing the Public Distribution System, doesn't reveal much in terms of citizen information that can identify a person or can be termed as a breach of privacy. Similarly, Odisha and some northeastern states have put in a layer of security which creates some deterrents while using common keywords to search the electoral roll and create a profile of residents in a particular locality.

However, for now, most departments stuck in the tradeoff between privacy and transparency find solace in pointing fingers at contemporaries who might have also put "more sensitive and dangerous" citizen details online. The blame game doesn't end.

PRIVACY PRINCIPLES
Recommendations of the A P Shah Committee*

ACCOUNTABILITY
* A data controller to give notice before collecting personal information, state its purposes, whether it would be disclosed to third parties and the security measures taken

CHOICE AND CONSENT
* Individuals to get choice as to what information can be shared, empowering them to approve and authorise collection and usage

DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION
* Personal information would not be disclosed to third parties without notice

COLLECTION LIMITATION
* Only necessary data required for the purpose would be collected; reduces possibilities of misuse

PURPOSE LIMITATION
* Data collected should be adequate and relevant to the purposes for which these are processed

* Ensure personal information is retained only as long as it is necessary

SECURITY
* Reasonable security safeguards against any reasonably foreseeable risks, including unauthorised access

4856 - e-KYC set to benefit banking, financial services sectors - Business Standard

Neelasri Barman & M Saraswathy  |  Mumbai  October 18, 2013 Last Updated at 00:41 IST

e-KYC set to benefit banking, financial services sectors

With e-KYC you can actually do an online account opening in a bank which will be much more simpler, says Sumant Kathpalia, head, consumer banking, IndusInd Bank

The soon-to-be-launched electronic know-your-customer (e-KYC) process, based on Aadhaar or unique identification number, would be a boon for the banking and financial services sector.

Pilot studies on e-KYC are underway. Based on the results of these studies, a launch is expected by December, say facilitators such as National Payments Corporation of India, Visa and MasterCard.

These organisations would act as a bridge between banks and financial service companies and the Unique Identification Authority of India.

“With e-KYC, you can actually do an online account opening in a bank, which will be much simpler. A lot of people in rural areas do not have the documents which we require for KYC. This will be a good instrument to get new accounts opened, especially in rural and un-banked areas,” said Sumant Kathpalia, head (consumer banking), IndusInd Bank. “This initiative will help banks like us to expand in rural and un-banked areas, along with our expansion in metros,” he added.

ADVANTAGE E-KYC

Under the electronic know-your-customer (e-KYC) process, customers can open a bank account online based on just their Aadhar card While the physical KYC process takes five-seven working days, the time would be reduced to three days in the case of e-KYC Using this process will also mean less documentation for insurance companies and customers

In its physical form, the KYC process is completed by banks in five-seven working days. “Through e-KYC, the time taken would be reduced to three days and this way, a bank can save the time, money and manpower required for the verification process. Adoption of e-KYC is very important by banks, as well as insurance companies and fund houses. e-KYC will be a very cost-effective move for us,” said a senior Central Bank of India official.

The insurance industry would also stand to gain. K G Krishnamoorthy Rao, managing director and chief executive of Future Generali India Insurance, said, “This will lead to less documentation for insurance companies and customers. Further, all verifications can be done online, which will ease the overall processing.”

4848 - Now UIDAI moves SC on aadhaar card - Business Standard

Press Trust of India  |  New Delhi  October 15, 2013 Last Updated at 19:21 IST

Now UIDAI moves SC on aadhaar card

UIDAI submitted that Aadhaar is stated to be a proof of identity and there are other agencies to perform the task of verifying citizenship and detecting illegal immigrants

Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has joined government and PSU oil firms against the Supreme Court order making Aadhaar card not mandatory for availing social benefits saying, its directive has "very serious implications" in implementation of welfare schemes.

The UIDAI also contended that its order dated September 23, putting the onus on it to check that Aadhaar card should not be given to illegal immigrants, impinges on the jurisdiction of the appropriate authorities that are entrusted with the task of veryfying citizenship.

In an application before the Supreme Court, the UIDAI submitted that Aadhaar is stated to be a proof of identity and there are other agencies to perform the task of verifying citizenship and detecting illegal immigrants.

"UIDAI has been mandated to provide Aadhaar to resident of India as a matter of conscious policy decision of government. Aadhaar is upfront stated to be a proof of identity not citizenship. It may be mentioned the government has specific agencies to perform the task of verifying citizenship and detecting illegal immigrants," it said.

"The interim order of the court in directing UIDAI to check the citizenship status of a person applying for Aadhaar and identifying illegal immigrants impinges on the jurisdiction of the appropriate authorities under law that are entrusted with this task," it said while pleading with the court to modify the interim order against which Centre and Oil PSUs have already approached the apex court.

The Authority said it is following a sound verification method for enrolment for Aadhaar and there is no proof that it has opened the "floodgates for entry of illegal migrants into the system".

4834 - Considering all my options: Nilekani on joining politics - Business Standard

Press Trust Of India  |  Melbourne  October 15, 2013 Last Updated at 00:29 IST

Considering all my options: Nilekani on joining politics

Nilekani, 58, is working on his next book that would be based on how to set a link between technology and government

Amid reports he may join politics, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Chairman Nandan Nilekani on Monday said he was considering all options after Aadhaar stint.

"I am considering all my options as I look at what I do post-Aadhaar," Nilekani said here.

Nilekani, an IIT-ian who left Infosys to join the government as the head of the UIDAI, said, "Having a strong corporate background has been beneficial but there were few adjustments I had to make accordingly to work in the government sector."

Nilekani, 58, is working on his next book that would be based on how to set a link between technology and the government. Media reports last month said Nilekani could join the Congress and contest the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

Talking on future e-governance initiatives, Nilekani, due to deliver the Australia India Institute (AII) speech on India's transformation: The role of information technology here on Tuesday, said those were not yet formed.

"I am here to give a public talk at the invitation of the Australia India Institute and to meet leaders from the government, academics and business. It is my first visit to Australia since I left the private sector and joined the government."

'One of two to have Aadhaar by mid-2014'
One of every two would have an Aadhaar number by the middle of 2014, Nilekani said.

"Aadhaar number is useful in removing the duplication of those in the list of beneficiaries." He did not comment on the Supreme Court's interim ruling that had announced Aadhar number as a non-compulsory ID.

Stating that apex court's stand was a subjudice matter, Nilekani stressed that the Aadhaar number was beneficial for a variety of reasons including financial inclusion, direct benefit transfer, identity and subsidy reform. "It can be used as a financial address and linked to it one can have a bank account, send money to another Aadhaar number, get access to public services and also use it for an online authentication of ID for service delivery," he said.

"It has very unique attributes which no other ID system has and I think it is the key to public sector reform and governance transformation," Nilekani commented.

"We have already issued 450 million Aadhaar numbers. In September alone, we issued 25 million Aadhaar numbers and by middle of 2014 we should be able to issue 600 million," he said.

"This means that one in two residents in India will have Aadhaar," he said. He it is a cost effective scheme and less than Rs 3,000 crores have been spent on it till now.

"It is a cost effective scheme with long term gains." "We have already done a lot of work in cash transfers. We have done more than 10 million cash transfers for various services like LPG subsidies as well 10 million online authentications. We have over 30 millions bank accounts that have been connected to Aadhaar numbers."

He further cited the last year's National Institute of Public Finance and Policy study paper which had estimated that Aadhaar could save around Rs 110,000 crores of the government expenditure by 2020 on various public service scheme.

4803 - UIDAI Bill to give Aadhaar statutory status gets nod - Business Standard

Surabhi Agarwal  |  New Delhi  October 9, 2013 Last Updated at 00:48 IST

UIDAI Bill to give Aadhaar statutory status gets nod

Centre claims to have addressed all issues on cost, privacy and technology raised by parliamentary panel, critics

To give a statutory recognition to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the Cabinet on Tuesday approved a National Identification Authority of India Bill.

This legal backing for the Aadhaar initiative might also improve the government’s chances of getting a favourable order from the Supreme Court, which had recently ruled that the unique identity number can’t be made mandatory for availing government benefits. One of the arguments against the use of Aadhaar was that it had been functioning so far on executive order. The court is expected to give a final order on the matter on October 22.

ALSO READ: Govt draws a watertight case for Aadhaar

The Bill cleared by the Cabinet is a “slightly modified” version of the earlier one, sent back by Parliament’s standing committee on finance, a panel chaired by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Yashwant Sinha. “Most of the concerns expressed by the committee have been taken care of or are not valid,” said a top government official, requesting anonymity as the government did not make a formal announcement about the decision.

The new Bill is expected be tabled during the winter session of Parliament.

ALSO READ: The UID Crisis: Don't waste it

Some of the concerns raised by the parliamentary panel included the fact that UID does not give proof of citizenship and is for all residents, along with issues regarding the cost of the project and privacy of personal data.

The panel had also highlighted the issue that the scheme was voluntary  but its linkage with government welfare schemes would make it mandatory.

“It has been reaffirmed that the UID number is clearly for all residents of India and the actual amount spent on the project so far is Rs 3,490 crore against the perception that the project entails some unreasonable expenditure,” said another government official. The fact that 440 million numbers have been generated so far rubbishes the fact that UIDAI’s technology is not proven, the official added.

ALSO READ: SC to hear pleas against Aadhaar

However, it is still not clear what changes the government has made to the Bill and why it took almost two years for it to move the legislation again before the Cabinet.

The proposed legislation seeks to create a National Identification Authority of India, which will oversee the implementation of the Aadhaar project and “regulate it”. It also seeks to define the penalties in case of misuse of the data collected under the UID project.

These cover impersonation using Aadhaar data; unauthorised collection or dissemination of information, and unauthorized access to the central database, which will contain all individual details such as biometrics collected for Aadhaar. The Bill allows disclosure of personal information in case of national security; however, it forbids UIDAI officials to disclose any information stored in the database in general.

4796 - Cabinet approves bill to give statutory status to UIDAI - Business Standard

Press Trust of India  |  New Delhi  October 8, 2013 Last Updated at 12:45 IST

Cabinet approves bill to give statutory status to UIDAI

The UIDAI, which issues 12-digit Aadhaar numbers to residents, currently operates through an executive order

The Union Cabinet today approved the National Identification Authority of India Bill that will give statutory status to the UIDAI.

Official sources said the bill, which was cleared at a meeting of the Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh this morning, may be tabled during the winter session of Parliament.

Besides giving statutory status to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the Bill seeks to provide legal backing to Aadhaar, which is used to disburse subsidies.

The UIDAI, which issues 12-digit Aadhaar numbers to residents, currently operates through an executive order.

The new law seeks to create a National Identification Authority of India, which will oversee implementation of the Aadhaar project. It also seeks to define the penalties in case of misuse of data collected under the project.

4793 - SC to hear pleas against Aadhaar - Business Standard

Press Trust of India  |  New Delhi  October 7, 2013 Last Updated at 19:07 IST

SC to hear pleas against Aadhaar

The petitioners claim there is an empirical research to show that the biometric identification denoted for UID is faulty and capable of misuse

The Supreme Court will tomorrow hear a batch of petitions, including the one filed by social worker like Aruna Roy against the implementation of the Aadhar scheme or the "Unique Identification Number" System (UID), by linking it to various welfare schemes.

The petition of Roy and others came up before a bench comprising Justices B S Chauhan and S A Bobde which said it will be heard along with the applications filed by the Centre and the three oil PSUs seeking modification of its earlier order that Aadhar card is not mandatory and no person should suffer for want of it in getting benefits of government schemes.

"...The enrolment under the UIDAI scheme is purportedly voluntary - yet many welfare schemes of the State seem to mandate the need for an Aadhar number to access those schemes - effectively making Aadhar enrolment compulsory," the petition filed by social workers said.

The petition also said the manner in which the biometric details of the citizens are collected by private contractors and NGOs hired by UIDAI without any safeguard makes it prone to misuse not only by private actors but also by the State.

"In the present day and age, where every country is facing the problem of identity frauds, usage of fake identities for money laundering, terrorism, etc., UID is letting private contractors collect sensitive data of persons, which is not protected or governed under any law, whatsoever.

The petitioners also claimed there is an empirical research to show that the biometric identification denoted for UID, namely the Iris Scan and finger print Identification, is faulty and capable of misuse.

"Without a statutory framework determining accountability, data-protection, offences for violation etc., UID is putting in jeopardy not only life and rights of people but also security of our country," the petitioners said.

4790 - Now, Aadhaar-linked accounts to be basis for mobile payments - Business Standard

Surabhi Agarwal  |  New Delhi  October 8, 2013 Last Updated at 00:55 IST

Now, Aadhaar-linked accounts to be basis for mobile payments

The SMS-based application extends DBT's payment architecture to individuals, where their Aadhaar number will be linked to their bank accounts at the back-end

The Supreme Court’s recent observation might have left the future of the Aadhaar-linked Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) project hanging in the balance. But that does not seem to dim the government’s focus on the platform. It is now set to enable an ecosystem where mobile-to-mobile payments could be singularly effected through the Unique Identity (UID) number.

DBT’s payment architecture would now be extended to individuals. And, under the Aadhaar-linked payment bridge, individuals’ UID numbers would be linked with their bank accounts at the back-end. Around 30 million bank accounts in the country had already been seeded with Aadhaar and 300,000 more are being added each day, a government official privy to the plan, asking not to be named, told Business Standard. This payment application is slated for a launch on Wednesday in Mumbai, with four banks, including state-owned Union Bank of India and the country’s largest private-sector lender ICICI Bank.

A UNIQUE SHIFT

The SMS-based application extends DBT’s payment architecture to individuals, where their Aadhaar number will be linked to their bank accounts at the back-end Around 30 million bank accounts in the country have already been seeded with Aadhaar and 300,000 more are being added each day Application to be launch on Wednesday in Mumbai with four banks, including Union Bank of India and ICICI Bank A PIN will be used for authenticating debits, putting a layer of security on transactions The Cabinet is also likely to take up the National Identification Authority of India Bill on Tuesday to give UIDAI a legal backing

“The Aadhaar-based remittance system on mobile will make transferring money easy by removing the need to remember bank account details, such as IFSC code, etc, as users will only need their Aadhaar numbers now.” If successful, the SMS-based payment application would lead to a paradigm shift in India’s electronic payment system, the official added. Putting a layer of security on transactions, a PIN would be used to authenticate debits.

In his first speech after taking over as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor, Raghuram Rajan had outlined the potential of mobile payments and called it a game changer. “We will set up a Technical Committee to examine the feasibility of using encrypted SMS-based fund transfers using an application that could run on any type of handset,” Rajan had said.

Praveen Chakravarty, chief executive, Anand Rathi Financial Services, says, the application sounds great conceptually and is in line with the government’s current thrust on financial inclusion. “Of the 600,000 villages in the country, banks are present in only 40,000.”

He, however, added it remained to be seen who would take the liability in the case of a fraud. In what could be another challenge, around 95 per cent of Indian mobile users have pre-paid connection and they keep changing their numbers. “So, it remains to be seen if the application works only on the Aadhaar number or mobile numbers also play a key role.” According to the 2011 census, around 53.2 per cent of the total households in the country have access to mobile phones.

The government official also said that five to six more banks were likely to launch the application over the next one month. RBI regulated payment systems under the Payments and Settlements System Act, and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) had taken the necessary approvals from the central bank, the official added.

The Supreme Court had ruled two weeks back that Aadhaar should not be made mandatory for availing of citizen benefits and the government had filed a petition for review of the order. Interestingly, the apex court is expected to take a view on the matter concerning mandatory linkage of Aadhaar for transfer of welfare payments under the DBT project on Tuesday.

Around Rs 480 crore had been transferred directly into the accounts of beneficiaries under the DBT scheme till early September.

The Cabinet is also likely to take up the National Identification Authority of India Bill on Tuesday to give the UID Authority of India a legal backing. After being approved by the Cabinet, the Bill is expected to be moved to Parliament during its winter session.

4768 - Supreme Court to hear plea on keeping Aadhaar card for subsidy - Business Standard

IANS  |  New Delhi  October 4, 2013 Last Updated at 19:02 IST

Supreme Court to hear plea on keeping Aadhaar card for subsidy

The Supreme Court will next week hear a plea by the petroleum and natural gas ministry seeking modification of its Sep 23 order so that Aadhaar card continues to be mandatory for the direct transfer of subsidy on cooking gas cylinders to domestic consumers.

A bench of Chief Justice P. Sathasivam and Justice Ranjan Gogoi said it would hear the ministry's plea Oct 8 after Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran mentioned the matter Friday morning.

The court had Sep 23 ruled that Aadhaar card was not mandatory as a proof of identity for getting the government benefits under several welfare schemes, including the National Food Security Act.

The apex court by its order had said that "no person should suffer for not getting the Adhaar card in spite of the fact that some authority had issued a circular making it mandatory".

The court's order had came in the course of the hearing of a PIL by Justice (retd.) K Puttaswamy seeking direction to restrain the government, the Planning Commission and the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) from issuing Aadhaar cards in the wake of a Jan 1, 2009 decision of the government.

The petroleum secretary in an application Friday told the court that its Sep 23 order amounted to clamp down on the Direct Benefit Transfer for Liquefied Petroleum Gas Consumers (DBTL) scheme as it mandatorily requires the beneficiary to possess a Unique Identification for receiving subsidy

The direct subsidy scheme was launched June 1, 2013 and covers 54 districts in the country.

The petroleum secretary in his application said that under the scheme, the Aadhaar number is merely required to be produced to the cooking gas distributor and the consumers' bank so that the subsidy could be transferred directly into the bank account of the consumer.

The DBTL scheme was launched to ensure that the cooking gas consumers' entitlement was not diverted and to prevent leakage in the subsidy. The subsidy amounted to Rs.39,558 crore during 2012-13, the ministry told the apex court.

The ministry, in its application, said the subsidy per cylinder works out to be slightly more than Rs.555 and given the gap in the marker price and the subsidised price, there was a strong temptation and allurement to divert the domestic cooking gas for commercial purposes. Such a scenario not only defeats the propose of the policy but also causes loss to exchequer.

The average market price of domestic cooking gas cylinder is Rs.943.36 and the retail selling price is Rs.410.50, therefore the quantum of subsidy per cylinder works out to be Rs.555.55, the application said.

Urging the court to modify its Sep 23 order so that the ministry could mandatorily insist on Aadhar card for making subsidy payments to those entitled under the DBTL scheme, the application said that it would help in eliminating the diversion of subsidized cylinders into the black market.

4752 - The UID Crisis: Don't waste it - Business Standard

Surabhi Agarwal  October 2, 2013 Last Updated at 20:42 IST

The UID Crisis: Don't waste it

The next catastrophe to hit UID will be on breach of privacy, which will happen sooner than later

Tech czar and soon to be politician Nandan Nilekani joined Twitter last week and already has some 650 plus followers. The man shunned all forms of social media during the last four years as the chief of the unique identify (UID) or Aadhaar project. So this sudden change in strategy is being considered as symbolic of his future avataar. There aren't many people who doubt Nilekani's intentions to contest elections, anyway.  

At UID Authority of India (UIDAI) headquarters, officials were just coming to terms with the possibility of a Nilekani-less UID project when the Supreme Court dropped a bomb by directing government to not mandate it for availing citizen services. Interestingly, the order last week coincided with UID’s third anniversary of rolling out the first UID number in Tembhli district of Maharashtra in the last week of September 2010. 

Without doubt, the government has been jolted out of its momentum by the Court order. From working on a break-neck speed to meet deadlines under the direct benefits transfer (DBT) initiative, user departments are not even sure if the mandatory linkage with UID is legal anymore. Nilekani's team has got into the rescue mode, already. The UID Bill being pushed for a fast clearance and the petition for a review of the Supreme Court's order is being readied. 

But, it is not the first time when the UID headquarters are dealing with a major crisis. In its four year existence, the several wings in the Jeevan Bharti Building in Central Delhi have become used to courting controversies. But, the charade should stop now. The Centre should take this current crisis as an opportunity to put paid to all ideological, structural and legal issues against the UID project for once and all. 

Here are a few questions to mull over. 

Question 1: UID is a voluntary scheme and doesn't give proof of citizenship as it is meant for all Indian residents. The national population register (NPR) which is being created under the home ministry is also for all residents and not just for citizens. It also uses the UID technology as the backend but unlike UID it is mandatory and legal. Why?

The government needs to come clean on the intention behind both the schemes. It should either divide their roles coherently or merge them into one. This way it will save itself considerable trouble post the Supreme Court order. The NPR -- since it is mandatory and legal -- can be the front end for the direct benefits transfer scheme and since it is linked to the unique identity or Aadhaar number at the core, the databases can be de-duplicated and the money can be easily transferred just like the way it was being done when linked through UID.  

Question 2: Why does somebody who is on a deathbed needs a UID number to write a will or is the person who has registered his/her marraige using the number more married than the one who has registered it without the number?

Yes, one could argue that the potential benefits of linking all government services through a unique number are enormous. But, in the short-term, the government should realise that the infrastructure of Aadhaar is limited currently and it is trying to overhaul the century old governance mechanism of the country in a jiffy. So states like Delhi government which have mandated the Aadhaar number for availing the smallest of public utility services should give up on a few brownie points that they could earn with the party high-command and think about the hassle they are causing the general public, especially when the polls are just about the corner. 

Instead, the Centre needs to get its thinking heads together and draw up a list of services which should be linked to the UID number in order of priority. Better to target the technology on welfare schemes with a high percentage of leakage than wasting crucial resources on something like marriage registration in the beginning. The positive press in derived from a large scale benefits will outstrip the negative reactions caused by a few disruptions here and there. Yes, LPG is one such scheme which will benefit hugely from UID linkage but who stands to gain the most from the savings-- the government and not the citizen right now. So, the centre needs a strong test case which will give directly benefit the citizens in a profound and measurable way. The public distribution system, anyone?

Question 3: Even if the government passes the UID Bill in the next session of the Parliament, who takes care of the privacy issues? Isn't my data with UID being referred to by various government agencies for verification and service delivery? What if they create a profile based on my transactions or some user agencies misuses my data? 

The UID Bill takes care of the penalties and contingencies in case of any misappropriation with regard to resident data only if it takes place within UID. However, to make sure that other government agencies which are linking to UID are also taking the necessary precautions to protect the sensitive data, a privacy Bill was contemplated. It has been almost three years that the Bill has been mooted. It has been drawn and redrawn several times since, but the Bill looks nowhere near completion yet. So, the government needs to fast track the privacy bill and ensure that it is passed within a year or so. Otherwise, the next catastrophe to hit UID and the government will be on issue of breach of privacy, which will happen sooner than later, you can take it from me.

Read more on:    Twitter | Uid | Aadhaar | Nandan Nilekani

4748 - Govt preparing a water-tight case to justify need for Aadhaar - Business Standard

Govt preparing a water-tight case to justify need for Aadhaar

Surabhi Agwarwal  |  New Delhi  October 1, 2013 Last Updated at 19:59 IST

Pulls out past Supreme Court orders that run contrary to the latest one, UID Bill in Cabinet this week

Soon after the rap from the Supreme Court, the government has got into fire-fighting mode to solve the crisis over the Unique Identity (UID) or Aadhaar project. According to several government officials aware of the matter, the government is preparing a water-tight case in order to justify the need for Aadhaar as it readies a request for modification of the Supreme Court order.

The National Identification Authority of India Bill, 2010, which will provide a legal backing to the initiative, is also being pushed hard -- with the Cabinet likely to take up the bill for discussion this week. Last week, Supreme Court had said in a directive that enrolling in the project couldn’t be made a condition to access government services or subsidies.

This has adversely impacted the ongoing direct benefits transfer initiative of the government with several departments such as the ministry of petroleum seeking a legal view of whether to carry out with a scheme that transfers cooking gas subsidy directly to the Aadhaar linked bank accounts of beneficiaries.

The Bill – which was sent back by the Parliamentary Standing Committee headed by BJP leader Yashwant Sinha – will be cleared by the Cabinet first and is expected to be tabled during the winter session of the Parliament.

In order to prepare its ground well before approaching the Supreme Court, the government has also pulled out two significant Supreme Court orders which have recommended the use of Aadhaar in the past for accessing government services such as the Public Distribution System (PDS).

“Other departments which have been using Aadhaar for subsidy payments under them are also being requested to provide data on how the linkage has helped them remove fakes and duplicates from the system,” said a government official who did not wish to be identified. The person also said that since the Supreme Court highlighted the issue of enrolling illegal migrants, data is being readied to show that a miniscule -- 0.2% of people are enrolled without any documents under the introducer system under the project.

In an order passed in September 2011 in the matter between People’s Union For Civil Liberties and Union of India, a committee under retired Justice D.P. Wadhwa recommended that electronic authentication of delivery and payments under the PDS should be done through online Aadhaar in order to reform the system.

“States/UTs maybe encouraged to include the PDS related KYR+ field in the date collection exercise being undertaken by various Registrars across the country as part of the UID (Aadhaar) enrolment,” it said. In the second order dealing with the issue of bogus admissions in government schools, the court gave a direction to the Education Department of Kerala “to issue UID card to all the school children” to determine the number of actual students in the school.

Business Standard has reviewed copies of both these orders

On Monday last week, the Supreme Court had said in an order that “No person should suffer for not getting the Aadhaar card in spite of the fact that some authority had issued a circular making it mandatory and when any person applies to get the Aadhaar card voluntarily, it may be checked whether that person is entitled for it under the law and it should not be given to any illegal immigrant.” The order has raised concerns about the way forward for the direct benefits transfer scheme. It is a bigger cause of worry for governments such as that of Delhi that are about to go to the polls soon and have mandated the use of Aadhaar for many government services such as marriage and property registration.

The government is also trying to rope in other user agencies to argue in favour of Aadhaar. "Ideally looking, why should the UID Authority of India argue in favour of Aadhaar being made mandatory, departments such as a LPG who are using it present the number to their benefit should be given a chance to present their case in front of the Court," said another official who also did not wish to be named.

UIDAI has enrolled almost 50 crore residents so far and has a target of giving the UID number to 60 crore people by 2014.

4709 - The man who intends to stop Aadhar in its tracks - Business Standard

Raghuvir Badrinath  |  Bangalore  September 24, 2013 Last Updated at 19:33 IST

The man who intends to stop Aadhar in its tracks

Retired Justice K S Puttaswamy feels Aadhaar is clear violation of citizens privacy; among various other reasons this program was rejected by Standing Committee on Finance

Retired Justice K S Puttaswamy at 88 years is not your habitual Public Interest Litigation filer.

This is the first time he has filed a PIL and with that he has shaken one of the most-ambitious programs rolled out by Government of India – the Unique Identification Authority of India.

The Supreme Court on Monday in its interim order said that that this Unique identity can only be issued to those with proven Indian nationality and cannot be mandatory for accessing public services and subsidies.

Referred as ‘Aadhaar’ and started in February 2009, it aims to provide a unique identity (UID) number to all Indians and the authority will maintain a database of residents containing biometric and other data.

Mention biometric and Justice Puttaswamy bristles.

“It is a clear violation of citizens privacy and among various other reasons this program was rejected by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, but still the Government of India went ahead with it. How can this awfully wrong program roll out without a clear legislation,” Puttaswamy argues passionately and on the reasons why he went ahead and filed the PIL for scrapping this project.

"It is a big surprise when the Centre can go ahead with this project when there is no Bill passed in the Parliament. What we want is that the executive and legislature must function within the frame work of the Constitutional provisions so that Government does not circumvent the legislature to avoid discussion, debate and voting in the Parliament and thereby render the legislature redundant or purposeless," he explained.

Puttaswamy along with a few like-minded people felt that it is time that ‘Aadhar’ has to be changed how it is being rolled out and hence moved the PIL in the Supreme Court.

“It is a very difficult proposition to get a PIL admitted in SC. The SC will not admit any sundry PILs and it is indeed heartening that SC admitted and we got the interim order yesterday,” Puttaswamy told Business Standard.

He said that what is more worrying from the ‘Aadhar’ project that is being pushed in as mandatory for accessing some of the essential services and that should not happen.

A man of immense integrity right through his career starting from 1952 in the Old Mysore Court in Karnataka, Puttaswamy has lived a sparkling career.

He was the Government of Karnataka counsel for over a decade during which he argued on various state development issues, but never took a leaning towards any political affiliations or ambitions.

People close to Puttaswamy hold him in high regard and say that there is not a single blemish on him during his career as an advocate or even post his retirement, when he was Vice Chairman of Central Administrative Tribunal, Bangalore Bench, Bangalore , Chairman of Andhra Pradesh Administrative Tribunal, Hyderabad and also Chairman, Andhra Pradesh Backward Class Commission.

4672 - SC's Aadhaar ruling - Much ado about nothing? - Business Standard

Nikhil Inamdar  |  Mumbai  September 24, 2013 Last Updated at 16:16 IST

SC's Aadhaar ruling - Much ado about nothing?

Does the Supreme Court's ruling on Aadhaar diminish the purpose of UPA's pet scheme?

Solicitor General Mohan Parasaran, appearing for the Centre in the PIL challenging the compulsory issuance of Aadhaar numbers said, the Aadhaar card was in any case voluntary, and so, no interim directions were required by the court which in a ruling yesterday said that the scheme cannot be made mandatory for availing public services and subsidies.

ALSO READ: Aadhaar not must for availing of benefits: SC

Parasaran is technically correct. The government and UIADI Chairman Nandan Nilekani have in fact repeatedly told anti-Aadhaar lobbyists that it is not an obligatory card and so their allegations are invalid. But Nilekani in the past is reported to have made a remark saying Aadhaar will become ‘ubiquitous’ in the future, implying that there will be no escaping it if citizens were to avail of certain government services and subsidies. 

Empirical evidence suggests that it is already happening. Aadhaar is reportedly being made mandatory for registration of property and marriages in states like Maharashtra and Delhi and authorities have been seen demanding the card for linking services such as cooking gas subsidies as well. Schools, presumably under the direction of the government, have also been demanding that parents get their kids registered compulsorily. In fact the backbone of the government’s ambitious direct cash transfers program is said to be the Aadhaar card, which will act as a link between the government and the beneficiary by linking the Aadhaar number of the recipient to his/her bank account to ensure that subsidies are targeted properly. 

Given that the government thinks of the UIDAI as a critical enabler for many of its projects, the only rational option before it now, seems to be to get the National Identification Authority of India Bill, which gives statutory powers to the UIADI, passed. This has been stuck in parliament due to opposition by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance headed by Yashwant Sinha and the government hasn’t moved on it because it felt the UIDAI could continue functioning legally without legislative backing. With that assumption now challenged, giving Aadhaar legal sanctity becomes critical.

 One tricky option to tiptoe around the court order and quash the growing hullabaloo among activists around its illegality would be to bring about an ordinance. But that would be difficult say legal experts. “That would not happen. And even if it does it will be challenged and there will be a big hue and cry because the Parliamentary Standing Committee has rejected the bill in its report. Also the government has come forward and said itself that it is voluntary, so how can they bring about an ordinance?” says Senior Advocate Anil Divan who represented the petition filed by retired Karnataka High Court Judge KS Puttaswamy. 

It is unclear what the government will do now. But the bigger question is - what could be the potential impact of this Supreme Court ruling, especially on schemes like the direct benefits transfers? Could it potentially cripple these reforms? 

“Aadhaar is basically a means to identify people and there are several other ways to do it. They may not be as perfect as the government claims Aadhaar to be, but that doesn’t mean the SC ruling makes cash transfers impractical” Professor VS Vyas, Member of the PM’s Economic Advisory Council said. 

Reetika Khera, Economist and Assistant Professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi who has done seminal work in the area agrees. “The DBT scheme doesn’t really depend on Aadhaar contrary to popular belief. The critical thing is to improve bank penetration, develop electronic banking at the last mile and do basic level of computerization. Aadhaar is almost superfluous and without improvement in these areas it is actually meaningless. What the government is doing by forcing people to enroll and excluding those who don’t, is making Aadhaar a tool of exclusion rather than a tool of inclusion” 

Banking penetration has increased significantly in the last 3 years, but over half of India still continues to remain unbanked and of 6 lakh villages only 36,000 are covered by brick and mortar bank branches according to RBI data. 

4670 - Aadhaar not must for availing of benefits: SC - Business Standard

BS Reporter  |  New Delhi  September 24, 2013 Last Updated at 00:58 IST

Aadhaar not must for availing of benefits: SC

Ruling may hit direct benefits transfer scheme

The Supreme Court on Monday ruled Aadhaar numbers were not mandatory for availing of government benefits and services like gas connections, vehicle registration, scholarships, marriage registration, salaries and provident fund. The interim order was passed in a public interest petition moved by retired Karnataka high court judge K S Puttaswamy, who alleged the unique identity (UID), or Aadhaar, scheme didn’t have Parliamentary sanction and was rolled out only by the executive, without discussion in Parliament.

The ruling could deal a blow to the government’s ambitious Direct Benefits Transfer (DBT) scheme, through which it transfers welfare payments directly to the Aadhaar-linked bank accounts of beneficiaries. The ruling also comes days after news reports that Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Chairman Nandan Nilekani was likely to contest elections from South Karnataka on a Congress ticket.

Neither Nilekani nor UIDAI Director-General Vijay S Madan was available for comment.

In Monday’s order, a Bench headed by B S Chauhan said the Aadhaar scheme had several shortcomings; it shouldn’t be made compulsory for essential services. Moreover, UID numbers shouldn’t be issued to illegal immigrants like those from Bangladesh, the order read.

Nikhil Dey, social activist and co-convener of the National Campaign for People’s Right to Information, said the order was “much needed”. He said the scheme was completely voluntary, but there was nothing voluntary about it. The government was forcing people to enrol for it to avail of services like cooking gas subsidy, he said. “The DBT project should only have been rolled out after the UID legislation was passed in Parliament.”

He added, though Aadhaar was beneficial as it gave an identity to people with no way to prove citizenship, the Supreme Court had said Aadhaar couldn’t be given to illegal migrants, leaving in doubt the fate of those who had already secured Aadhaar numbers without any identity or address proof.

So far, UIDAI has issued UID numbers to 429.6 million people. The prime minister had introduced the National Identity Authority of India Bill in 2010, but this was rejected by a standing committee of Parliament in 2011. Since then, the government has been pushing the scheme through executive action.

However, in support of the UID scheme, an official said the purpose of Aadhaar was to eliminate duplicates and fakes. “If this country wants leakages, let there be leakages,” he said, adding it was up to the police, not Aadhaar, to check illegal migration. “At least Aadhaar is trying to put them on the radar; thereafter, you can throw them out, as Aadhaar doesn’t give them legitimacy.” The root of the problem — how to check illegal migrations — wasn’t being addressed, he added.

Puttaswamy, the petitioner, argued the scheme, apart from the unconstitutionality of the executive acting on its own without legislative sanction, impinged on the right to privacy of individuals, as the confidentiality and security of biometric information collected by private agencies wasn’t ensured. He argued even non-citizens were likely to secure benefits like cash transfers, while illegal migrants were likely to be legitimised. This, Puttaswamy said, would jeopardise national security.

Whether or not Aadhaar should be made mandatory has been a point of debate for long. While the scheme is voluntary, linkages with agencies are making it mandatory in ways. Recently, the Maharashtra government insisted marriages could not be registered without UID numbers.

The registrar of the Bombay High Court is also reported to have insisted for UID numbers for disbursement of salary to staff.

Under the DBT scheme, various pensions and scholarship payments are linked to Aadhaar.