4945 - Aadhaar will be basis for almost everything: Nilekani - Deccan herald

Aadhaar will be basis for almost everything: Nilekani

Bangalore, Prashanth G N, Oct 29, 2013, DHNS:

The future of Aadhaar hangs in balance, with the Supreme Court stating that it cannot be made mandatory for government benefits.

But Nandan Nilekani, chief architect of the project and chairman of the Unique Identification Development Authority of India, believes it is here to stay. He argues that India is the only country where even the poorest and the most vulnerable have got a digital identity, moving from a status of no identity.

“When 470 million people have come forward to get the Aadhaar number, it is the real thing playing out. The life of Aadhaar is in the numbers,” Nilekani told an audience during Nasscom’s product conclave in the City.

When technology entrepreneur Ravi Gururaj asked Nilekani whether Aadhaar or Facebook would exist in future, Nilekani said: “Äadhaar will be there for sure. Facebook? Well, Facebook could also be there.”

On whether the Supreme Court would block the rollout of Aadhaar, the Infosys co-founder said, “The matter is sub judice. Suffice it to say that when half a billion people have and want the number and identity, it means it is here to stay.”

The technocrat said the most fundamental transformations in the world happen in government and for public good before they reach the larger community. “The Internet and GPS began in government and public work. The GPS was a military application, but has now grown to be a half-a-billion dollar industry. Internet is everywhere now. So also, Aadhaar has begun with the government, but very soon we shall see the entire private sector and civil society adopt Aadhaar, from payment of salaries to opening health records. Aadhaar will have multiple applications in multiple sectors and domains,”Nilekani said.

When Deccan Herald asked Nilekani whether Bangalore would generate the maximum number of applications for Aadhaar, Nilekani said: “I will be very happy wherever the applications come from - Bangalore, Delhi or Mumbai. But, of course, it’ll be great if it comes from Bangalore. I am aware 40 per cent of all technology startups originate in Bangalore.”

When concerns over security of Aadhaar data were raised, Nilekani asked: “You’re willing to put all your information on the net everywhere, so what’s the problem in putting it in a place which is built on security and which guarantees privacy? We’ve given detailed attention to security and we’re doing everything to keep it safe.”

Nilekani was combative when a member in the audience said he could do without Aadhaar because he had other identity documents. “I don’t want Aadhaar. Why make it compulsory?” he asked.

Nilekani retorted: “If you don’t want Aadhaar, be my guest. I can only tell you Aadhaar will tomorrow be a convenience thing and you can transact everything online, even from your mobile phone after just one authentication. You’re entering a paperless, digital world. Aadhaar is for people who don’t have any form of identity, no access to resources, essential goods and services, to a job or to food.”

4941 - Govt to decide Aadhaar alternatives post SC ordern - Deccan herald

Govt to decide Aadhaar alternatives post SC order

Annapurna Singh, New Delhi, Oct 28, 2013, DHNS:

If the Supreme Court rules that the unique identification card cannot be made mandatory to avail government services, the Centre may ask for ration cards or voter identity cards as an alternative.

The Petroleum Ministry is mulling over the use of other substitutes such as ration card, voter ID card or driving licence to provide cash subsidy to LPG beneficiaries, but it is still unsure about ways to make them authentic.

“There are several other documents, and ration card may be one,” a senior government official told Deccan Herald but expressed concerns that no other document “can provide the foolproof authenticity” as Aadhaar.

“In case of other documents we will have to find some other supporting document to ascertain cent percent authenticity,” he said.

The Central government has planned to link the Aadhaar card number to all social sector schemes such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act job card, scholarships, pension ID and others. But currently only LPG is largely linked to Aadhaar.

Aadhaar provides a resident a 12-digit unique number after recording bio metric information like fingerprints and iris. Its authenticity is considered close to perfect. The government has planned to use this unique identification card for its cash transfer scheme for various subsidies to ensure the benefits reach the right person.

The Aadhaar platform, which also seeks to eliminate diversions and plug leakages, is already being used for transfer of LPG subsidy in cash to bank accounts of beneficiaries in 97 districts of the country. The government had planned to extend it to almost 265 districts by January 1, 2014.

Direct cash transfer for LPG began on June 1 in 19 districts. The government gave a three-month grace period to enable consumers to get the Aadhaar card and link it with their bank accounts.

After the expiry of this period, according to the government, cash subsidy may be provided only to consumers who had Aadhaar cards.

But the Supreme Court recently issued an order that Aadhaar could not be made mandatory for people to get government services and nobody should be deprived of facilities for want of the card. It also rejected the review petition filed by the government on this issue.

After the court’s order, Petroleum Minister Veerappa Moily had said Aadhaar would not be mandatory for availing LPG subsidy till it was cleared by the Supreme Court or through legislative authorisation. However, in those districts where the three-month grace period has lapsed, the consumers are being charged at the open market rate even for their subsidised LPG refills, the official said.

The Supreme Court will hear the argument in Aadhaar case again on Tuesday.

4917 - Oil firms firm on Aadhaar for LPG refill - Deccan herald

Oil firms firm on Aadhaar for LPG refill

P M Raghunandan, Bangalore, Nov 3, 2013, DHNS :

'Supreme Court order will not affect scheme'

The Aadhaar-based Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme for subsidised LPG refill supply became mandatory in Mysore from October 1, despite the Supreme Court ruling that Aadhaar numbers should not be made mandatory for people to access government-funded schemes.

It was first made mandatory in Tumkur district from September 1 this year.

The scheme was also launched in Udupi and Dharwad from October 1. Uttara Kannada and Gadag districts are scheduled to be covered under the scheme starting November 1. As many as 17 other districts, including Bangalore Urban, are expected to be covered under DBT by December this year. The scheme will automatically become mandatory three months after the launch.

Domestic LPG consumers have been paying the market price (of about Rs 940 for each refill) in Mysore. Oil marketing companies like IOC, BPC and HPC have been depositing the subsidy amount that each refill carries directly to the consumers’ bank accounts, as per the scheme.

The Supreme Court, in its September 24 interim order, said that Aadhaar numbers cannot be made mandatory for obtaining public services and subsidy schemes. The next hearing of the case is scheduled for November 11.

“The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has an answer to those who are sceptical about making the Aadhaar-based DBT mandatory: Prima facie, we feel that this is not a violation of the Supreme Court order. Oil marketing companies and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas have already sought modification of the order,” said some officials, who wished to remain unnamed.

65 pc under the scheme

Officials said about 65 per cent of LPG consumers have been covered under the scheme in Tumkur and Mysore.

Though the Aadhaar coverage is over 98 per cent in both places, the banks are yet to link (seed) the consumers’ Aadhaar numbers with the bank accounts, which is necessary under the DBT scheme.

When contacted, IOC Regional Director A K Arora said, “The Supreme Court has not given the final verdict in the case.

The oil marketing companies have filed their objections before the court. Therefore, the scheme is implementable and it has been made mandatory in Mysore from October 1. The scheme will be rolled out in other districts in a phased manner.”

4901 - Need Aadhaar cards, pay more - Deccan herald

Need Aadhaar cards, pay more

Mangalore, Akshatha M, Oct 26, 2013, DHNS:

Cyber cafes located adjacent to Aadhaar centres in the district encashing loopholes in the system

An inordinate delay in delivery of Aadhaar cards and urgency among the people to obtain the cards, has made the citizens unnecessarily shell out extra bucks to get the temporary printouts of their unique identity cards. Though UIDAI started the provision of issuing cards electronically in a bid to help people in a hurry to get the cards, it has not gone down well with people.

With a large number of Aadhaar cards not despatched for months and years due to the delay in printing and obstacles in postal system, majority of not so tech-savy residents in Dakshina Kannada district, who approach Aadhaar enrolment centres enquiring about the card, are directed by the centre’s staff to visit the cyber cafes located nearby and obtain the temporary card by paying Rs 50.

This has made the citizens, who are already in a state of confusion over the status of Aadhaar, to wonder why they have to shell out money to get the card, when they are supposed to get it for free.

It could be noted that a few states have made arrangements to provide temporary Aadhaar card printouts to the people, through the gas agencies at a nominal cost of Rs 5 or 10. In fact, the government run website, apna.csc.gov.in, has declared that print of Aadhaar cards is available through the Common Service Centres (CSCs) and they are made available in three formats including black and white or colour print at Rs 10, depending on the infrastructure available at the CSC.

With no such arrangements made in the district, people who are in a hurry to get the card to avail government services, blindly rush to the cyber centres to get the coloured printout with lamination.

Cyber cafes located adjacent to the Aadhaar enrolment centres are encashing this loophole in the system, and are involved in the business of getting the printouts of the card done for the needy.

Long wait

Retired medical professor based in Mangalore, Dr A M Bhat said that he had enrolled for Aadhaar in December 2012, but he has not received the card yet.

“Recently, I visited Aadhaar enrolment centre at Aadhaar enrolment centre in Mallikatta enquiring about the delay in receiving the card. A staff in the centre pointed at a cyber cafe adjacent to the enrolment centre, asking me to get the Aadhaar card printed and laminated by paying Rs 50,” he told Deccan Herald.

The professor alleged that the staff in enrolment centres were misguiding people to get the colour printout with lamination by paying the amount in the cyber centre. “When we are going to get the original card sometime in future, why are we supposed to pay the amount for a temporary card,” he asked.

Unplanned system

City based Nagarika Hithrakshana Samithi President Hanumanth Kamath alleged that people are misguided and looted in the name of Aadhaar. There might be a nexus between the staff of Aadhaar enrolment centres and the cyber cafes, he suspected.

Kamath also demanded the State government to make provision in Aadhaar centres or common service centres to issue temporary cards to people in case of emergency, at minimum price.

However, Additional Deputy Commissioner K Dayanand clarified that no such arrangement was made in the district and people will have to either wait for the original card or get the printout done outside.

4850 - UIDAI moves SC, seeks change in Aadhaar order - Deccan herald

UIDAI moves SC, seeks change in Aadhaar order

New Delhi, Oct 15, 2013, DHNS:

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has become the latest authority to approach the Supreme Court to modify their September 23 order, which directed them not to make Aadhaar card mandatory for citizens to avail benefits.

It claimed that the apex court’s direction had “very serious implications” in the implementation of different welfare schemes, including direct benefit transfer for gas subsidy.

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

The Centre, as well as oil PSUs, had also approached the apex court in this regard.

“Having enrolled over 53-crore residents, there is no empirical proof to suggest that the adopted methodology is not robust and has opened the floodgates for entry of illegal migrants into the system. Exceptions, aberrations and anecdotal cases cannot be reasons to doubt, malign or undo government schemes and administrative measures manifestly serving desired public policy ends,” the UIDAI application said.

The apex court, had in its order, said that no person should be denied benefits in the absence of an Aadhaar card.

The order was made in spite of the fact that a circular had been issued making the Aadhaar card mandatory and when any person applies to get an Aadhaar card voluntarily, it may be checked whether he or she is entitled for it under the law.

The order had come during the hearing of a PIL filed by Justice K Puttaswamy, former high court judge, seeking to restrain the Centre, Planning Commission and UIDAI from issuing Aadhaar cards by way of an executive order dated January 28, 2009.

4754 - No more LPG subsidies for the Aadhaar-less - Deccan herald

No more LPG subsidies for the Aadhaar-less

Mysore, Akram Mohammed, Oct 1, 2013, DHNS:

M R Rajashekar, a resident of Sharadavdevi Nagar was pacing around at the MysoreOne center near Jayanagar. He has now visited the center quite a few times since July, enquiring why he has not yet been issued an Aadhaar card.

He along with his wife and daughter had enrolled for Aadhaar card at the center on July 5. While his wife and daughter have been issued the card, Rajashekar does not understand why it has not been issued to him. “LPG connection is in my name. Since, seeding of LPG customer numbers and bank account had to be compulsorily completed by the end of September, its not clear whether I would receive subsidies,” he said.

While, computer operators at MysoreOne center said, the delay might be due to a technical glitch, the problem will probably cost Rajashekar his subsidies.

He is among more than 50,000 LPG customers in the city, whose LPG customer numbers are yet to be seeded with their bank accounts and mapped by the National Payment Council of India.

Supreme Court order

The Supreme Court, hearing a petition, ruled, in an interim order, that a citizen cannot be denied benefits such as subsidies for not possessing the Aadhaar card. But, in Mysore, it appears that oil companies have ignored the decision.

According to representatives of oil companies and LPG distributors, subsidies will be provided only under Aadhaar based Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). Pramod, a LPG distributor of Vijayanagar said, the billing software of oil companies in Mysore has been updated such that the companies can only bill for the full cost of a LPG cylinder. The cost of a cylinder was Rs 1,012 on Tuesday. “We have not received any instructions from companies. Any person without an Aadhaar card is being charged the full amount,” he said.

Speaking to Deccan Herald, sales officer of an oil company said, though there is an interim order by the Supreme Court, Minister for Petroleum Veerappa Moily had said that Aadhaar based DBT will continue. “Since no instructions have been received from the Petroleum Ministry, we are hopeful that DBT will continue,” he said.

On whether the companies would violate the Supreme Court order, he said that they act to the notifications by their superiors, who have not yet sent any instructions on providing subsidies for individuals without an Aadhaar card.

However, officials at the Lead Bank and UIDAI said that they too were awaiting a decision by the Petroleum ministry.

Contempt of court

Retd Maj Gen S G Vombatkere of Mysore Grahaka Parishat said the decision by UIDAI and oil companies to continue with the DBT, despite Supreme Court ruling was contempt of court. He said that he would appeal to the district administration to take cognisance of the court order and provide subsidy benefits to individuals without an Aadhaar card.

4737 - Shouldn't we protest against surveillance? - Deccan herald

Shouldn't we protest against surveillance?

Ambrose Pinto SJ, Sep 30, 2013 :

A surveillance world is a world which is structured and organised on surveillance-based techniques. 

To be under surveillance means that the individual or a country involved in surveillance has information about movements and activities recorded by technologies of the one on whom they have decided to snoop. This information is then sorted, sifted, categorised and used as a basis for decisions which may affect the policies towards that country. 

Surveillance is normally done by countries that are keen to control other countries. In some of the most authoritarian regimes, such as Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy surveillance was through paper files and informers then. But advanced technologies have changed the very nature of surveillance. Surveillance technologies are more powerful now, allow many more kinds of information to be collected, stored and connected together, and operate more instantaneously. The foundation for all new surveillance technologies is the computer database that is now gathered, tabulated and cross-referenced.  These stores of personal data held on by ordinary people are now central to private business, politics and public services. This data is ‘mined’ and analysed in great depth by sophisticated technologies. 

Every transaction provides a ‘data trail’ linkable to credit cards, bank cards, mobile phones, the internet or phone call. Databases are a key part of change in public services. The controversial Aadhaar card is meant to create a complete national digital database of all personal records. National borders are becoming ‘smart borders,’ with huge databases behind the scenes processing information about individuals and their journeys. Profiling is used to create watch lists of dangerous passengers or identify groups who might be more 'risky'. 

Strong arguments

India too is at the centre of a privacy debate. It is set to expand its own surveillance activities through the Centralised Monitoring System, a network that allows intelligence agencies to monitor phone calls, emails and social networking patterns of telephone and internet users in the country. People who want to increase the amount of surveillance in society have strong arguments. They say that there are terrorists and criminals out there, and these tools can help stop violence and crime. 

At the college and universities, the administration argues that cameras keep away anti-social behaviour. Hardly anybody looks at the psychological consequences to being watched. Once conscious of being watched people change, tailoring their behaviour to fit what they believe the observer wants. In a society where everyone knows that they are or may be watched as they walk through the streets, or while surfing online the consequences will be reinforcing conformity, and literally crippling the ability to make autonomous and ethical decisions. 

In this context how do we see the American surveillance on India? 

Politically, there have been two positions. The first one is of Salman Khurshid who was bold in stating that some of the information that the USA got out of their scrutiny helped us to prevent serious terrorist attacks. On the other hand Kapil Sibal, another minister in the UPA was more introspective and asked India never to take a position either in diplomacy or domestically unless we are completely in the know of what is accessed.  Since New Delhi counts the US as an ally and a crucial international voice in its attempts to secure a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, the Indian position has been one of betrayal of its people. 

The fact is USA is collecting lot of critical data pertaining to India on the country’s nuclear and space developments and the information collected is not particularly connected to terrorism.  It is a very serious matter for a country which considers USA as its ally.  Emails, texts and phones of important people related to these fields have been constantly monitored. It means they are listening   to what our political leaders, bureaucrats and scientists are communicating with each other. Why does USA do it?

The US goal is to subject virtually everyone to mass surveillance for hegemony. But why did India become an important surveillance target? Because there are fears that India is an emerging market and by access to its key areas of development, the country can be controlled and made to toe the American line. What we as citizens forget by not protesting is to provide legitimacy to what our leaders who are determined to mortgage the country to American interests are doing. While snooping is an infringement of our sovereignty and a serious security hazard at the political lever, at the personal level it is a serious intrusion in privacy. We need to oppose such intrusion both on our country and the individuals. 

4727 - Aadhaar on shaky foundation - Deccan Herald

Aadhaar on shaky foundation

Ajith Athrady , Sep 29, 2013 :

SC ruling, a setback for the Centre, may force it to change controversial programme’s guidelines.

Ever since the launch of Aadhaar, the project to give 12 digit unique identification number for every individual has constantly been under question. The latest one is the Supreme Court interim order which has held  that Aadhaar cannot be made compulsory for any public benefits or schemes and that it can only be issued to those who can prove their Indian citizenship.

 The ruling came at a time when the United Progressive Alliance-II was  stepping up its efforts to roll out subsidy schemes based on Aadhaar across the country. By making Aadhaar the basis for all its welfare schemes in the long run, the Congress-led government had hoped to reach out to the poor through direct benefit transfer (DBT) schemes just ahead of elections.

The court’s observations not only put the ‘game-changing’ uses of Aadhaar number in limbo but also questions the government’s intent of spending crores of rupees to distribute numbers, when the programme lacks legislative strength.

The court passed its order after taking serious note of the points mentioned in the petition that the government chose to set up the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to roll out Aadhaar numbers through an executive order with no discussion in Parliament and that it impinged on the right to privacy of individuals.

There is no assurance of protection of confidentiality of the biometric data collected by private agencies. Moreover, non-citizens would get benefits such as subsidy transfers while illegal immigrants will get legitimised.

There is no way the government can verify the nationality of an individual apart from relying on the documents he or she submits.

 The court order virtually exposed the UPA government’s lack of clarity  towards its ambitious scheme. It is almost five years since UIDAI was notified in January 2009 by the UPA-I Government, and till now, the Centre has been unable to articulate a clear vision of what it wants to do in the form of sound legislation.

An attempt was made in December, 2010 to provide legislative frame work for the UIDAI. It failed as a Parliamentary Standing Committee rejected it and asked the government to draft fresh legislation to make it robust. The government, instead of redrafting the legislation, focused on continuing the programme through the existing executive order.

It seems the mandarins of the ruling dispensation are totally confused over the UIDAI programme. In July, minister of state for planning Rajeev Shukla, had informed Parliament that "Aadhaar card is not mandatory to avail subsidised facilities being offered by the government like LPG cylinders, admission in private aided schools, opening a savings account etc."

 However, in the same breath, several departments of the Union Government as well as many state governments, mostly Congress-ruled, make it mandatory to get Aadhaar number to avail benefit. For instance, in Delhi, Adhaar number is mandatory at the sub-registrar’s office including for marriage certificates while in some states, having the unique number is a must to obtain ration cards.

While several states attach a number of welfare schemes to Aadhaar- linked bank accounts, the Union Ministry of Petroleum said recently said it will extend the cash transfer on LPG subsidy to 235 districts by January 1, 2014, from the current 55. A total of 34 schemes under different ministries fall under DBT scheme.

The turf war between different ministries on UIDAI and National Population Registry (NPR) has also hit the ambitious programme hard. While a slew of ministries led by the home ministry back the NPR, which is issuing citizenship card, some others support Adhaaar, led by Planning Commission.

The country has been divided into two to accommodate both. In 18 states, the UIDAI has been asked to dish out Aadhaar while the remaining states will be covered under the NPR. However, those enrolling for the UIDAI have to enroll themselves for the NPR too, while those covered under the NPR do need Aadhaar. The Government till now has no answer why this duplication in enrollment.

Despite the opposition from intelligentsia on grounds of privacy, transferring the benefit through Aadhaar-linked bank account is expected to plug leakages, say its supporters. The government still claims that Aadhaar is a project that will empower hundreds of millions of poor Indians to acquire proof of identity and bring them under the formal financial system.

Gopal Krishna, Citizens Forum for Civil Liberties says the states which have signed the MoU with UIDAI should cancel them following the Supreme Court ruling and stop enrolling public. As there is no legislation backing the programme, the scheme should be scrapped till its purpose is known, he says.

It's not clear what holds for Aadhaar now. The UIDAI officials are not answering any queries on the court order. Though Oil Minister M Veerappa Moily claimed that the government would appeal to the Supreme Court against its order, experts says say unless the government passes a strong legislation to give some teeth to Aadhaar, the prospect of it facing wrath from the court is bright.

If the interim order is repeated in the final order, the organisation’s  future will hang in balance. If the government wants to make Aadhaar mandatory, it will have to either promulgate an Ordinance or get the UIDAI Bill passed in Parliament. If the scheme stays voluntary, Aadhaar will be just remain one more form of ID among a dozen others.

4724 - Focus on cash transfer, not target by Reetika Khera - Deccan herald

Focus on cash transfer, not target

Reetika Khera, Sep 29, 2013 :

The Supreme Court's interim order on Aadhar is a very welcome intervention. The Aadhaar project’s stated objective was to increase “inclusivity”.

Yet, over the past few months, especially since December 2012, confusion over whether Aadhaar is compulsory or voluntary has increased, leading to the worst possible outcome - it is turning into a source of exclusion. For instance, in Delhi's rollout of the National Food Security Act (NFSA), people are being told that they must have an Aadhaar card to be included.

For others, Aadhaar has added another layer of bureaucracy to the existing maze - a Dalit friend who got admission into TISS, had to travel from Hyderabad where he works, to his village in Osmanabad, to enrol for Aadhaar, and then to Mumbai to complete his scholarship formalities.

In an Aadhaar-free world, he would have been saved a lot of time and money, and could have managed by only going to Mumbai. 

On  January 1, 2013, the Delhi government made Aadhaar compulsory for all revenue department services. This department issues income certificates that are necessary to avail of the 25 per cent reservation in private schools (under the Right to Education Act) for poor children. Until an exception clause was added exempting it for income certificates, it created additional hassles for such parents.

Similarly in March 2013,  I met an elderly man in Jharkhand who could barely walk – he would squat on the spot every 100 m to take rest, before continuing. Since the Aadhaar-enabled “direct benefit transfers” (DBT) rollout, all elderly were being asked to open accounts seeded with their Aadhaar number. This man had come to the Panchayat Bhawan to complete his paperwork - the Rs. 300 of pension is what keeps him going - but was told that some papers were missing, so he would have to make another trip to complete the formalities.

The Aadhaar story goes back to 2009 when the UIDAI was set up with Nandan Nilekani as chairman. Unlike a passport that allows you to travel abroad, a voter ID that lets you vote, a ration card which entitles you subsidized rations (and so on), he was only peddling a number (later christened “Aadhaar”) with no tangible benefits. So, why would anyone queue up for it?

The government initially used a "feel good" approach to enthuse people, that Aadhaar was the magic wand that would fix all problems (read corruption) in social welfare programmes. But that false claim was successfully challenged (for example, the PDS turnaround in Chhattisgarh and Odisha happened not with Aadhaar but intelligent use of simpler technology). 
Gradually, the government began to resort to subtle arm-twisting techniques. Existing cash transfers, such as pensions and scholarships were repackaged, a slogan, “aapka paisa aapke haath,” was given for DBT , a first step towards making Aadhaar de facto compulsory. An impression was created that DBT was not possible without Aadhaar. The warning, that they were climbing the ladder from the top by implementing DBT without first computerising beneficiary lists or opening accounts with core banking, was ignored.

Nine months later, the minutes of a meeting relating to Aadhar on August 5 in the PMO show that this realisation has finally sunk in. According to these minutes, out of nearly 40 lakh beneficiaries of DBT schemes, 56 per cent have bank accounts, 25 per cent have both accounts and an Aadhar number but less than 10 per cent accounts are seeded with their Aadhar number.
One shudders to think of the fate of those who do not have an account, or whose accounts are not seeded with Aadhaar. The minutes clearly list various bottlenecks to further expansion (“There are many problems and inadequacies that still need to be addressed”, “rollout of core banking is badly behind schedule” etc). Yet, the minutes betray the coercive intention of the government: “It is time to crack the whip and move faster”, the deadline for a switchover “will make people share their details and speed up seeding”.

The government double-speak on whether Aadhaar is compulsory or voluntary has been exposed repeatedly: full page ads in national dailies setting deadlines for seeding Aadhaar numbers to bank accounts for the LPG subsidy appear along with reassurances by minister Rajeev Shukla in Parliament that Aadhaar is not mandatory.

The government should pause to think which of the two objectives is more important - "aapka paisa aapke haath" (DBT) or chasing the target of giving a number to 60 crore people. DBT can proceed without Aadhaar if the government focuses its energy on computerisation and extending core banking services to transfer cash directly into people's accounts. Chasing the latter will require some coercion, thereby causing further disruption and exclusion. The Supreme Court, by preventing Aadhaar from becoming compulsory, is actually doing the government a favour.

(The author is Assistant Professor of Economics, IIT Delhi)

4721 - Suspend Aadhaar, it is leading India to a surveillance state - Deccan Herald

Date: 29 September 2013 

Suspend Aadhaar, it is leading India to a surveillance state

R. Ramakumar, Sep 29, 2013 :

One important feature of Aadhaar is its immense potential to violate privacy and civil liberty of the people. This is one of the main issues highlighted by the petitioners in the Supreme Court.

Aadhaar envisages a centralised database of Indian residents. At present, the data on each individual is available only in separate “silos” and it is near impossible to link a person’s information in one silo to that in another. A unique ID number opens up this possibility. An invasive government, a profit-minded private entity or a hostile group can get hold of personal data in more than one silo. Such data could be linked up to create a profile of individuals as well as track them for life. This constitutes an assault on a very basic freedom enjoyed by each individual.

Very few countries have national databases of citizens allowing convergence across silos. In most countries where such projects were introduced, such as the United States or United Kingdom, citizens reacted collectively to the threats of intrusion into their democratic rights. They argued that the data collected may be misused for a variety of dubious purposes. Legislations on privacy have not been seen as satisfactory guarantees against functionality creep.

Privacy is no “western” import into India. The idea of privacy is well-embedded in the history of all Indian cultures. The Supreme Court of India has inferred the right to privacy from the explicit guarantee of personal liberty in Article 21 of the Constitution.

In other words, the right to personal liberty subsumes the right to privacy too. From the 1964 judgement on ‘Kharak Singh v/s The State of U. P. & Others’, right up to the 2009 judgement on ‘Ram Jethmalani v/s the Union of India’, this has been a fundamental guiding principle for the Supreme Court. 

In the 2009 judgement, the SC noted that the right to privacy “is not merely that the State is enjoined from derogating from them. It also includes the responsibility of the State to uphold them against the actions of others in the society, even in the context of exercise of fundamental rights by those others.” 

The present government does not consider the right to privacy as valuable at all. According to Nandan Nilekani, “privacy and convenience is always a trade-off”. Further, discussions around Aadhaar have involved open calls for sharing personal information with private companies.

For instance, a Planning Commission working group in 2006 callously recommended that “…unique ID could form…the basis of a public-private-partnership wherein unique ID-based data can be outsourced to other users.” It also stated that “part of this database could be shared with even purely private smart card initiatives such as private banking/financial services on a pay-as-you-use principle…”

In India, one major threat to privacy arises from here: the promotion of private players in the provision of social services, such as education, health, banking and insurance. 

With the privatisation of social services, personal data would be transformed into commodities in the market for Aadhaar numbers. In such a context, promises to introduce privacy laws become weak tools to gain the trust of citizens. India does not have a privacy law. The collection, use and sharing of personal data collected by the UIDAI is a totally unregulated sphere.

A second concern is whether biometric information collected by the UIDAI would be used for policing purposes. In what is a typical case of “functionality creep”,  the police and security forces, if allowed access into the biometric database, could extensively use it for regular surveillance and investigative purposes. Regular use of biometric data in policing can lead to a large number of human rights violations. 

Two specific instances of the police accessing the biometric database of the UIDAI have already been noted. In February 2013, the Goa Police approached the UIDAI office in Mumbai to identify the fingerprints collected from the site of murder of a seven-year old girl in Vasco. Newspaper reports quoted Goa Police sources thus: “officials of UID cards have agreed to share the data”. In April 2013, the Kerala Police requested help from the UIDAI in Bangalore to identify fingerprints collected from the site of the Mariakkutty murder case in Kannur.

On April 3, the Malayala Manorama quoted Kerala Police officials as saying that “Aadhaar card will also be as helpful as mobile phones in investigation process.” Under which law of the land? Indeed, the future appears scary. 

What is to be done? Clearly, the most reasoned way ahead is to suspend the Aadhaar project immediately. There should be a serious rethink on the idea of a centralised database linked to biometrics. Centralised information is centralised power. One is indeed living in fool’s paradise to imagine that centralised power will lead to no abuse of power. 

(The author is Associate Professor with the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai )

4686 - Now, Aadhaar faces identity crisis - Deccan Herald

Now, Aadhaar faces identity crisis

P M Raghunandan, Bangalore, Sept 25, 2013, DHNS:

Post-SC direction, State may defer plans to hasten enrolment

The Centre for e-governance of the State government is likely to defer its plans to scale up Aadhaar enrolment in the State, following the Supreme Court (SC) direction not to make unique identity (UID) numbers mandatory for citizens to get government services, including various subsidy schemes.

With the oil ministry’s recent decision to extend Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme for LPG refill supply to 19 more districts, the Centre for e-governance had drawn up an elaborate plan to ramp up enrolment across the State. But the SC direction has forced it to re-consider going ahead with the plan, official sources who refused to be quoted said.

The plan to speed up the process includes opening additional enrolment centres in both urban and rural areas and tying up with oil marketing companies to start Aadhaar enrolment at local LPG distribution agencies. It was anticipated that there will be a rush of people to enrol themselves as the oil ministry had announced to make Aadhaar-based DBT scheme mandatory for citizens to get subsidised LPG refill from March, 2014, in a total of 22 districts, including Tumkur, Mysore and Dharwad, where it has been launched on a pilot basis, the official said.

The Centre for e-governance, which is the nodal agency for the enrolment, has so far covered 58 per cent of the State’s 6.1 crore population. The coverage is poor in eight districts, with less than 40 per cent coverage. For instance, it is only 26 per cent in Hassan, 28 per cent in Shimoga, 33 per cent in Mandya and 34 per cent in Chamarajanagar. The average UID generation is 47 per cent in the State.

Of the 30 districts, people in 22 districts are being covered by the Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI) and the National Population Registrar (NPR) is enrolling citizens in the remaining eight districts – Bangalore Rural, Chikkaballapur, Uttara Kannada, Davangere, Udupi, Haveri, Gadag and Kodagu.

Turnout declined

Already, officials said, turn out of people at the enrolment centres has declined in most places, including Bangalore. It is feared that the government may end up losing money in merely keeping the centres open and without making much progress in the enrolment.

The task of enrolment has been outsourced to about 18 different private firms in the State at a total cost of about Rs 140 crore. Private firms are charging the government Rs 26 per enrolment.

Officials said many of these firms were deliberately delaying the enrolment process. Some of them have given sub-contract to smaller firms. These firms may further slow down the process in view of the court direction, sources said.

A similar situation had cropped in 2011 when the Centre was in two minds on whether to continue with Aadhaar or not in view of the NPR also collecting bio-metric data of citizens. The Aadhaar enrolment was suspended for more than a year due to this reason. It was commenced again in December last year.

When contacted, D S Ravindran, chief executive officer of the Centre of e-governance, only said that the enrolment will continue and that he has not received any order from the government.