| Aadhaar shackles on smart cards ANANYA SENGUPTA New Delhi, April 17: A PMO directive to link all government welfare schemes to the Aadhaar card and avoid issuing separate smart cards for them has put several ministries in a spot. The directive, in the form of a letter to the information and technology ministry, came after Parliament passed the Aadhaar bill last month. By then, several ministries had already worked out the modalities to issue smart cards for their schemes. The social justice and empowerment ministry was gearing to roll out unique identity cards for the disabled, promised more than a year earlier, in two months. It's now contemplating linking the I-cards to the Aadhaar number. "When these I-cards were planned, it was not mandatory for the disabled to have Aadhaar numbers to apply for them. After the directive, it's likely that this will be made mandatory. So, in effect, only those with the Aadhaar number can get their I-cards," a ministry official said. "This will invariably delay the process. We are still deciding whether we should link it to Aadhaar immediately or do it in a phased manner." Sources said the ministry had already developed the software for the cards and floated tenders for printing them. The pilot project for the I-cards is likely to begin in two months in Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh, after which they will be issued in a phased manner starting with 12 states. "Our I-card project will continue as Aadhaar does not incorporate the information we need to create a database of the disabled," the official said. "We were told the Aadhaar card cannot reflect the specifics of disability or the pension schemes and scholarships for the disabled. So the best way is to link the I-card to Aadhaar." But the health ministry, planning since January to roll out an expanded version of the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana, a health insurance scheme that will cover 50 crore people, may have to drop the project. The PMO has made it clear that all new government schemes must use the Aadhaar-based direct benefit transfer platform instead of smart cards. Under the health scheme, smart cards are issued to below-poverty-line families. There are now about 3.72 crore active smart cards under the scheme. Another smart card project likely to be nixed is the labour ministry's unorganised workers' identification number or UWIN card. It would have enabled multiple ministries to provide services to such workers on a single card. In a letter to the labour secretary, Shankar Agarwal, the PMO panned the proposal. "It was conveyed to us that the workers can use the Aadhaar number to avail themselves of the benefits of different schemes," a labour ministry official said. "The PMO felt that issuing smart cards would only lead to duplication and create issues of linkages to databases already tied to Aadhaar." Unlike the Aadhaar card, which uses biometrics to specifically identify an individual, a smart card or the UWIN functions like a credit/debit card that carries a person's details so that he or she can obtain certain benefits linked to it. |
Showing posts with label Dont Share. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dont Share. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 20, 2016
9853 - Aadhaar shackles on smart cards - Telegraph India
9852 - ‘No need to print Aadhaar on smart card, any printout is valid’ - The Hindu
HYDERABAD, April 18, 2016
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
The downloaded version of Aadhaar on an ordinary paper is perfectly valid, and there is no need to laminate it, as is being done by some unscrupulous entities charging anywhere between Rs. 50 to Rs. 500 for printing the smart card.
The officials of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) have cautioned people not to share their Aadhaar number or personal details to unauthorised agencies for getting it laminated or printed on a plastic card. In a statement, the UIDAI officials said that possessing a paper Aadhaar card is absolutely fine for its usage. “There is no concept such as smart Aadhaar card,” said director general and mission director of UIDAI Dr. Ajay Bhushan Pandey.
Any person who loses Aadhaar card can download the same free of cost from ‘https://eaadhaar.uidai.gov.in/’ and take the printout of the downloaded Aadhaar, even in black and white, is as valid as the original Aadhaar letter sent by UIDAI.
Those who prefer to get their Aadhaar card laminated or printed on plastic card may do so only at authorised common service centres or Aadhaar permanent enrolment centres by paying not more than Rs. 30.
E-commerce companies such e-bay, Flipkart, Amazon and others have also been informed not to allow their merchants to collect Aadhaar information from the general public as collecting such information or unauthorised printing may amount to a criminal offence, the statement said.
UIDAI asks people not to share Aadhaar number with unauthorised agencies
Thursday, April 14, 2016
9835 - Why is the UIDAI cracking down on individuals that hoard Aadhaar data? - Business Standard
Private firms' offer to print Aadhaar details on plastic card a breach of law
Alnoor Peermohamed | Bengaluru
April 13, 2016 Last Updated at 08:35 IST
The billion-strong citizen identification system, Aadhaar, has given rise to businesses keen on illegal harnessing of this private data, say the authorities.
Outfits are offering services to print the Aadhaar details on plastic cards, something the Union information technology ministry warned against on Monday. These entities charge anywhere between Rs 50 and Rs 600, and are listed on e-commerce websites, apart from own online presence.
Under the Aadhaar law, collecting and storing of the data by private companies without the user’s consent is a crime. Monday’s warning from the ministry to e-commerce marketplaces such as Amazon, Flipkart and eBay to disallow merchants from collecting and printing such details was a result of this.
This newspaper could not find any listings of Aadhaar printing services on Flipkart but there was one on Amazon (taken down) and no less than five such listings on eBay.
PrintMyAadhaar is one of the more well organised outfits operating in this space. “Get your E-Aadhaar printed on a PVC card for easier handling,” reads their website. Users are prompted to fill their Aadhaar details on the website, pay Rs 50 and have the card sent to their houses. PrintMyAadhaar even offers discounts for bulk orders.
“Collecting such information or unauthorised printing of an Aadhaar card or aiding such persons in any manner may amount to a criminal offence, punishable with imprisonment under the Indian Penal Code and also Chapter VI of The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016,” read the statement from the ministry.
Currently, Aadhaar stores a person’s name, date of birth, sex and address, apart from their biometric data.
While the biometric data isn’t available to these PDF printing shops, the rest of the information is, according to Srikanth Nadhamuni, chief executive officer of Khosla Labs and a former head of technology at the Unique Identification Authority of India. However, collecting this data poses no security risk to the Aadhaar infrastructure, he added.
“Allowing somebody to accumulate large amounts of data from Aadhaar users in general is not a good practice. We should ensure that the Aadhaar details of people remain private and it should only be up to the discretion of the end-user to share this,” said Nadhamuni.
Some security experts say Aadhaar does pose a security risk, as it makes available an individual's details in the public domain. Several institutions are treating Aadhaar just like any other proof of identity.
“Transactions that should have been conducted using biometric authentication are being conducted just by presentation of paper documents. What is happening most commonly is that people are giving a printout or photocopy of their Aadhaar acknowledgement as their proof of identity to get a SIM card. The risk here is that somebody can get a mobile number against your name,” said Sunil Abraham, executive director of the non-profit Centre for Internet and Society.
He says the other technical issue with Aadhaar is the lack of a smart card that stores a person’s information, as in a digital signature. Due to the lack of this, people don’t know what information to keep private and what to make public. Conventional security techniques would have had a person keeping their PIN private (as with a bank account). If this personal PIN would have been saved on a smart card, which users wouldn’t have had much to worry about.
“In the case of Aadhaar, the authentication factor and the identification factor are in the public domain, because many people might have your UID number and people release their biometric data everywhere. Due to this broken technological solution, we are now through policy putting band-aids, saying people should not disclose their UID number unnecessarily,” added Abraham.
9825 - UIDAI cautions public against Aadhaar 'smartcard' - Statesman
thestatesman.com
New Delhi | 11 April, 2016
Aadhar Card
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has cautioned people not to fall to ploys of some unscrupulous entities who are charging anywhere between Rs.50 to Rs.200 for printing Aadhaar on a plastic card in the name of smartcard, as the Aadhaar letter or its cutaway portion or downloaded version of Aadhaar on ordinary paper is perfectly valid.
“The Aadhaar card or the downloaded Aadhaar card printed on ordinary paper is perfectly valid for all uses,” Ajay Pandey, director general and mission director, UIDAI, said.
“If a person has a paper Aadhaar card, there is absolutely no need to get his/her Aadhaar card laminated or obtain a plastic Aadhaar card or so-called SMART Aadhaar card by paying money. There is no concept such as smart Aadhaar card,” Pandey said.
In case a person loses his Aadhaar card, he can download his Aadhaar card free of cost from https://eaadhaar.uidai.gov.in/. The printout of the downloaded Aadhaar, even in black and white form, is as valid as the original Aadhaar letter sent by UIDAI, the Communication and Information Technology Ministry stated.
In case a person still wants to get his Aadhaar card laminated or printed on plastic card, he may do so only at authorised Common Service Centres or Aadhaar Permanent Enrolment Centres by paying no more than the prescribed rate, which is not more than Rs. 30, the ministry stated.
The ministry also advised the public not to share their Aadhaar number or personal details to unauthorised agencies for getting it laminated, or printed on plastic card.
E-commerce companies such E-bay, Flipkart, Amazon etc., are hereby informed not to allow their merchants to collect Aadhaar information from general public for printing Aadhaar card as collecting such information or unauthorised printing of Aadhaar card or aiding such persons in any manner may amount to a criminal offence punishable with imprisonment under Indian Penal Code and also Chapter VI of The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, the ministry stated.
Read more at http://www.thestatesman.com/news/india/uidai-cautions-public-against-aadhaar-smartcard/135813.html#kQkXE50xKFvbPy1c.99
9823 - Paper-printed, black-and-white Aadhaar cards are also valid, says UIDAI - IB Times
April 12, 2016 10:00 IST
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has said there is no need to laminate Aadhaar cards or print them on plastic cards, and that paper printouts of Aadhaar cards, even in black and white, are valid.
In Picture: UIDAI Chairman Nandan Nilekani addresses the audience on the first anniversary celebrations of Aadhaar launch in New Delhi, September 29, 2011.PIB
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) issued an advisory Monday, April 11, to clear up some misconceptions about the unique identity or Aadhaar card. Among the information it provided was the fact that paper-printed copies of the card — both colour and black-and-white — are as valid as the Aadhaar letters sent to individuals.
The UIDAI, in the statement released by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, also warned people against unscrupulous elements who were charging a lot more than mandated to print or laminate Aadhaar cards, or even printing them on plastic cards in the name of giving card-holders "smart" Aadhaar cards.
"The Aadhaar card or the downloaded Aadhaar card printed on ordinary paper is perfectly valid for all uses. If a person has a paper Aadhaar card, there is absolutely no need to get his/her Aadhaar card laminated or obtain a plastic Aadhaar card or so called SMART Aadhaar card by paying money. There is no concept such as smart Aadhaar card," UIDAI Director General and Mission Director Ajay Bhushan Pandey was quoted as saying in the statement.
The advisory also said a person can download and print their Aadhaar card from the official UIDAI portal for free if his or her original Aadhaar card is misplaced, stolen or rendered unusable in any way.
It added that Aadhaar cards can be laminated or printed on a plastic card at authorised Common Service Centres or Aadhaar Permanent Enrolment Centres at the prescribed rate of Rs. 30. This, it said, was much less than the Rs. 50 to Rs. 200 some unscrupulous people were charging.
9822 - You don't need an Aadhaar smart card, because there is no such card -IBN Live
Posted on: 10:42 AM IST Apr 12, 2016 | Updated on: 10:43 am,Apr 12,2016 IST
There is a booming business around Aadhaar cards in India. Even though Aadhaar enrollment is free of cost there are a large number of private agnecies who promise a Aadhaar "smart card" for a fee of Rs 50 to Rs 200. But the fact is that there is no Aadhaar smart card.
The "smart cards" that these agencies/individuals provide has the same information as an Aadhar card printed on a piece of paper, only that it is printed on a plastic card. And merely printing that on a more durable material doesn't make the Aadhaar card smart.
Aadhaar is a 12-digit individual identification number issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on behalf of the Government of India to help people get access to services like banking, mobile phone connections and other government and non-government services and subsidies.
The UIDAI on its part has cautioned the general public against merchants charging Rs 200 for printing the ID on a plastic card. The authority says that even a black and white print out on paper for official use is perfectly valid.
"There is absolutely no need to get his/her Aadhaar card laminated or obtain a plastic Aadhaar card or so called SMART Aadhaar card by paying money," UIDAI Director General and Mission Director Ajay Bhushan Pandey said in a statement. "There is no concept such as smart Aadhaar card," he said.
"In case a person still wants to get his Aadhaar card laminated or printed on plastic card, he may do so only at authorised Common Service Centres or Aadhaar Permanent Enrollment Centres by paying no more than the prescribed rate, which is not more than Rs 30," the satement said.
Some unscrupulous entities are charging Rs 50 to Rs 200 for printing Aadhaar on a plastic card in the name of smart card.
UIDAI also warned e-commerce companies such as eBay, Flipkart and Amazon to discourage merchants involved in such activities using their platform as aiding such persons in any manner may amount to a criminal offence punishable with imprisonment.
9821 - Don’t share Aadhaar information: UIDAI to e-commerce firms - Hindustan Times
- HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times, New Delhi | Updated: Apr 13, 2016 09:26 IST
Collecting information related to Aadhaar card or its unauthorised printing or aiding such persons in any manner may amount to a criminal offence punishable with imprisonment under Indian Penal Code
The Unique Identification Authority of India or otherwise known as UIDAI has asked e-commerce players like e-Bay, Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal to stop merchants on their platform from collecting Aaddhaar information of people transacting.
The ministry of communications and IT has also warned the general public against sharing personal information to people who are charging between Rs 50 to Rs 200 on a plastic card in the name of smart card, Economic Times reported.
“The Aadhaar card or the downloaded Aadhaar card printed on ordinary paper is perfectly valid for all uses,” director general of UIDAI, Ajay Bhushan Pandey, said.
“If a person has a paper Aadhaar card, there is absolutely no need to get his/her Aadhaar card laminated or obtain a plastic Aadhaar card or so called SMART Aadhaar card by paying money. There is no concept such as smart Aadhaar card,” he added.
The ministry has also warned that collecting information related to Aadhaar card or its unauthorised printing or aiding such persons in any manner may amount to a criminal offence punishable with imprisonment under Indian Penal Code and also Chapter VI of The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016.
9820 - Don’t share Aadhaar information: UIDAI - The Hindu
NEW DELHI, April 12, 2016
- SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has asked public not to share their personal information with unauthorised agencies for printing or laminating their Aadhaar cards.
The UIDAI asked e-commerce firms such as e-bay, Flipkart and Amazon to not allow their merchants to collect Aadhaar information from general public for printing Aadhaar card as this may amount to a criminal offence punishable with imprisonment.
The UIDAI said it had noticed some “unscrupulous entities” who were charging Rs. 50 to Rs. 200 for printing Aadhaar on a plastic card in the name of smart card. Some entities had also been charging far more for simply laminating the downloaded version of Aadhaar, it added.
The Aadhaar card or the downloaded Aadhaar card printed on ordinary paper is perfectly valid for all uses, UIDAI Director General and Mission Director Ajay Bhushan Pandey said in a statement. The authority said if a person loses his Aadhaar card, it could be downloaded free of cost.
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