13129 - Can Cambridge Analytica get hold of Aadhaar Data - News Click

Newsclick Report 26 Mar 2018

Can Cambridge Analytica get hold of Aadhaar Data - News Click

                       Newsclick Image By Nitesh

Aadhar data leak stories keep appearing in India, but an investigation of the US companies that handle Aadhaar’s biometric data collection and processing has thrown up a shocking revelation: not only are they deeply intertwined with the US intelligence and defense establishment but there are known links with Cambridge Analytica, the UK firm accused of harvesting Facebook data and using it to fix elections. In other words, these service providers to Aadhaar are potentially in a position to access Aadhaar’s personal information database, and use it for other purposes.

The recent expose of how Cambridge Analytica (CA) harvested Facebook data for use in election campaigns of President Trump has shown how personal information has now been weaponised by profit hungry companies, to be deployed not just for selling products but for political gain.

It is well known that in 2010-2012, Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI) awarded contracts to three US companies for collecting biometric data (fingerprints, iris scans) from all Indians, cleaning up the data and maintaining the storage. 

These three companies were: L-1 Identity Solutions, Morpho-Safran, and Accenture Services Pvt. Ltd.

These three companies have an intricate web of relationships with Cambridge Analytica and the biggest of data collating and analysis firms, Palantir Technologies which is the front runner in data mining technologies and works almost exclusively for the US (and maybe UK’s) defense and intelligence agencies including the NSA, CIA, FBI, and various other arms of the US govt.

Hedge fund billionaire Robert Mercer, an investor in Accenture, had funded the formation of Cambridge Analytica in 2013 as an arm of an existing firm SCL. He was instrumental in getting Cambridge Analytica to tie up with the Ted Cruz presidential campaign in the US primaries. At that time, the campaign’s chairman was Chad Sweet who had earlier worked for the CIA’s National Clandestine Service and then was chief of staff at the US Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS). His boss at DHS was Michael Chertoff, secretary of homeland security during the Bush years. After Obama’s win in 2009, Chertoff and Sweet left DHS and set up the Chertoff Group. Another member of the Group was Jay M.Cohen who was president of the board of directors of Morpho Detection. Sweet, on the other hand was strategic adviser on mergers to L 1 Identity Solutions. Sweet’s wife Julie was CEO of Accenture North America. Incidentally, George Tenet, CIA chief during the crucial years 1997-04, became director of L 1 during 2006-2008.

So, all three of the biometric service providers for UIDAI, were interconnected and deeply tied to the US defense-intelligence establishment and the slew of private companies that receive money from it in out contracts. Cambridge Analytica was part and parcel of this network.

Now Morpho was acquired by Safran, a French defense conglomerate in 2009. In 2010, UIDAI signed the contracts with the three companies. A few weeks later Safran acquired L 1 Identity also and merged it with MorphoTrust. Who acted as strategic adviser to this? None other than Chad Sweet. 

Meanwhile L 1 sold its intelligence arm to BAE, the British aerospace and defense giant in 2010, and a few months later Chertoff joined BAE on its board of directors.

Morpho formed a consortium with Techmahindra owned Satyam, and along with L1 and Acceture provided biometric software to authenticate enrollments and they designed, configured and maintained the system for Aadhaar till 2012. After that they continued to maintain and service it.

The trio was also contracted to de-duplicate the data which necessarily means that they had access to all the data. Although UIDAI has argued that biometric data and demographic data are kept separate and not matched contracts with the trio seem to indicate that they were responsible for tagging “all the data relating to an applicant, together with the photographs and biometrics”, according to media sources.

The trinity of L1-MorphoSatyam-Accenture is also tasked with protecting the data. Although UIDAI has repeatedly assured that the data is safe and impenetrable, L1 had reportedly said in its filings before the US Securities Exchange Commission that “security measures used in these systems may not prevent security breaches”. This is of course standard disclaimer lingo but the fact remains that the company is not dismissing leakage or breaches as readily as UIDAI.

(This report is based on investigations 

conducted by Fountainink .)

11979 - AADHAAR, DATA SECURITY AND BREACH OF PRIVACY - DAILY PIONEER

AADHAAR, DATA SECURITY AND BREACH OF PRIVACY

Tuesday, 05 September 2017 | Sandhya Jain | in Edit

An RTI reply has punctured the UIDAI's assertion that no private entity had access to unencrypted Aadhaar data. While it is not clear who controls the data; certainly it is prone to misuse

A Right to Information (RTI) application filed by Bengaluru-based Col  Matthew Thomas, a petitioner in the right to privacy case before the Supreme Court, reveals that the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), custodian of Aadhaar data, signed contracts with foreign firms giving them “full access” to classified data and personal details of citizens, which they were allowed to store for seven years.

The Centre must direct the UIDAI to make a full disclosure of the project since its inception, including contracts signed, and who selected the firms recruited for the task. The then UIDAI chairman  Nandan Nilekani must explain why the technology (hardware and software) for collecting and storing the data was not created domestically when India is supposed to be the hub for information technology services.

The RTI reply punctures the UIDAI’s assertion that no private entity had access to unencrypted Aadhaar data. The contract with US-based biometric service provider, L-1 Identity Solutions Operating Company Private Limited (now owned by French transnational Safran Group), clearly says that the firm was given Aadhaar data access “as part of its job”. Other firms given identical contracts from 2010 to 2012 include Morpho and Accenture Services Private Limited.

In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was persuaded that Aadhaar could expand the reach of his social welfare programmes exponentially. But recently, when data breaches became glaring, Nilekani dismissed the problem saying data security is challenging in a digital age and ran back to his parent company. The unanimous verdict of the nine-judge bench of the Supreme Court, upholding right to privacy as a fundamental right, reportedly reflects this belated understanding at the top echelons of the Government.

The contract’s Clause 15.1, ‘Data and Hardware’, says the firm “may have access to personal data of the purchaser (UID), and/or a third party or any resident of India...” Clause 3, which deals with privacy, says the biometric service provider could “collect, use, transfer, store and process the data”. Also, the biometric service provider shall process all personal data in accordance with applicable law and regulation and should not disclose such information. The contract does not define ‘personal data’.

However, according to UIDAI, personal data includes biometric (fingerprints, iris) and demographic data (name, date of birth, address, mobile number), and could include bank details, licence number, PAN number, passport number and other information furnished as part of Know Your Customer (KYC). A clause in the contract says the firm should maintain the biometric template created by it and on termination or expiry of contract, “transfer all the proprietary templates to UIDAI”.

The UIDAI claimed it had purchased the software and hardware for the Aadhaar programme but the contracts show that the biometric service providers provided hardware for the first one crore enrollments. It is not known if the hardware was checked to ascertain if data could be stolen via a back door. UIDAI’s assertion that no data ever left its servers and premises cannot be trusted as the language of the contracts clearly shows that foreign firms had access to raw data.

But is this surprising? In a Forward to a Credit Suisse study (Ideas Engine Series, June 29, 2016), Nilekani wrote, “Once in a while a major disruption or discontinuity happens which has huge consequences. In 2007, the Internet and the mobile phone came together in a whole new product called the smartphone... (which) could support Over The Top applications. The messaging solution for the smartphone…came from WhatsApp, a start-up”.

Nilekani argued that Indian banking is experiencing a ‘WhatsApp’ moment, as smartphones could reach 700 million by 2020 and over one billion Indian residents have the online biometric identity, Aadhaar. Hence it is possible to “visualise a future where every adult Indian has an Aadhaar number, a smartphone and a bank account”.

More insidiously, Aadhaar provides on-line authentication using fingerprint or iris, which can be done from anywhere, making transactions ‘presence-less’. Aadhaar’s eKYC feature enables a bank account to be opened instantly by using one’s Aadhaar number and biometric; something prone to misuse. In Jammu & Kashmir, illegal immigrants (Rohingyas) have acquired Aadhaar and ration cards.

Extolling many facets of the new technology (the India Stack), Nilekani states, “as data becomes the new currency, financial institutions will be willing to forego transaction fees to get rich digital information on their customers (italics added)”. This would accelerate the move to a cashless economy as merchant payments will also become digital.

Commending Credit Suisse’s “insightful report”, Nilekani agrees that there is a $600 billion market capitalisation opportunity possible in the next 10 years, which will be shared between existing public and private banks, new banks and new age non-bank financial companies (NBFCs). “It may even go to non-banking platform players, which use the power of data to fine-tune credit risk and pricing, and make money from customer ownership and risk arbitrage”. He expects a serious challenge to public sector banks which currently enjoy a 70 per cent market share.

The Payment Bank (Paytm), launched in 2016 (Alibaba holds 40 per cent stake), and the Unified Payment Interface (UPI)-powered payment interfaces, hope to encash the shift towards digital transactions, and get their share of the coveted $ 600 billion pie. Credit Suisse anticipates that private banks, NBFCs’ and fin-tech players will be its prime beneficiaries.

Credit Suisse explains that financial providers will become data rich in just two or three years as they receive data via transactions made through their apps, digital footprints left by individuals, smartphone data and online tax information, as three  to five billion invoices go digital with the Goods and Services Tax. Forecasting consumer debt to rise to 25 per cent of the gross domestic product from the current 17 per cent on the back of new data availability, the SME lending market could grow from $620 billion to $3,020 billion over the next decade. Aadhaar seems tailored to benefit private bankers.

This writer was invited to enroll for the National Population Register vide acknowledgement slip 130, form number 02046115, household block no. 0021, household number 128, by Enumerator OP Singh, dated May 26, 2010. Aadhaar was supposedly for BPL beneficiaries. It turned out they were one and the same.

Now, it is not clear who controls the data; certainly it is prone to misuse. The Sonia Gandhi-led UPA regime unleashed this menace through lies and deception. The Modi-led Government must fix this treachery. No country in the world has allowed bankers and corporations such totalitarian access to intimate data about its citizens.

(The writer is a political analyst and an independent researcher)

8763 - Company on Aadhaar List of 18 Contractors Was Prosecuted - New Indian Express

Company on Aadhaar List of 18 Contractors Was Prosecuted

By Yatish Yadav

Published: 27th Sep 2015 08:40:49 AM

An applicant at an enrolment centre 

NEW DELHI:The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which generates the so-called ‘12-digit magic number’ better known as Aadhaar, in a recent RTI response provided details of 18 companies that it had awarded a total of 25 contracts to for various services under the scheme.

Among the list of companies is Gujarat-based Sai Infosystem (India) Limited, which was registered with the Registrar of Companies, Ahmedabad, in 2003. According to the response to the RTI query, the UIDAI contract was awarded to Sai Infosystem on February 2, 2011, for the purchase of biometric authentication.

In what raises concerns over the nature of scrutiny before awarding government contracts, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs website, however, mentions that prosecution was launched against the company’s promoters for defrauding several banks in 2013.

The promoter and managing director of the company, Sunil Bhai Kakkad, was also arrested by Interpol in June last year. Kakkad was held in Monrovia, the capital of the West African country of Liberia. It is not yet clear whether the UIDAI terminated its contract after the Sai Infosystem fraud came to light. The Corporate Affairs Ministry website has listed 10 charges against the company, which is also known to have bagged several government contracts over the years.

Also on the list is L1 Identity Solutions Operating Company, which was awarded the contract for implementation of biometric solutions for the UIDAI on July 30, 2010. A month after signing the contract with the UIDAI, L1 Identity Solutions was acquired by French corporate conglomerate Safran SA Group. 

Interestingly, clause 15.3 of the contract agreements with L1 Identity Solutions says: “The data shall be retained by L1 Identity Solutions Operating Company for not more than a period of 7 years as per Retention Policy of Government of India or any other policy that UIDAI may adopt in future.”

On February 2, 2011, the UIDAI signed a contract with Sagem Morpho Security Pvt Ltd, which is owned by Safran SA Group, for the purchase of biometric authentication devices.

In response to the RTI application filed by Anil Vedvyas Galgali of Mumbai, the UIDAI also revealed on September 4 that the total outlay for the project was `13,663.22 crore, and that since its inception it had incurred `6,562.88 crore up to last month.

Among the companies which were awarded contracts, Telsima Communications Pvt Ltd was signed by the Central government agency for hiring of space for the UIDAI Biometrics Centre of Competence (UBCC) on January 27, 2011. Telsima, based in New Delhi, was floated in 2000. As per the Ministry of Corporate Affairs data, Telsima has three directors on board—Raj Kumar, John Joseph Madigan and Vikas Kumar Jain.

In February 2011, the UIDAI signed a contract with Geodesic Ltd for the purchase of biometric authentication devices. Mumbai-based Geodesic includes Pankaj Kumar, Kiran Kulkarni and Prashant Mulekar on its board. Pankaj, an alumnus of IIT-Roorkee, had been adviser to SCO prior to founding Geodesic. 

Another contract was signed in February 2011 with Totem International Ltd, also for the purchase of biometric authentication devices. Totem international was floated in 2009, and the company has two directors—Firoze Zia Hussain and Munchoor Lokayya Shetty.

Magic Number BJP Wanted To Scrap

In the run-up to the 2014 general elections, the BJP had criticised the Aadhaar project, and had even promised to scrap it if voted to power. The then BJP’s general secretary and now Union Fertilisers Minister, Ananth Kumar, had said that if elected, BJP would not only scrap the UIDAI, but also initiate criminal proceedings against those who were responsible for the scheme in which a large amount of public money was misused.

The Supreme Court, on August 11, barred the government from making Aadhaar card mandatory for individuals to avail benefits of welfare schemes, and directed it not to share personal biometric data collected for enrolment under the scheme to any authority.

The RTI response received by Galgali says, “There is no tendering process for the empanelment of enrolment agencies. The empanelment of agencies is being done under empanelment process guidelines contained in RFE 2014, dated May 19, 2014... As on date (August 24, 2015) 90.30 crore Aadhaar have been issued.”

List of Companies Awarded Contracts by UIDAI

1 HCL Infosystems

2 HP India Sales Pvt Ltd

3 Wipro Ltd

4 MAC Associates

5 National Informatics Centre Services Inc

6  Sagem Morpho Security Pvt.Ltd

7 Totem International Ltd

8 Linkwell Telesystems Pvt Ltd

9 Sai infosystem (India) Ltd

10 Geodesic Ltd

11 ID Solutions

12 NISG

13 STQC

14 Telsima Communication Pvt Ltd

15 Aircel, Bharti Airtel Ltd, BSNL, RailTel Corporation of India Ltd, Reliance Communications, Tata Communications

16 Tata Consultancy Services Ltd

17 Satyam Computer Services Ltd. (Mahindra Satyam)

18 L1 Identity Solutions Operating Company

8720 - UPA Awarded Aadhaar Card Projects Over Rs 13,000 Crore Without Tenders: RTI - Indian Express

UPA Awarded Aadhaar Card Projects Over Rs 13,000 Crore Without Tenders: RTI

By IANS

Published: 19th September 2015 04:44 PM

MUMBAI: Aadhaar card projects of the UIDAI worth over Rs.13,000 crore were awarded without issuing tenders by the previous UPA government, according to a RTI response, an activist said here on Saturday.

RTI activist Anil Galgali had submitted queries under the RTI to the UIDAI officials, Public Information Officer S.S. Bisht and Deputy Director-cum-PIO R. Harish who provided the replies about the amount spent on the projects which was then headed by technocrat Nandan Nilekani.

In the reply, the UIDAI officials disclosed that total project contracts worth Rs.13,663.22 crore were awarded without any tenders of which an amount of Rs.6,563 crore has been already spent on issuing 90.3 crore Aadhar Cards till May 2015.

They further informed that a total 25 companies were awarded different responsibilities for the massive project and their empanelment was done under the process guidelines of Request For Empanelment of May 19, 2014.

"This is shocking as various sections of people, including the Supreme Court and civil society groups have expressed serious concerns about the right to privacy with sensitive personal data of 125 crore population going in the hands of private companies," Galgali told IANS.

He urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to order a probe into the UIDAI to ensure transparency in the award of contracts for Aadhaar cards.

"The sensitive datas of finger prints and iris of each and every Indian could be unsafe with private companies," cautioned Harsheet Shah, cyber law expert-cum-researcher.

According to the information, some of the companies awarded more than one project works include: Tata Consultancy Service, Mac Associates, Wipro, HCL, HP India Sales Pvt. Ltd., National Informatics Centre, Sagem Morpho Securities Pvt. Ltd, Satyam Computer Services Ltd, L1 Identity Solutions, Totem International Ltd., Linkwel Telesystems Pvt. Ltd. Sai Infosystems India Ltd, Geodesic Ltd, ID Solutions, NISG, SQTC, Telesima Communications Pvt. Ltd.

Others which secured a single contract include: Reliance Communication, Tata Communications, Aircel, Bharati Airtel, BSNL and Railtel Corporation of India Ltd.

4605 - UIDAI admits to tie-ups with French, American companies - New Indian Express

UIDAI admits to tie-ups with French, American companies

By Yatish Yadav - NEW DELHI

Published: 13th September 2013 09:23 AM

Last Updated: 13th September 2013 09:23 AM

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has finally agreed to disclose the contracts it had signed with French and US biometric technology companies, L-1 Identity Solutions and Accenture.

The UIDAI, which was conceived by the Planning Commission to provide identification for each resident across the country, signed a contract with L-1 Identity Solutions in July 2010. Subsequently, it awarded over 30 contracts to various private companies to deliver Aadhaar numbers, but the agreements were never made public apparently because of a commercial confidentiality clause. 

In September 2010, L-1 Identity Solutions was acquired by a French company, Safran SA Group, which had worked with law-enforcement agencies in other countries. Interestingly, the Nandan Nilekani-led UIDAI had said in an RTI reply that “there are no means to verify whether the said companies are of US origin or not”.

The reply came in July 2011, exactly a year after L-1 Identity Solutions was contracted to supply finger and iris biometric capture devices for approximately $24.5 million.

A plea to access the contract agreement was filed by Mathew Thomas, a former defence scientist from Bangalore.

Gopal Krishna of the Citizens Forum for Civil Liberties, who represented Mathew in the Central Information Commission (CIC), described it as a clear act of omission, and said that feigning ignorance about the companies’ origin wasn’t pardonable at all.

“Didn’t Nilekani know the country of origin of the companies which were awarded contracts by the UIDAI? As far as providing information under the RTI Act is concerned, the CIC had earlier mentioned that citizens own the government and all information belongs to them. So the claim of commercial confidence is contrary to the RTI Act,” Krishna said.

Civil society groups had opposed the collection of personal biometric data, raising suspicions of potential misuse.

2424 - IT vendors including Accenture-NEC, L1 ID and Mahindra Satyam-Morpho lock horns with Unique ID Authority - Times of India

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/enterprise-it/services-apps/IT-vendors-including-Accenture-NEC-L1-ID-and-Mahindra-Satyam-Morpho-lock-horns-with-Unique-ID-Authority/articleshow/12173497.cms

Harsimran JulkaHarsimran Julka, ET Bureau | Mar 7, 2012, 01.09PM IST

NEW DELHI: Biometric vendors de-duplicating Aadhaar numbers have refused to work with Unique ID Authority of India after finishing their contract next month. The vendors were eliminating duplicate or redundant information in the Aadhaar IDs at the price of Rs 2.75 per number fixed with the agency.

The deadlock over price threatens to create an uncertainty for the second phase of enrollments, which starts post-April, for about 40 crore citizens, even as new service provider is yet to come on board and take over UIDAI's IT operations. Three consortiums, led by Accenture-NEC, L1 ID Solutions and Mahindra Satyam-Morpho, are providing the biometric de-duplication for the Aadhaar scheme for about 20 crore Indian residents.

All the IT consortiums have told the UIDAI to revise charges due to a hike in price by their biometric partners. "There are only four biometric providers present in India. All of them have hiked costs due to high imports costs, leading us to quote a price of Rs 8 per number," said an official of an existing provider.

Less than six companies in the world are capable of providing biometric solutions at a large scale, and at high quality standards. Biometric companies NEC, L1, Morpho and Cogent passed the UIDAI's biometric standard test, and were eligible to be partnered by any IT vendor. Some others had failed the standard test.

A UIDAI spokesperson did not revert on ET's queries as to the plan to run operations post-April without a biometric vendor. The official, however, added on price hike that vendors will have to negotiate it with their registrars.

HCL Infosystems, which has emerged as the lowest financial bidder for the managed service provider contract, has been learnt to have quoted a price of Rs 2.75 per number to the government in its bid. The MSP contract is to store data, de-duplicate and issue Aadhaar numbers for 70 crore people. "Even a price hike of 1 will mean a hit of Rs 70 crore on HCL Infosystems' balance sheet," said another IT vendor who had backed out from bidding for the MSP contract.

"We are requesting the government to let existing biometric providers work with MSP. Handing over the private data of citizens in the hands of an untested technology might pose great risk," said a biometric vendor. "Trial and error will create backlog," he added.

HCL Infosystems doesn't have its own IP on biometrics and is learnt to have partnered with Morpho for biometrics. About 13.5 crore people have been issued Aadhaar numbers, and the rest will be issued over coming weeks. UIDAI plans to start the next phase of enrolling additional 40 crore people by June 2013, from next month.

1750 - Press Note Morpho, Safran led consortium & Mahindra Satyam were given contract by UIDAI

Press Note

Morpho, Safran led consortium & Mahindra Satyam were given contract by UIDAI

UIDAI awarded by World Identification Congress sponsored by Morpho, French MNC

Election Commission, UIDAI and National Population Register (NPR) Providing ID, Which one to Choose?

New Delhi: It has come to light that Nandan Manohar Nilekani who heads Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) was given ID Limelight Award at the ID WORLD International Congress in Italy. This year the 10th edition of the ID WORLD International Congress is planned in Milan, Italy during November 2-4. The key sponsors of Congress include Morpho (Safran group), a French multinational corporation specializing in ID credentials solutions incorporating biometrics application in passports, visas, ID documents, health and social benefits, elections, etc. Its subsidiary, Sagem Morpho Security Pvt. Ltd has been awarded contract for the purchase of Biometric Authentication Devices on February 2, 2011 by the UIDAI.

Earlier, on July 30, 2010, in a joint press release, it was announced that “the Mahindra Satyam and Morpho led consortium has been selected as one of the key partners to implement and deliver the Aadhaar program by UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India).”

This means that at least two contracts have been awarded to the French conglomerate led consortium.  Is it a coincidence that Morpho (Safran group) sponsored the award to Chairman, UIDAI and the former got a contract from the latter?

Incidentally, Nilekani was given the award at the ID WORLD International Congress in 2010 held in Milan from November 16 to 18, 2010. One of the two Platinum Sponsors was Morpho (Safran group), a French high-technology company with three core businesses: Aerospace, Defense and Security.  

Coincidentally, this Global Summit on Automatic Identification in 2009 had awarded Tariq Malik, Deputy Chairman of Islamabad based National Database & Registration Authority (NADRA) too for implementing UID project in Pakistan.

Nilekani was given the award "For being the force behind a transformational project ID project in India...and "to provide identification cards for each resident across the country and would be used primarily as the basis for efficient delivery of welfare services. It would also act as a tool for effective monitoring of various programs and schemes of the Government."  Citizens Forum for Civil Liberties (CFCL) contends that there is a conflict of interest and it appears to be an act done in lieu of the contract. 

It may been noted that UIDAI awarded contracts to three companies namely, Satyam Computer Services Ltd. (Mahindra Satyam), as part of a “Morpho led consortium”, L1 Identity Solutions Operating Company and Accenture Services Pvt. Ltd of USA for the “Implementation of Biometric Solution for UIDAI” on July 30, 2010. 

It merits attention that these days newspapers are flooded with advertisements of Election Commission of India, UIDAI and National Population Register (NPR) for providing ID, one does not know which one to choose.  Will the donor driven NGOs who are acting as enrollers for UID/NPR enlighten the citizens? Advertisements attached.

In UID/Aadhaar Enrolment Form, Column 9 reads: "I have no objection to the UIDAI sharing information provided by me to the UIDAI with agencies engaged in delivery of welfare services". In front of this column, there is a "Yes" and "No" option. Irrespective of what option residents of India exercise (which is being ticked automatically by the enroler in any case as of now), the fact is this information being collected for creating Centralized Identity Data Register (CIDR) and National Population Register (column 7) will be handed over to biometric technology companies like Satyam Computer Services/Sagem Morpho, L1 Identities Solutions and Accenture Services of all shades who have already been awarded contracts. (The UID/Aadhaar Form is attached. 

It is alarming to note that Davinder Kumar, Deputy Director General of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) will have residents/ citizens of India believe that the three transnational biometric technology companies working with foreign intelligence agencies namely:1) Mahindra Satyam Computer Services/Sagem Morpho, 2) L1 Identities Solutions and 3) Accenture Services who have been awarded contracts by UIDAI that “There are no means to verify whether the said companies are of US origin or not” in a reply to Right to Information (RTI) application dated 21st July, 2011. 

This is quite a stark act of omission and commission that is likely to put residents of India under surveillance using delivery of public services as fish bait for ever. The RTI reply is attached. 

Didn’t Nilekani know the country of origin of the award and their sponsors who were awarded contract by UIDAI prior to taking the award? 

CFCL takes the opportunity to inform UIDAI officials like Nilekani and Davinder Kumar the “means to verify” the country of the origin of three companies in questions.  

The first company Morpho’s website is 

 
http://www.morpho.com/qui-sommes-nous/implantations-internationales/morpho-en-inde/?lang=en

It Press Release at  http://www.morpho.com/evenements-et-actualites-348/presse/mahindra-satyam-and-morpho-selected-to-deliver-india-s-next-generation-unique-identification-number-program?lang=en reveal its partnership with Mahindra Satyam. Its parent company’s website is www.safran-group.com

The second company, L1 Identities Solutions is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, U.S website and its press releases at http://ir.l1id.com/releases.cfm?header=news reveal that the company received $24.5 Million in Purchase Orders in the Initial Phase of India's Unique Identification Number Program for Certified Agile TP(TM) Fingerprint Slap Devices and Mobile-Eyes(TM) Iris Cameras. ( http://ir.l1id.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=509971). 

Robert V. LaPenta, Chairman, President and CEO of L-1 Identity Solutions said, “We are encouraged by the strong demand we have seen in the first phase of this program for our state-of-the-art fingerprint and iris products. Our devices are receiving high marks from our customers and we believe a large number of L-1 live scans and iris cameras will continue to be ordered throughout the enrollment phase." This was on September 22, 2010.

On July 19, 2011, L-1 Identity Solutions and Safran, Paris announced that in connection with the pending acquisition of L-1 by Safran, the parties have reached a final agreement on the terms of a definitive mitigation agreement with the United States government. L-1 and Safran were notified by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) on July 19, 2011 that the investigation of the merger transaction is complete and that there are no unresolved national security concerns with respect to the transaction. With CFIUS approval for the merger, and having satisfied all other conditions required prior to closing, the parties intend to complete the merger transaction within the next five business days. Robert V. LaPenta, Chairman, President and CEO of L-1 Identity Solutions said, "The combination of L-1 and Safran Morpho with our complementary technologies, markets and promising synergies will result in the leading worldwide-wide provider of identity solutions today and into the future."

As a consequence of Safran’s purchase of L-1 Identity Solutions, the de-duplication contracts of UIDAI’s CIDR and Home Ministry’s NPR which was given to two companies on July 30, 2010, both contracts are with one company now. 

It seems to be a surveillance movement based on global ID card. Commenting on the merger of the two biometric technology companies, Mark Lerner, the author of the book “Your Body is Your ID” says, “Safran is a French company, 30% owned by the French government”. Safran has a 40 year partnership with China in the aerospace and the security sectors too.

The third company, Accenture, a US company headquartered in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. It won US Department of Homeland Security’s contract for five years to design and implement the United States Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) program based on biometric technology for checking identities of foreigners visiting USA.  The contract includes five base years plus five option years mandated by U.S. Congress for Smart Border Alliance project.  It is one of the main privatized gatekeepers of US borders.

Now will UIDAI and Home Ministry explain whether or not they blundered in giving contracts to these above mentioned companies? Feigning ignorance about their country of origin is not a pardonable act for sure.

For Details: Gopal Krishna, Citizens Forum for Civil Liberties (CFCL)/ToxicsWatch Alliance, Mb: 9818089660, E-mail: krishna1715@gmail.com

1724 - SAFRAN : reports 5.growth in third-quarter and 7.for the first 9 months 2011

21.10.2011
 

Safran reports 5.2% growth in third-quarter and 7.2% for the first 9 months 2011
PRESS RELEASE

Key numbers for third quarter 2011
Third quarter 2011 adjusted revenue was Euro 2,728 million, up 5.2% on a reported basis, up 4.2% on an organic basis, compared to third-quarter 2010.
 

Increasing growth from Propulsion (civil original equipment and aftermarket) and 2-digit revenue contribution from Security (acquisition-driven).
 

Civil aftermarket was up 5.1% in USD terms. CFM56 international spare parts revenue was up 4.3% in USD terms compared to third-quarter 2010 which had been characterised by a strong catch-up effect from second quarter 2010.
 

The full-year 2011 outlook is confirmed while absorbing the cost of the employee profit-sharing bonus. The outlook now includes the pro-rata contribution of L-1 Identity Solutions (now MorphoTrust).
 

Key numbers for nine-month 2011
 

Nine-month 2011 adjusted revenue was Euro 8,350 million, up 7.2% on a reported basis, up 6.2% on an organic basis, compared to nine-month 2010.
Civil aftermarket was up 10.1% in USD terms, within the 10-15% guidance for 2011. CFM56 international spare parts revenue was up 10.1% in 9-month 2011 in USD terms.
 

Key business highlights for third quarter 2011
 

The LEAP engine was selected as the exclusive powerplant for the Boeing 737MAX aircraft family scheduled for first delivery in 2017. This airplane will provide exceptional operating economics and provide customers with unprecedented levels of efficiency and environmental responsibility while maintaining the legacy of aviation's most reliable product line.
Safran has renewed its supply relationship with Airbus for the nose and main landing gears of the single aisle program to include the contract award of the A320neo family.
 

Safran completed the acquisition of L-1 Identity Solutions (now MorphoTrust), a leading identity management provider in the U.S., for a total cash amount of USD1.09 billion.
 

Security: Sept. 28 was the first anniversary of the issuance of the first Unique Identification Number of India's Aadhaar program. The customer announced 40 million enrolment data, and the issuance of 1 million Unique Identification numbers a day has been proven.
 

NYSE Euronext Paris added Safran to the CAC40 index, the change being effective since September 19, 2011.

* * *

Paris, October 21, 2011 - Safran (NYSE Euronext Paris: SAF) today reported its revenue for the third quarter of 2011.
Executive commentary
Chairman and CEO Jean-Paul Herteman commented:

" During the third quarter, trading conditions remained solid with positive aftermarket and original equipment dynamics highlighting the resilience of our business model in an uncertain global economic environment.

Since the beginning of the year, our global civil aftermarket performed satisfactorily at 10.1% growth. The most significant development this quarter was the selection of the CFM new generation LEAP engine as the exclusive powerplant for the new Boeing 737MAX variant. Together with the C919 and A320neo, it reaffirms CFM's leading position on single-aisle passenger aircraft for the next decades with more than 2,000 engine orders to date highlighting LEAP as the engine of choice for airlines.

The on-going performance of our business is such that our 2011 guidance is confirmed. "

Third-Quarter 2011 revenue
Solid revenue growth. For the third quarter 2011, Safran's revenue was Euro 2,728 million, compared to a EUR 2,593 million in the same period a year ago, a 5.2% year-on-year increase. Group revenue increased by 4.2% organically.

Third-quarter 2011 revenue increased by Euro 135 million on a reported basis, highlighting growth in aerospace (civil original equipment and services) and Security (acquisition driven), while Defence revenue was lower in this particular quarter, notably as the result of defence equipment delivery rythms.

On an organic basis, third-quarter 2011 revenue increased by Euro 110 million. Organic revenue was determined by deducting from 2011 figures the contribution of activities acquired in 2010 and 2011 when compared to 2010 scope of consolidation and the contribution of activities newly consolidated in 2011 and by applying constant exchange rates. Hence, the following calculations were applied:

The unfavourable currency impact in revenue of Euro 93 million for third quarter 2011 reflected a global negative translation effect on foreign currency revenues, notably in USD, GBP and CAD$, partially offset by a positive USD transaction impact. The Group's average spot rate was USD1.41 to the Euro in third-quarter 2011 vs. USD1.29 in the year ago period. The Group's hedge rate improved to USD1.38 to the Euro in third-quarter 2011 from USD1.44 in the year ago period.

Business commentary for third-quarter 2011 Aerospace Propulsion Third-quarter 2011 Aerospace Propulsion revenue reported a solid improvement at Euro 1,459 million, up 9.8%, or 8.7% on an organic basis, compared to the year-ago period revenue at Euro 1,329 million. Revenue evolution primarily resulted from solid growth in original equipment, both in CFM56, helicopters and high thrust engines. It also benefited from continued good performance in civil aftermarket albeit at lower growth rates due to slightly less CFM56 activity at our facilities in maintenance, repair and overhaul, while aftermarket activity in military and helicopter engines was slightly lower.
 

OEM CFM56 engine deliveries at 350 units in third-quarter 2011 were up by 56 units compared to a year ago. After a successful Paris air show, total 2011 CFM56 orders now stand at 1,276 engines, representing more than one year of current annual production.

On a third-quarter 2011 basis, service revenue share was down to 47.5% of Aerospace Propulsion revenue as civil aftermarket grew while military and helicopter engines services fell. 

Worldwide CFM International spare parts revenue was up 4.3% in USD terms compared to third-quarter 2010 which had been characterised by a strong catch-up effect from second quarter 2010. The estimated* total number of shop visits for CFM-equipped civil aircraft increased by 8% to 605 as compared to 559 in third-quarter 2010. [(*) shop visit numbers are estimates; these can be revised marginally in the future as airlines finalise reports].

SME contributed to Euro 53 million in revenue in the third quarter 2011, in line with initial expectations.

Aircraft Equipment The Aircraft Equipment segment reported third quarter 2011 revenue of Euro 697 million, up 0.1%, or 3.2% on an organic basis, compared to the year-ago period at Euro 696 million.
 

Revenue evolution was primarily attributable to growing activity on the A380 programme in nacelles and wiring systems, continued volume growth in the regional jet segments as well as sustained services activity in braking. This trend was offset by an unfavourable comparison base on the B787 programme, as the single third quarter 2010 had recorded all cumulated shipset sales from 2008 to 2010. The nacelle activity recorded higher deliveries of A380 nacelles (21 units compared to 17 nacelles in the year-ago period) as well as good volume growth in small nacelles for the regional jets. Revenue growth was also impacted by unfavourable currency impact from USD.

On a third-quarter 2011 basis, service revenue was up almost 10% with solid activity in nacelles and braking systems and its share increased from 29.0% to 31.9% of Aerospace Equipment revenue.

Labinal Salisbury contribution in the third quarter 2011 was Euro 19 million.

Defence Third-quarter 2011 revenue was down 10.4% at Euro 251 million, or down 5.4% on an organic basis, compared to the previous year of Euro 280 million. This is mainly the consequence of the rythm of equipment deliveries of long term programmes in this quarter, notably in long-range infra-red goggles on export markets and aircraft modernisation programs. These trends were partly offset by continuing strength in Felin soldier integrated equipment suites for French Army and healthy AASM volumes. Security The Security activity reported third-quarter 2011 revenue of Euro 317 million, up 13.6% compared to the year-ago period of Euro 279 million, or down 2.9% on an organic basis. Excluding the contribution of newly-acquired L-1 Identity Solutions, Identification was soft notably in the absence of contribution to sales in the third quarter 2011 from the government contract in Ivory Coast. Product mix and continued volume weakness in detection held revenue back in the quarter. Revenue also suffered from an unfavourable translation currency impact as U.S. originated business increases relatively to the revenue. The e-Document activity continued to record healthy growth in volume primarily in Latin America banking market, partly mitigated by pricing pressure.
L-1 Identity Solutions (MorphoTrust) pro-rata contribution in the third quarter 2011 was Euro 61 million (USD 85 million), in line with initial expectations.

Currency hedges
 

2011-2013 targeted hedge rates were achieved. The Group has put in place currency hedges for the next 3 years, spanning from 2011 to 2014, and has initiated the hedging for 2015. The portfolio was further increased during the third quarter 2011 and the firm hedging portfolio amounted to USD 14.6 billion as of October 20, 2011.

Taking advantage of recent decrease in the Euro/USD exchange rate, the 2011-2013 targeted hedge rates have now been achieved and improved by a cent each year:

2011: new achieved rate of USD1.37 (from USD 1.38)
2012: new achieved rate of USD1.33 (from USD 1.34)
2013: new achieved rate of USD1.29 (from USD 1.30)
2014: new achieved rate of USD1.29 (from USD 1.30), with a target at USD1.28
 

For 2015, USD1.2 billion hedging was achieved at a rate of USD1.30 to rise to USD 2.5 billion at USD1.29, under certain conditions.

Equity structure
 

On July 28, 2011, Safran disposed of part of its treasury shares (1.56% of the total equity) contributing to a further increase in the free float and thus increasing the liquidity. The net proceeds of Euro 187 million will be used for general corporate purposes. As of September 30, 2011, Safran held 7,747,365 treasury shares, representing 1.86% of the Group's equity.

As a result, and combined with a slight reduction in Areva's stake, the free float increased to 50.3% as of September 30, 2011.

NYSE Euronext Paris added Safran to the CAC40 index, the change being effective since September 19, 2011.

Integration of L-1 Identity Solutions
 

Safran completed the acquisition of L-1 Identity Solutions on July 26, 2011 to become world leader in biometric identity solutions. L-1 Identity Solutions has been integrated into Safran's existing security business and renamed MorphoTrust. 

A new CEO (Robert Eckel) has been appointed and a new organisation is now in place. The integration team confirmed that run rate operating cost synergies are expected to represent approximately USD 30 million per year to be fully realized within 18 to 24 months after closing. Transaction and restructuring costs of approximately USD 65 million will be recorded, of which USD 40 million in 2011 (accounted for as one-off items in operating income). The remaining portion will be accounted for in 2012.

MorphoTrust is now 100% consolidated by Safran since July 26, 2011 and reported into financial reporting as part of the security activity. As a result of a preliminary review, MorphoTrust should contribute to an estimated USD 200-210 million in revenue and USD 30-35 million in EBITDA for the period from July 26, 2011 to December 31, 2011, in line with previous expectations. After depreciation and amoritzation, the contribution in recurring operating income should be around USD 8 million.

Profit-sharing bonus for employees In accordance with the recently enacted French legislation on profit-sharing, Safran has entered into discussions with the employee representatives. The parties are likely to agree on the terms of a special bonus applicable to employees at French entities of Euro 500 per employee.
 

In this context, the Group is finalising a structure which would offer employees at French entities who would receive the bonus as well as to all other employees, the opportunity to acquire Safran treasury shares, notably through a dedicated leveraged fund.   The global impact in 2011 recurring operating income would be around Euro (25) million.

2011 Outlook The on-going performance of the business is such that the 2011 guidance is confirmed while absorbing the cost of the employee profit-sharing bonus required by French legislation enacted July 2011. The pro-rata contribution in recurring operating income of L-1 Identity Solutions (now MorphoTrust) is now included in this guidance.
 

Revenue expected to increase at a rate in the mid to high single digits at an estimated average spot rate of USD 1.39 to the Euro.
 

The increase in recurring operating income should be comfortably in the upper twenties at a hedge rate of USD 1.37 to the Euro.
 

Free cash flow expected to represent about a third of the recurring operating income taking into account the expected increase in working capital requirements and R&D investments.
 

Assumptions supporting this outlook are otherwise unchanged.

Upcoming events
Capital Market Day 2011 : December 13, 2011
FY 2011 results : February 23, 2012
AGM : May 31, 2012

* * *

Safran will host today a conference call open to analysts at 8:30 am which can be accessed at +33 1 70 77 09 46 from France and +44 203 367 9459 from the UK. A replay will be available for 3 months at +33 1 72 00 15 00, +44 203 367 9460 and +1 877 642 3018 (access code 274475#).
The press release and presentation are available on the website at www.safran-group.com.

* * *

Key Figures Notes
[1]Adjusted Data To reflect the Group's actual economic performance and enable it to be monitored and benchmarked against competitors, Safran prepares an adjusted income statement alongside its consolidated financial statements.

Particularly, Safran recognizes, all changes in the fair value of its foreign currency derivatives in "financial income (loss)", in accordance with the provisions of IAS 39 applicable to transactions not qualifying for hedge accounting.

Accordingly, Safran's consolidated income statement is adjusted for the impact in financial income (loss) of the mark-to-market of foreign currency derivatives, in order to better reflect the economic substance of the Group's overall foreign currency risk hedging strategy:

revenue net of purchases denominated in foreign currencies is measured using the effective hedging rate, i.e., including the costs of the hedging strategy;
 

the recognition of the mark-to market of unsettled hedging instruments at the closing date is neutralized.
Third-quarter 2011 and nine-month 2011 reconciliation between consolidated revenue and adjusted revenue.

* * *

Safran is a leading international high-technology group with three core businesses: Aerospace (propulsion and equipment), Defence and Security. Operating worldwide, the Safran group has more than 54,000 employees and generated sales of 10.8 billion euros in 2010. Working alone or in partnership, Safran holds world or European leadership positions in its core markets. The Group invests heavily in Research & Development to meet the requirements of changing markets, including expenditures of 1.2 billion euros in 2010. Safran is listed on NYSE Euronext Paris and its share is part of the CAC40 index.
 

For more information, www.safran-group.com / Follow @SAFRAN on Twitter
SAFRAN CONTACT
Press
Catherine MALEK
Tél. +33 (0)1 40 60 80 28
Mob. +33 (0)6 07 83 59 73
catherine.malek@safran.fr

Investor Relations
Pascal Bantegnie
Tél. +33 (0)1 40 60 80 45
pascal.bantegnie@safran.fr

Antoine-Pierre de Grammont
Tél. +33 (0)1 40 60 80 47
antoine-pierre.degrammont@safran.fr

PRESS RELEASE

1297 - The trouble with big brother’s eye - Source - Tehelka

From Tehelka Magazine, Vol 8, Issue 20, Dated 21 May 2011

CURRENT AFFAIRS        
UID PROJECT

The company that will provide biometric solutions for the UID project employs former US intelligence officials. What does this mean for our security, asks Baba Umar

LAST YEAR, Tembhali, a hamlet of around 1,500 villagers in Maharashtra’s Nandurbar district, suddenly received a facelift — paved roads, painted walls and uninterrupted power supply. Not much was known about the village until 29 September when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi landed here to launch the world’s largest unique identity programme.

The idea was to create unique biometric identification cards for more than 1.2 billion Indians that will contain basic information such as name, a photograph, gender and date of birth plus a microchip to link the card to a biometric database that will have the cardholder’s fingerprints, iris scan, digital face image and address.

The project, which has already cost around Rs 3,170 crore, is slated to help the poor get access to welfare schemes and rid the PDS of grain diversion and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) of pilferage.

Eye spy? 

A Delhi resident has his iris scanned
Photo: Shailendra Pandey

“The UID can be leveraged at various points in welfare schemes to improve the delivery systems by making them transparent and cost-effective,” says Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) Director-General Ram Sewak Sharma.

However, for those working on issues of food security, migration, MGNREGA, civil liberties and human rights, the UID is an invasion of privacy, through which personal information will be stored in a database that could be used for profiling, tracking and surveillance.

And the involvement of companies such as American defence contractor L-1 Identity Solutions — which has names associated with the CIA and other US defence organisations in its top management — together with US-based Ernst & Young and Accenture raises queries about how much access they will have over Indian data.

“Can the government or the UIDAI assure the people that their details will not be shared with business enterprises, companies and political outfits?” asks Gopal Krishna of the Citizens Forum for Civil Liberties. Krishna, who has been aggressively campaigning against the UID, says the Nazi Party had hired IBM to profile people “leading to the Holocaust”. He says IBM was and remains in census business and is currently part of World Bank’s e-Transform Initiative of the developing world of which the UID scheme is a component.

Related
Why Nandan wants to tag You
UID is an Identity Crisis in the Making by Usha Ramanathan-Tehelka
Falling Between The Barcodes-Tehelka

The three foreign companies will be implementing biometric solutions for UIDAI that includes designing, supplying, installing, commissioning, maintaining and supporting the multi-modal automatic biometric identification subsystem.

AMONG THE names associated with L-1 Identity Solutions are former CIA director George Tenet and former Homeland Security deputy secretary Adm James Loy, also on the board of Lockheed Martin. The company’s links with the US military establishment is underscored by the fact that its board of directors include former Army Technology Science Board member BG Beck, former chairperson for the Secretary of the Army’s National Science Centre Advisory Board Milton Cooper.

It’s feared that the database can be used as a bulwark against India because all US based firms are subject to the Patriot Act that obligates American companies to share their data with Washington.

L-1 also mentions on its website its experience with Pakistan’s unique identity agency NADRA (National Database & Registration Authority), which, Krishna says ‘appears to be created on the same business model that is packed by people with intelligence and military links’.

“The UIDAI feared to have linked CIDR with the National Intelligence Grid — created to connect 21 existing databases with Central and state government agencies — and National Population Register and L-1 and Accenture who work in close affinity with US intelligence agencies,” he adds.

 Most Christian and Muslim Dalits are probably worse 

off than so-called Hindu Dalits

Defence experts opposed to the UID, claim that the PMO, defence sites, and more than a thousand government sites were attacked 4,000 times by China in 2010 alone “and things seem no different in this case”.

“The UIDAI has been foolish in its approach towards setting up the UID database,” says Mathew Thomas, former army officer and a vehement critic. “In this programme, fingerprint technology is provided by a US-based company whose directors are former CIA and FBI officers. The database is set up by Accenture. The database is to be linked to other databases like banks, phone companies, etc. Once a person hacks into the UID database, s/he can gain access to any other database. We are handing over data to anyone who would like to take it.”

“Did you hear about the incident in which 77 million Sony Playstation accounts were hacked? That’s why a London School of Economics report warned that such a central database would be a potential target for terrorists. If the purpose is to reduce corruption in welfare schemes, then why create a database of all people? This is where the government and the UIDAI are telling lies. It’s because if they talk about the real purposes of the UID, people would start resisting. It is meant to track and target people,” adds Thomas.

However, contrary to Thomas, others like Brig (retd) Rumel Dahiya of the Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis don’t find anything wrong with the involvement of foreign firms. “I am not discounting that certain amount of pilferage will take place,” he says. “However, the UIDAI has to make sure that the data being processed isn’t linked to servers abroad and it remains within an Indian system. Information of sensitive nature is protected, vetting of all machines from microchips is done, and physical check is ensured when people are working on a database.”

HOWEVER, UIDAI’S Sharma fends off all this criticism by saying that the “data collected for Aadhaar enrolment will be held by the UIDAI and will not be accessible by outside agencies. Any violation will invoke penalties and legal action. Profiling and tracking info and transaction data will not be collected. The UIDAI will not reveal personal information from the database.”

One of the strongest resistances to the UID comes from legal experts who have been questioning UIDAI’s constitutional validity. According to them, many issues including profiling, privacy safeguards, civil liberties protection, and e-surveillance have been totally neglected from the Bill.

“The UIDAI should have been preceded by a constitutionally-sound legal framework and parliamentary oversight. Both of these are missing, making it an unconstitutional project,” says Supreme Court lawyer Praveen Dalal. “Constitutionally, preparation of a legislation/Bill is the duty of the Indian government and it must be passed by Parliament. But in this case, an authority like UIDAI is suggesting the Bill which is itself devoid of any constitutional validity,” says Dalal, adding the enrolment procedures and the exercise of taking biometric details too is “unconstitutional”.

Noted Supreme Court lawyer Rajeev Dhawan believes that internally displaced and refugees “are likely to be harassed”. “If the UID carries with it any other info that is kept in the government databases, it would be an invitation to big brother governance,” he explains. In an earlier interview to TEHELKA (Why Nandan Wants To Tag You 6 November 2010), UID Chairman Nandan Nilekani had himself argued that India needs a well-debated and pervasive privacy law, not restricted to UID.

Still in control UIDAI Director-General Ram Sewak Sharma 

has rubbished fears of data loss
Photo: Shailendra Pandey

Many critics argue that the UID is mainly a security project. And as far as socio-economic benefits of the UID are concerned, the UIDAI itself has stated that it is only in the identity business and the responsibility of tracking beneficiaries and the governance of service delivery will remain with the respective agencies.

“The UID cannot address the bulk of the delivery problems in two of the biggest social sector programmes like MGNREGA and PDS,” says writer and activist Ruchika Gupta. Coupled with technological challenges, the fact that only about half the villages in the country have the mobile connectivity required for UID to work, that biometric readers are error prone, susceptible to damage — linking UID with social sector legislation is completely baseless.

“Without assessing the relationship between an individual and the State, the programme was advertised with the name that corruption is the fundamental problem, but they are handing over all the details to those very people who we are accusing of corruption,” says independent law researcher Usha Ramanathan.

Then there is a strong criticism of the credibility of the UIDAI’s claims in the field of social policy too. “Scrutinising the UIDAI’s documents reveals their poor understanding of how PDS and MGNREGA leakages occur and little evidence of creative thinking on plugging them,” says Reetika Khera, a development economist and assistant professor at IIT, Delhi. She has been critical of the UIDAI’s assertions that the scheme is voluntary. “The UIDAI is eager to enrol people. Till enrolment remains voluntary, people are likely to come in a trickle. To encourage them, government departments will make it a pre-requisite, by linking issue of new job cards to UID enrolment.”

Data collected for Aadhaar enrolment won’t be 

accessible to outside agencies,’ says UIDAI’s 

Sharma

Khera has a point. Because recently the district administrations in Mysore and Bengaluru initiated steps making UID numbers compulsory at various levels in state government offices. The move leaves no chance to stay away from the scheme.

Similarly, India’s national payment gateway, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) aims to link Rupay, its soon to- be-launched domestic payment gateway on the pattern of Visa and MasterCard, with the UID programme. The move will allow customers to use their UID numbers as their banking passwords. All this makes UID a compulsory card that will link with it a person’s other information too which is contrary to UIDAI’s policy.

Even as Rajana Sonawane of Tembhali, the first Indian to receive the UID card wonders what benefits the card will offer him, the arguments continue elsewhere about the efficacy of this unique project.

Baba Umar is a Correspondent with Tehelka.
babaumar@tehelka.com