AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: Oxigen Services India

In 2009, I became extremely concerned with the concept of Unique Identity for various reasons. Connected with many like minded highly educated people who were all concerned.

On 18th May 2010, I started this Blog to capture anything and everything I came across on the topic. This blog with its million hits is a testament to my concerns about loss of privacy and fear of the ID being misused and possible Criminal activities it could lead to.

In 2017 the Supreme Court of India gave its verdict after one of the longest hearings on any issue. I did my bit and appealed to the Supreme Court Judges too through an On Line Petition.

In 2019 the Aadhaar Legislation has been revised and passed by the two houses of the Parliament of India making it Legal. I am no Legal Eagle so my Opinion carries no weight except with people opposed to the very concept.

In 2019, this Blog now just captures on a Daily Basis list of Articles Published on anything to do with Aadhaar as obtained from Daily Google Searches and nothing more. Cannot burn the midnight candle any longer.

"In Matters of Conscience, the Law of Majority has no place"- Mahatma Gandhi

Ram Krishnaswamy

Sydney, Australia.

Aadhaar

The UIDAI has taken two successive governments in India and the entire world for a ride. It identifies nothing. It is not unique. The entire UID data has never been verified and audited. The UID cannot be used for governance, financial databases or anything. It’s use is the biggest threat to national security since independence. – Anupam Saraph 2018

When I opposed Aadhaar in 2010 , I was called a BJP stooge. In 2016 I am still opposing Aadhaar for the same reasons and I am told I am a Congress die hard. No one wants to see why I oppose Aadhaar as it is too difficult. Plus Aadhaar is FREE so why not get one ? Ram Krishnaswamy

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.-Mahatma Gandhi

In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place.Mahatma Gandhi

“The invasion of privacy is of no consequence because privacy is not a fundamental right and has no meaning under Article 21. The right to privacy is not a guaranteed under the constitution, because privacy is not a fundamental right.” Article 21 of the Indian constitution refers to the right to life and liberty -Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi

“There is merit in the complaints. You are unwittingly allowing snooping, harassment and commercial exploitation. The information about an individual obtained by the UIDAI while issuing an Aadhaar card shall not be used for any other purpose, save as above, except as may be directed by a court for the purpose of criminal investigation.”-A three judge bench headed by Justice J Chelameswar said in an interim order.

Legal scholar Usha Ramanathan describes UID as an inverse of sunshine laws like the Right to Information. While the RTI makes the state transparent to the citizen, the UID does the inverse: it makes the citizen transparent to the state, she says.

Good idea gone bad
I have written earlier that UID/Aadhaar was a poorly designed, unreliable and expensive solution to the really good idea of providing national identification for over a billion Indians. My petition contends that UID in its current form violates the right to privacy of a citizen, guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. This is because sensitive biometric and demographic information of citizens are with enrolment agencies, registrars and sub-registrars who have no legal liability for any misuse of this data. This petition has opened up the larger discussion on privacy rights for Indians. The current Article 21 interpretation by the Supreme Court was done decades ago, before the advent of internet and today’s technology and all the new privacy challenges that have arisen as a consequence.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MP Rajya Sabha

“What is Aadhaar? There is enormous confusion. That Aadhaar will identify people who are entitled for subsidy. No. Aadhaar doesn’t determine who is eligible and who isn’t,” Jairam Ramesh

But Aadhaar has been mythologised during the previous government by its creators into some technology super force that will transform governance in a miraculous manner. I even read an article recently that compared Aadhaar to some revolution and quoted a 1930s historian, Will Durant.Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Rajya Sabha MP

“I know you will say that it is not mandatory. But, it is compulsorily mandatorily voluntary,” Jairam Ramesh, Rajya Saba April 2017.

August 24, 2017: The nine-judge Constitution Bench rules that right to privacy is “intrinsic to life and liberty”and is inherently protected under the various fundamental freedoms enshrined under Part III of the Indian Constitution

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the World; indeed it's the only thing that ever has"

“Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.” -Edward Snowden

In the Supreme Court, Meenakshi Arora, one of the senior counsel in the case, compared it to living under a general, perpetual, nation-wide criminal warrant.

Had never thought of it that way, but living in the Aadhaar universe is like living in a prison. All of us are treated like criminals with barely any rights or recourse and gatekeepers have absolute power on you and your life.

Announcing the launch of the # BreakAadhaarChainscampaign, culminating with events in multiple cities on 12th Jan. This is the last opportunity to make your voice heard before the Supreme Court hearings start on 17th Jan 2018. In collaboration with @no2uidand@rozi_roti.

UIDAI's security seems to be founded on four time tested pillars of security idiocy

1) Denial

2) Issue fiats and point finger

3) Shoot messenger

4) Bury head in sand.

God Save India

Showing posts with label Oxigen Services India. Show all posts

Friday, January 20, 2017

10724 - Thumbs up to cash oxygen - Biometric ATMs debut - Telegraph India

Thumbs up to cash oxygen

- Biometric ATMs debut

Our Correspondent

Rajya Sabha MP Mahesh Poddar launches an Oxigen micro ATM, with a biometric appendage (circled), at Indraprastha Petrol Pump in Dhurwa, Ranchi, on Tuesday. (Hardeep Singh)

Ranchi, Dec. 13:

Your bank is now at your fingertips. Literally so.

Oxigen Services, one of India's payment solutions providers, has launched biometric micro ATMs that allow people to withdraw small amounts of money from their Aadhaar-linked bank accounts by means of thumb impression.

The primary objective is to help people at the grassroots who may not have bank cards to swipe or aren't tech-savvy enough to use e-wallets on smartphones. To promote the facility in semi-urban settlements, the micro payment agency has also teamed up with Indian Oil Corporation so that fuel bunks can host these special point of sale machines.

Aslam Sher Khan, manager of Oxigen Services in Ranchi, said there were 22 business establishments in the capital and on its outskirts that had embraced biometric micro ATMs. "The IOC has tied up with us. Today, we launched a device at Indraprastha Petrol Pump in Dhurwa."

Using the biometric ATM is child's play, said Khan. "Suppose, you can't pay the grocer in cash and are not tech-savvy to use cards or e-wallets. What do you do? All you need is a bank account linked to your unique ID or Aadhaar number while the grocer should have one of our biometric machines. Give your thumb impression, choose your bank and account number, and you are done," he explained.

Sanjay Kumar, who owns a mobile accessories store at Kishoreganj Chowk, has installed an Oxigen micro ATM. "People can both pay through these machines or withdraw petty cash. Kishoreganj has a large working class population - people who do not have debit cards or smartphones. Their weekly need is Rs 200-300. They now come to my shop," he said.

Explaining how people are using the Oxigen device, Sanjay said, "A customer may need to recharge phone, pay bill or withdraw money. Most come to withdraw small amounts. Once the machine reads the thumb impression, the screen shows bank and account options linked to Aadhaar. The person transfers money to me online and I pay them hard cash."

Although the maximum daily withdrawal limit from micro ATMs is Rs 2,000, the shopkeeper said people who use the biometric system hardly demand more than Rs 500.

Oxigen Services is providing the biometric point of sale machines to traders at Rs 8,000 each. "A trader receive Re 1 as incentive per transaction from the associated bank. We are eyeing new clients in Nagri, where the state government is pushing for a cashless village. We may launch our service in Nagri as early as tomorrow," manager Khan added.

With the competition hotting up, e-wallet Paytm, which has over 9,000 users in Ranchi alone - from vegetable vendors at Daily Market to Kaveri Restaurant, is mulling its facilities for basic phones too.

"We understand that there are many people who do not have smartphones; so, the company will soon float a number that can be used by basic phone users to access our services," said Avinash Kumar, manager of Paytm in Ranchi.

Saturday, December 24, 2016

10620 - Oxigen to convert PoS devices into micro ATMs - PTI

Oxigen to convert PoS devices into micro ATM

New Delhi, Nov 18 (PTI) Digital payments solution provider Oxigen Services is in the process of upgrading its point of sales (PoS) devices into micro ATMs to help customers in the present situation due to ban on Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.

"Micro ATM is a point of sales device which we have developed into a full featured banking access device and payment transaction device. We want to deploy these terminals in rural areas and in urban areas at all kirana and retail stores across India," Pramod Saxena, Founder Chairman & MD, Oxigen Services told PTI in an interaction.

"We already have 2 lakh retail touch points, of these 60,000 stores have these PoS terminals but they are not micro ATMs, so we have started upgrading these terminals into micro ATMs now."

He said Oxigen Services plans to deploy 2,000 micro ATMs by the end of December 2016. After this, approximately 3,000-5,000 micro-ATMs are to be deployed every month, and in due course 1 million micro ATMs across the country in the coming 3 years.

A customer can deposit as well as credit money at these micro ATMs if they have Aadhaar.

"If you have a bank account with an Aadhaar linkage you can deposit these Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. You can give your cash and your amount will be credited in your account," Saxena said.

He hoped that after this current rush is over at banks and ATMs to deposit old high value currency notes as well as to withdraw money and things stabilizes, people will do much digital transactions and make payments directly.

"So over the time, I think the whole payment ecosystem needs to be created for the last mile connectivity. It is not only mobile wallet but you have to have access in the last mile," he added.

Cash has to be moved and used, so Oxigen is partnering with banks so that money moves through banks and transactions become more digital in nature, Saxena said.

The Oxigen micro ATM can be used for cash deposit and withdrawal; eKYC based account opening, money transfer, Jan Dhan account transactions, mobile recharge, TV & Data recharge and wallet cash loading.

It is also used for NPCI - Aadhaar enabled payment system, wallet to bank a/c money transfer, Near Field Communication Tap & Pay and Prepaid Visa load through cash.

Thursday, August 27, 2015

8601 - Oxigen launches 'super PoS' device with multiple functions - First Post

Oxigen launches 'super PoS' device with multiple functions

by FP Staff Aug 25, 2015 15:26 IST

India's payment solution firm Oxigen Services has introduced the 'Super PoS' device to upgrade the network of 2,00,000 locations assisting the ‘Jan Dhan Yojana’. The world’s first Point of Sale device (PoS) brings three industries -- financial inclusion industry, card payments industry and recharge/bill pay industry -- on one platform.

The Indian Bank Association (IBA) recommended this for banks through a global bid held recently.

The Oxigen Super PoS exhibits features like, Micro ATM as per UIDAI/NPCI specifications, Biometric Reader for Aadhaar transactions & eKYC and colour display. It also has in Built NFC- Tap & Pay and Debit Card & Credit Card acceptance (Rupay/VISA/Master Card both magnetic swipe and SmartCard facility). Super POS is certified to global payment standards for cards i.e. EMV L1/L2 & PCI 3.0 and has GPRS with a Sim Card Slot and 2 Smart Card slots. It is bestowed with LAN and Wifi options as well as a built-in printer for customer receipts.

Pramod Saxena from Oxigen Services said, “Prime Minister has proposed to give merchants and customers tax benefits while using electronic payments (Mobile Wallets/Debit cards/Credit Cards), to build transparency in financial transactions and convert maximum transactions from cash to electronic. The launch of the Oxigen Super PoS will create new channels for cash out other than ATMs and bank branches. This will also provide a huge boost to increase the reach of Indian financial systems.”

The Oxigen Super PoS supports various services like Bill Payments, Recharge Services and Money Transfer, Instant money transfer, 24x7 to Oxigen wallet, eKYC- for bank account, prepaid instruments, Insurance and Mutual funds services, Services Aadhaar and Jan Dhan Accounts transactions, Financial Inclusion, Merchant Payments and Mobile Payments using SMS & USSD.

"These services and much more can be used by the banking industry (Department of Financial Services), telecom industry, utility bill payment industry, and industries that would be using Aadhaar services such as Provident Fund, Pensions etc, Mobile Wallet and Mobile Payments, Government CSCs and Hubs, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution," Saxena added. "Large format chains, traditional retailer (kirana stores, chemists, telecommunication shops, mom & pop stores, tea stalls, small merchant establishments), banking kiosks/business correspondents and money transfer agents are also set to benefit from the Super PoS device."

The device is capable of supporting external full computer keyboard through USB and offers battery back-up of up to 8 hours’ continuous operation and several days of standby. It also supports wide power supply fluctuation in extreme Indian conditions 90 volts to 290 Volts AC input and has an extended antenna for working in poor coverage conditions. It comes with Bharat Bill payments systems pre-installed in it, which is a recharge and bill payment application. It is enabled with Secure Linux Software.

Oxigen PoS is currently serving 150 million customers and 600 million transactions annually with 1.3 million Jan Dhan Accounts. With a gross transaction value of Rs. 10,000 crore per annum, it is currently available across a network of 2,00,000 retail touch points.

Sunday, September 21, 2014

5798 - Oxigen rolls out eKYC service with NPCI tie-up - Media Nama

Oxigen rolls out eKYC service with NPCI tie-up

By Vivek Pai on Sep 18th, 2014

Payment solutions provide Oxigen Services India has tied-up with National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to launch eKYC service to the market.

The company claims to be the first non-bank to launch eKYC services, however it’s worth noting that NPCI website currently lists three non-bank entities including Oxigen as members. Others members include LIC India and Reliance General Insurance Company.

Remember that RBI had allowed Non Banking Financial Companies (NBFC) to accept e-KYC verification as a valid identification process in August this year. This enabled NBFCs to accept e-Aadhaar cards via the UIDAI website as a form of authentication.

Oxigen mentions that customers can sign up for the service by providing their Aadhaar card number and swiping their finger at a biometric scanner at select Oxigen outlets that are connected to its point of sale terminals or PCs. Following this, Oxigen verifies the customer’s Aadhaar number and their biometric information with Aadhaar data base.

After verification and consumer’s consent, the KYC details such as customer’s name, date of birth, photograph and address are stored in the Oxigen Mobile Wallet system as a valid KYC. Oxigen mentions that it will extend this facility to all of its 150,000 touch points soon.

Oxigen mentions that this service will enable customers to make use of Oxigen mobile wallet to carry out transactions of up to Rs 50,000 per transaction for goods and services, transfer upto Rs 25,000 to any bank account per month via Instant money transfer and allows multiple refills of its mobile wallet with up to Rs 50,000 per refill.

OxiCash Money Transfer: It’s worth noting that Oxigen had previously partnered NPCI to launch a non-banking instant money transfer service called OxiCash Money Transfer. The company had then mentioned that this service will allow users to transfer money to any bank account and receive money from any bank to its wallet. These transfers were done through Interbank Mobile Payment Service (IMPS).

Axis Bank- Visa eKYC tie-up: In October last year, Axis Bank had partnered with Visa to launch the first ‘eKYC’ facility in the country. Following this, any with an Aadhaar card could open bank account within minutes by using their biometric data. Axis Bank had then mentioned that facility is currently available in 1,000 Axis Bank branches across 400 centres and it plans to extend the eKYC facility to over 2,000 branches across India by end of October 2013.

Earlier this year, RBI had also started piloting a cash out facility with biometric authentication for mobile wallet services. Calpian-backed Money on Mobile was one of the services selected for this pilot. Money on Mobile was looking to roll out this pilot in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Surat through 52 existing retail partner locations.