10195 - SEBI may take Aadhaar route to tap buyers on e-comm platforms - Hindu Businessline

SEBI may take Aadhaar route to tap buyers on e-comm platforms

K RAGHAVENDRA RAO

This will help in easy on-boarding of customers, says Nilekani panel

MUMBAI, JULY 5:  

The Nandan Nilekani Committee set up by the securities market regulator has suggested that Aadhaar-based e-KYC be the enabler to achieve the objective of roping in 20 crore investors in the next few years, according to sources. At present, there are about 4.5 crore investors.

This would help in easy on-boarding of customers as Aadhaar already has an individual’s bank account number.

The committee was set up to outline the manner in which mutual fund schemes may be sold over e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart.

Spot registration

To help in increasing the number of e-KYC registration for Aadhaar holders, the industry has mooted spot registration at investor meets, incentivising banks and micro-finance institutions to do e-KYC, and putting up stalls at post offices, among other things. The Committee has also suggested doing away with the investment cap of ₹50,000 per fund house per annum based on Aadhaar and make it ₹ 50,000 per transaction as the Aadhaar Bill has been passed in Parliament.

The objective of the regulator is to expand the mutual fund industry by adding another distribution channel — the e-commerce platform — to the already existing banks/independent financial advisors, national distributors and direct to customer.

SEBI’s thought process takes into account that inefficient players from every distribution channel would not survive. Those from existing channels may also take advantage of the expanding market place and tailor their offerings accordingly to survive first.

“E-commerce players have to register themselves with SEBI before offering mutual fund schemes. They would be required to have an ARN (AMFI Registration) number and NISM certification in place before they offer schemes on their platform,” said a CEO of a mutual fund. To ensure that investors do not end up buying products that they are not supposed to, as per their risk profile, SEBI is considering implementing suitability norms for products to be sold to investors based on their risk profile.

First-time investors would have to provide details about themselves on the e-commerce platform and only after their risk profile is ascertained would they be able to buy those mutual products, said sources. Rules and guidelines that are specific to selling mutual fund schemes by e-commerce platforms are in the process of being framed, they added.

(This article was published on July 5, 2016)

9626 - SEBI mulls allowing bank KYC for securities market - Hindu Businessline

SEBI mulls allowing bank KYC for securities market

PTI

NEW DELHI, MARCH 20:  

The Securities and Exchange Board of India is mulling doing away with the requirement of a fresh KYC (Know Your Client) for opening of new accounts in securities market if the investor has got a bank account.

Under the proposed move that may take a couple of months to come into effect, the market intermediaries — be it brokerage firms, mutual funds or any other SEBI-registered entity — would rather be allowed to use KYC checks conducted by the bank with which the investor has got an account.

SEBI is currently discussing the proposal with the RBI and the government, and a final decision would depend on these consultations, as also on various regulatory aspects, a top official said, while adding that the central bank has in-principle agreed to the proposed move.

Since having a bank account is as such mandatory for all investors, except for a few exceptions in the mutual fund space, the proposed step would help do away with duplication of efforts and further ease the KYC procedures.

SEBI has already streamlined the KYC procedures for the securities market and a single KYC is sufficient for any kind of account with any of the market intermediary.

The regulator also expects the new Aadhaar law to provide a big leg-up to the KYC procedures, while the Unique Identification Number has already made it easier.

In-person verification of the client is not required anymore if verification with UIDAI is carried out through biometric authentication (fingerprint or iris scanning).

Verification in such cases is carried out through one time password (OTP) sent on the client’s mobile number or e-mail address registered with UIDAI, if the amount invested does not exceed Rs. 50,000 per mutual fund in a financial year and if this payment is made through electronic transfer from the client’s bank account registered with that mutual fund.

According to SEBI Chairman U K Sinha, the common KYC for the entire financial sector is also in works, but the regulator in the meantime is considering allowing banks’ KYC for the securities markets.

After SEBI’s recent board meeting here, the regulator has created KYC Registration Agency or KRA and now one KYC is enough for all intermediaries in the securities markets.

“Already, Aadhaar has made it very simple for KYC procedures to be conducted. Now, our next target is why can’t we use the banks’ KYC because all the transactions of securities market, except mutual fund transactions up to Rs. 50,000, have to take place through banks.

“Therefore, we can provide that since a person has a bank account that was opened after a KYC, there would not be any need for a fresh KYC to be done. We have taken up this matter with the RBI and with the government. RBI is also in-principle agreeable to it and I am hopeful that this will happen.

“This would mean that if a person has a bank account, he would not need to go through a fresh KYC for any securities market account. This may happen in a couple of months,” he added.

(This article was published on March 20, 2016)

9301 - Mutual Funds roll out Aadhaar number facility for investors - TNN

Mutual Funds roll out Aadhaar number facility for investors

PTI | Jan 31, 2016, 02.41 PM IST

NEW DELHI: To make it easier for investors to buy or sell mutual fund products, fund houses are offering the facility of investing in such products by using the Aadhaar number. 

The investor can invest online in mutual fund products even if the person is not compliant with Know Your Client (KYC) details. 

The new service will help investors buy or sell mutual fund (MF) products in a simpler and faster way. 

The move comes after Sebi issued guidelines to change the existing norms for investing in mutual funds. 

Quantum MF is already off the block, which offers the facility of investing in mutual fund products on the basis of Aadhaar Card. Others are likely to follow suit. 

"We are offering the facility for investors to voluntarily use their Aadhaar card to invest online in case they have a PAN Card but are not KYC compliant," Quantum MF Chief Executive Officer Jimmy Patel said. 

"The benefit to investors is that if they wish to invest in MFs but have not completed their KYC formalities, then, such investors can now complete their investments using their Aadhaar card," he added. 

Earlier, without a KYC verified PAN card, it was not possible for an investor to complete his investment unless all the KYC formalities are complied with. 

Not just that, fund houses are taking several steps to raise their share. They are offering an electronic, or e-KYC, initiative to first-time investors. 

In addition, they have been tapping social media platforms like WhatsApp and Facebook and a host of other calling and messaging apps to facilitate transactions in MF products.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), last week, said that fund houses and market intermediaries can verify the credentials of their clients with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). However, it would be on voluntary basis. 

Top Comment

50000 is too small a limit. With the Aadhar card why not do away with the kyc completely. I am a NRI in the gulf and fin... Read More

The amount invested by the client should not exceed Rs 50,000 per financial year.

According to an estimate, there are more than 900 million Aadhaar card users and around 170 million PAN card holders in the country.

The new norms issued by Sebi would make it easier to tap those who reside in the intersection set between the two (having PAN cards and Aadhaar cards), but have not completed the KYC formality, an industry insider said.

9286 - Sebi issues clarity on E-KYC - Live Mint

Sebi issues clarity on E-KYC

Removes impediments for sale of mutual funds online

Jayshree P. Upadhyay

A file photo of Sebi office building in Mumbai. Photo: Abhijit Bhatlekar/Mint

Mumbai: The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in a late evening circular issued clarity on the paper less Know Your Client (KYC) or electronic KYC (E-KYC). This clarity would serve as removing the impediments for sale of mutual funds online and through e-commerce platforms.

Sebi has clarified that Aadhaar card can be used as valid document for KYC however, it would be on voluntary basis.

This circular by the regulator is post the Supreme Court order passed in October last year which had directed that the usage of the Aadhaar card as issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is voluntary.

“In view of the said orders, the usage of Aadhaar card is optional and purely on a voluntary basis, subject to the final judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the aforesaid petition,” said Sebi in the circular dated 22 January.

This circular has been issued post the deliberation of the Nandan Nilekani committee which was formed last year to digitize and streamline sale of mutual fund products.

Sebi chairman U.K. Sinha had taken up this project to enable investors to buy mutual fund products online.

“There are millions of potential investors in this country who are buying products online and this buying has gone up in an exponential way. But there is some difficulty for them to buy mutual funds products online. So what can be done to make the process easy? With Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and other entities bringing in payments systems to be online, may be there is some problem with our KYC norms. We are looking at our KYC norms on how to make it simple and easy,” said UK Sinha last year on the sidelines of an event organized by an industry body.

Sinha added “In fact we are looking to ensure that there is no need for any in-person verification or vet signature. So everything should be done over the net. If that is possible, then may be new companies (e-commerce) will come.”

Sebi in the circular also removed the requirement of in-person verification (IPV) for investment upto Rs50,000.

“Sebi by way of this clarification has reduced the regulatory and KYC requirements for small retail investors. Additionally, the clarity on paper less KYC was much desired. Now Aadhaar card can be used as a valid KYC document on a voluntary basis,” said Jimmy Patel, CEO, Quantum Mutual Fund.

However, this circular may not lead to e-commerce companies selling mutual funds immediately as their sale model is yet to clarified.

“It is still not clear whether e-commerce players would act as a distributor or advisor. If they would need to obtain a registration number before they sell mutual fund units. This clarity is needed before Asset Management Companies (AMCs) will approach e-commerce platforms,” said an industry participant on condition of anonymity.

Jayshree P. Upadhyay

8933 - Aadhaar case: Supreme Court to hear govt’s plea on Wednesday - Live Mint

Aadhaar case: Supreme Court to hear govt’s plea on Wednesday

Govt seeks clarification and modification of the interim order restricting the use of Aadhaar only to identify beneficiaries

New Delhi: In 2012, a public interest litigation was filed by former high court judge K. Puttaswamy seeking to restrain the centre, the erstwhile Planning Commission and the Unique Identification Authority of India from issuing identity numbers.

In spite of a legal battle that has had wide implications for various welfare schemes, over 916.8 million Indians have been issued Aadhaar numbers since its introduction in September 2009. The court has allowed fresh enrolment in Aadhaar, while restricting its use.

Click here for enlarge

A constitution bench of the apex court will on Wednesday begin to hear the government’s plea seeking clarification and modification of the interim order restricting the use of Aadhaar only to identify beneficiaries availing of the public distribution system and kerosene and cooking gas subsidies. Two separate references have been made to the constitution bench—one seeking modification and clarification of the 11 August interim order, and another on potential violation of privacy.

Regulatory agencies such as the Reserve Bank of India, Securities and Exchange Board of India and Telecom Regulatory Authority of India and at least six state governments have moved the court supporting the centre’s defence of Aadhaar. 

They have asked the court to allow the use of Aadhaar as proof of identity for all welfare schemes.

8926 - Aadhaar case: IBA moves Supreme Court, wants to join proceedings - Live Mint

Aadhaar case: IBA moves Supreme Court, wants to join proceedings

Move strengthens centre’s combined legal defence of the unique identification scheme

Apurva Vishwanath

The Supreme Court has already been moved in favour of the centre by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and at least six state governments. 

New Delhi: The Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) on Monday moved the Supreme Court to join the court proceedings in the Aadhaar case, strengthening the centre’s combined legal defence of the unique identification scheme for a range of purposes.

The Supreme Court has already been moved in favour of the centre by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and at least six state governments.

On 9 October, the apex court formed a five-judge constitution bench to hear the centre’s plea seeking a modification of the court’s interim order restricting the use of the Aadhaar unique identity number only for the purposes of identifying beneficiaries of the public distribution system (PDS) and kerosene and cooking gas subsidies.

RBI had sought a clarification from the court on whether the Aadhaar number can be used by banks as customers’ proof of identification.

On 7 October, the court declined to modify the interim order—passed on 11 August— and referred all the applications by parties seeking modification and clarification of the order to a larger constitution bench.

The petition filed by IBA, an association of 210 banks and financial institutions, says that Aadhaar is at the “epicentre” of the implementation of the social benefit schemes and provisions of financial services to the weaker sections and low income group individuals of the society. “The benefits of Aadhaar cannot be deprived to people due to not being able to have documents required for establishing their identity and place of residence,” IBA said.

The central bank has issued various guidelines from time to time to banks and other regulated entities regarding voluntary use of the Aadhaar card by customers for opening bank accounts and availing other financial services.

RBI guidelines also make provisions for e-KYC (know your customer) making use of Aadhaar numbers.

Two separate references have been made to the constitution bench in the Aadhaar case—one seeking modification and clarification of the court’s interim order and the other on potential violation of privacy.

According to Abizer Diwanji, partner, head of financial services at audit and consultancy firm EY, Aadhaar has enabled a reliable and broad-based identification system, specially in rural areas where most people do not have formal cards of identification.

“Using Aadhaar enabled banks and financial institutions to roll out an easy way of doing inclusive business,” he said.

Technologies and initiatives that depend on the Aadhaar unique identity number also include biometric attendance, Jan Dhan Yojana, digital certificates, pension payments and the proposed introduction of payments banks.

However, the petitioners challenging the validity of the Aadhaar scheme have consistently argued that UIDAI, which issues Aadhaar cards, is merely an administrative unit and lacks legislative backing.

The hearings by the constitution bench are scheduled to begin on 14 October.

Saurabh Kumar contributed to this story.

Apurva Vishwanath

8869 - Aadhar card won't be extended to more schemes: Supreme Court tells govt - Business Today

Aadhar card won't be extended to more schemes: Supreme Court tells govt

The Narendra Modi government suffered a jolt when the Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to modify its August 11 order permitting linking of Aadhaar cards with only the public distribution system (PDS), cooking fuels and LPG cylinders.

The three-judge bench said the government's plea to extend it to more subsidies, salary, pension disbursement and schemes like Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana must be dealt with by the Constitution Bench to which the matter has been referred to. Worse, no date has been specified as to when the larger bench would commence hearing.

Financial bodies like the RBI, Sebi, Irda, Trai, Pension Fund Regulatory Authority and states like Gujarat and Jharkhand too, had similar pleas before the court which has been rejected.

In its September 2013 interim order, the apex court had said the card be not made mandatory for people for availing government services and nobody should be deprived of such facilities for want of the card.

Strongly defending the cards, the government said it was essential for good governance, transparent implementation of government programmes and ensure that its benefits reach only the eligible persons.

The bench then modified its order on August 11. The SC decided to refer the case to a larger bench to decide the question posed by Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi whether citizens had a fundamental right to privacy under the Constitution.

The PIL petitioners, including former HC judge Justice Puttaswamy and NGO Society for Civil Rights, have raised the issue of right to withhold personal information and intrusion into the right to privacy by the state.

Two of the interveners in the case- Reetika Khera, an economics professor at IIT Delhi, and Sahana Manjesh, a lawyer-have contended that biometric identification denoted for UID, namely the iris scan, finger print identification, and the personal details collected, can easily be misused by a miscreant.

They contend that the manner in which biometric details are collected makes it prone to misuse.

On Wednesday, despite pleas by Rohatgi (for UIDAI) and lawyers for RBI, Sebi, Irda, Trai, Pension Fund Regulatory Authority and Gujarat and Jharkhand, a bench headed by Justice J Chelameswar eventually went by the argument of opponents of the cards represented by advocates Shyam Divan and Meenakshi Arora who had questioned its constitutional validity, that the matter has already been referred to a Constitution Bench and the smaller bench should resist from venturing into the interim applications.

(In association with Mail Today Bureau)

8867 - Chief Justice HL Dattu Assures Speedy Decision on Aadhaar - The Quint

HOT WIRE

Chief Justice HL Dattu Assures Speedy Decision on Aadhaar

The Quint

First Published: Today, 4 hours ago

Today, 4 hours ago

The Supreme Court on Thursday assured the Centre and bodies like the SEBI and RBI that it will take a decision by Friday evening on their plea seeking for the modification of an order restricting the voluntary use of Aadhaar card to PDS and LPG schemes only.

Please give me time till tomorrow (Friday) evening. Let me decide. The question is I have to spare nine judges for this. What will happen to other matters.
— HL Dattu, Chief Justice of India

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi’s plea for urgent hearing of the application for modification of the earlier order was supported by a battery of senior lawyers, including KK Venugopal and Harish Salve.

All social benefit schemes of the government are being affected. We seek the modification that Aadhaar be allowed to be used voluntarily for the benefit of the poor and aged groups.
— Mukul Rohatgi, Attorney General

The apex court had yesterday refused to modify its interim order and allow bodies like RBI and SEBI and some states to permit voluntary use of Aadhaar card for welfare schemes other than the public distribution system (PDS) and LPG schemes.

The court had made it clear that all applications seeking “modification, clarification and relaxation” of its August 11 interim order will be heard by a Constitution Bench.

On August 11, the apex court had decided to keep Aadhaar card optional for availing welfare schemes of the government and said authorities will not use it for the purposes other than PDS and LPG distribution system.

The Centre, RBI, SEBI, IRDA, TRAI, Pension Fund Regulatory Authority and states like Gujarat and Jharkhand had recently moved the court and pitched strongly for voluntary use of Aadhaar cards for providing benefits of various schemes, other than PDS and LPG, at the doorstep of the aged people and the weaker sections.

8866 - Supreme Court deals a body blow to Aadhaar - Live Mint

Thu, Oct 08 2015. 09 31 AM IST

Supreme Court deals a body blow to Aadhaar

SC bench declines to modify 11 August interim order restricting use of Aadhaar to identify beneficiaries of PDS and LPG subsidy

Apurva Vishwanath Saurabh Kumar

New Delhi: In a major blow to the government, a Supreme Court bench on Wednesday declined to modify its 11 August interim order restricting the use of Aadhaar unique identity numbers to identify beneficiaries of the public distribution system (PDS) and subsidies on cooking gas and kerosene.

The matter will now be heard by a constitution bench, which is likely to be formed on Thursday.

The ruling will have a bearing on important digital initiatives of the government such as biometric attendance, Jan Dhan Yojana, digital certificates, pension payments and the proposed introduction of payments banks. All the initiatives critically depend on the Aadhaar unique identity number.

The government and several other petitioners, including the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), had pleaded for a relaxation of the interim order to allow the voluntary use of Aadhaar as a form of e-identity.

The stay will affect beneficiaries of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (91.7 million), pensioners (27.1 million) and recipients of scholarships (25.7 million), among others, according to data from the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).

This is apart from expected beneficiaries of in-principle payments bank licence winners that include Airtel M Commerce Services Ltd (from the stable of Bharti Airtel Ltd, which had a customer base of 231.6 million as of July) and Vodafone m-pesa Ltd (part of Vodafone India Ltd which had a customer base of 185.4 million as of July).

The licensees also include the Department of Posts, which has 155,015 post offices across the country, of which 139,144 are in rural areas. The sheer reach of these entities is unrivalled.

The 11 August interim order by the three-judge bench comprising justices J. Chelameswar, S.A. Bobde and C. Nagappan said the use of Aadhaar should be restricted to identifying beneficiaries of the PDS and subsidies on cooking gas and kerosene.

“Even for the PDS, kerosene and LPG (cooking gas) distribution system, the card will not be mandatory,” the court order said.

Nagrik Chetna Manch, a Pune-based NGO and one of the petitioners opposing the use of Aadhaar on grounds that its use in the delivery of government services could compromise the privacy of the unique ID holders, said it would continue to resist the use of Aadhaar.

“The government cannot defend violation of privacy in the name of crores already spent on the project,” said S.C.N. Jatar, president of the organization.

Mint reported on 1 October that the Union government and various regulatory agencies including RBI, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, the Securities and Exchange Board of India and the income-tax department, would launch a concerted effort before the Supreme court to allow the use of Aadhaar numbers for various state-sponsored schemes. The states of Gujarat, Jharkhand, Maharahtra, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Rajasthan have also joined the plea to seek a modification.

On Tuesday, attorney general Mukul Rohatgi asked the court: “Should an interim order stop the benefit from reaching 50 crore people?”

In light of the setback, the government needs to take another look at its strategy, a government official said on condition of anonymity.

“There is something wrong. The way it (government) has approached the case before and after the 11 August interim order was not appropriate in achieving the objective,” the official said.

A reference on whether the Aadhaar scheme would be a violation of a citizen’s fundamental right to privacy was on 11 August referred to a larger constitution bench for its consideration. The bench is yet to be constituted by Chief Justice of India (CJI) H.L Dattu.

The government’s applications seeking a clarification and modification of the interim order will be also considered by the same constitution bench.

The petitioners in the case against Aadhaar on privacy grounds, including the Nagrik Chetna Manch, on Wednesday approached the CJI to constitute a larger bench. The attorney general will make a similar request to the CJI, said a second government official, who belongs to a department that sought a review of the interim order. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The court did not go into the merit of the applications. But we are happy that our plea was not rejected, which in a way means that our case is not devoid of merit and we will not have to file fresh applications for hearing by the constitutional bench,” said the second government official.

As of now, 920 million Indian citizens have been allotted Aadhaar numbers.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on 30 September, soon after his return from the US, called a meeting of state secretaries as well as other stakeholders in the Aadhaar unique identity number programme and asked them to push ahead with their enrolment initiative.

Modi told the states to complete the enrolment by December and that he would personally review the progress every month. The Supreme Court’s interim order did not stop UIDAI from fresh enrolments, but asked it to widely publicize through media that “it is not mandatory for a citizen to obtain an Aadhaar card”

8863 - SC refuses to expand uses of Aadhaar card - Deccan Herald

SC refuses to expand uses of Aadhaar card

NEW DELHI, OCt 08, 2015, DHNS

Constitution Bench to hear pleas by govt agencies

The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to oblige multifarious government agencies and regulatory authorities by passing any order to expand the use of Aadhaar card for other than LPG and PDS schemes.

Their requests would be decided by a Constitution Bench, it said. A three-judge bench presided over by Justice J Chelameswar said a batch of PILs challenging the validity of the Aadhaar card for being repugnant with right to privacy has already been referred to the Constitution Bench for adjudication.

The applications filed by the UIDAI, Trai, IRDA, Sebi, RBI, Pension Fund Regulatory Authority and different state governments would also be considered by the Constitution Bench, the court said.

The government is likely to urge the Chief Justice of India (CJI) to set up a Constitution Bench in view of the order which came as a setback to it. On Tuesday, the matter was  mentioned before the bench presided over by CJI H L Dattu, who said it was difficult to spare seven judges at the moment for the Constitution Bench.

After hearing arguments a day before, the bench, also comprising Justice S A Bobde and Justice C Nagappan, had put the matter for passing order on Wednesday, also on the issue of maintainability of those modification pleas. The same bench had on August 11 referred the PILs, including one filed by former Karnataka HC judge Justice K S Puttaswamy, to a Constitution Bench of appropriate strength to determine the legal issue if the right to privacy was a fundamental right.

The court had then also directed the government to ensure that the Aadhaar card is not made mandatory for citizens to avail any benefit. It had also ordered that the card would not be used for any purposes other than linking it to PDS and LPG cylinders

However, the UIDAI, Trai, IRDA, Sebi, RBI, Pension Fund Regulatory Authority and different state governments, including, Jharkhand, Haryana and Rajasthan, sought modification of the order, saying if the starving poor voluntarily came forward for the Aadhaar, it should be allowed to be used.

The Trai claimed the card issued by the UIDAI should be permitted to be used as valid document for purchasing SIM cards in order to obviate any possibility of the mobile phone being used by terrorists.

The Sebi also claimed the use of the card would help in curbing use of black money in stock market.
  

8858 - SC says no to restrictive use of Aadhaar card - Business Standard

SC says no to restrictive use of Aadhaar card

The apex court declines to modify its order restricting Aadhaar card use only for PDS benefits

BS Reporter & PTI  |  New Delhi 

October 8, 2015 Last Updated at 00:20 IST

The central government and financial institutions suffered a setback on Wednesday, when the Supreme Court declined to modify its order restricting Aadhaar card use only for public distribution system (PDS) benefits. The issue would now go before a larger bench to be set up by the Chief Justice of India.

The central and some state governments, along with Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) , Reserve Bank of India(RBI), banks and other public institutions were vehemently arguing that the court order of August 11, restricting the use of Aadhaar cards only to essential items, has stalled their functioning. They had contended that those who voluntarily come forward to register for the identity card should be allowed to do so. Sebi and the banks argued that the use of the card would allow them to track black money operations.

However, a three-judge bench headed by J Chelameswar did not change the order and stated in its order that it would be better that the issue be decided by a larger bench. "We are of the opinion that it is better that these applications for modification are also heard by a larger bench," the three-judge bench, which also included Justices S A Bobde and C Nagappan, said.

The question of the validity of Aadhaar has been caught in constitutional knots from the beginning. The scheme was challenged by a former high court judge and several organisations alleging that it violated the right to privacy by seeking too many personal details which could be leaked out and misused by private parties.

The right to privacy was argued for several days and then that bench referred the question - whether there is such a right in the Constitution - to a constitution bench.

Meanwhile, the government and financial institutions wanted a change in the interim order allowing them to demand Aadhaar card from people who approach institutions to avail of various benefits. This issue has also gone to a constitution bench with Wednesday's order.

According to the Attorney General, 920 million people have already received their cards and they gave information voluntarily. He had also assured the court that the information will not be shared with any unauthorised persons or entities. However, the pleas for relaxation of the August 11 order restricting the use of Aadhaar cards for PDS scheme and LPG (Liquified petroleum gas) distribution scheme, was opposed by those petitioners on whose PILs the apex court had said these cards will not be mandatory for availing benefits of welfare schemes.

On August 11, the apex court had said that Aadhaar card would remain optional for availing welfare schemes of the government and the authorities would not use it for the purposes other than PDS and LPG distribution system.

The Centre, RBI, Sebi, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, Pension Fund Regulatory Authority and states like Gujarat and Jharkhand had recently moved the court and pitched strongly for voluntary use of Aadhaar cards for providing benefits of various schemes, other than PDS and LPG, at the doorsteps of the aged and the weaker sections.

FACT CARD

• The Supreme Court declined to modify its order restricting Aadhaar card use only for public distribution system benefits
• The court order of August 11, restricting the use of Aadhar cards only to essential items, has stalled their functioning, argued the Securities and Exchange Board of India along with other contenders
• 920 million people have already received their cards and they gave information voluntarily, according to the Attorney General

8854 - TRAI, IRDA, PFRDA too reach Supreme Court on Aadhaar issue - Money Life

TRAI, IRDA, PFRDA too reach Supreme Court on Aadhaar issue

MONEYLIFE DIGITAL TEAM | 06/10/2015 06:24 PM |   

The SC is likely to announce its decision on Wednesday on applications by RBI, SEBI and others for permission to use Aadhaar card for schemes 

Seeking clarification on usage of Aadhaar number, other regulators like Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority and Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) too have reached the Supreme Court. These regulators along with Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) have  asked for clarification on the apex court's order notwithstanding the fact that the SC had for the fourth time on 11 August 2015, had reiterated that Aadhaar cannot be a condition for obtaining any benefits otherwise due to citizens.

Read Full Article at Money Life

8853 - Centre piches for voluntary benefit of Aadhaar card in Supreme Court -i Economic Times

Centre piches for voluntary benefit of Aadhaar card in Supreme Court

By PTI | 6 Oct, 2015, 09.10PM IST

Centre and its various arms today pitched strongly in the SC for voluntary use of Aadhaar cards to provide benefits of various welfare schemes, other than PDS and LPG. 

NEW DELHI: The Centre and its various arms today pitched strongly in the Supreme Court for voluntary use of Aadhaar cards to provide benefits of various welfare schemes, other than PDS and LPG, at the doorsteps of the aged and weaker sections of society, which are the target groups. 

However, the pleas for relaxation of the August 11 order restricting the use of Aadhaar cards for PDS scheme and LPG distribution scheme, was opposed by those petitioners on whose PILs the apex court had said these cards will not be mandatory for availing benefits of welfare schemes. 

A bench comprising Justices J Chelameswar, S A Bobde and C Nagappan reserved its order for tomorrow on the pleas for relaxation, modification and clarification of its interim order by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), RBI, SEBI, IRDA, TRAI, Pension Fund Regulatory Authority and states like Gujarat and Jharkhand, among others. 

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi opened the arguments for UIDAI for lifting the bar on use of Aadhaar cards for various welfare schemes including Prime Minister's Jan Dhan Yojna. He was supported by Additional Solicitor Generals Tushar Mehta, P S Patwalia, Pinky Anand and senior advocates K K Venugopal, Jayant Bhushan who were appearing for various government organs and NGOs. 

All of them were in agreement with the Attorney General that since the apex court had said Aadhaar card was not mandatory, there should not be any problem in allowing it to be used on voluntarily basis to establish the identity of persons to make available the benefits of welfare scheme. 

Rohatgi conceded that he may not have understood fully the scope of the UIDAI scheme or was not able to explain properly to the apex court the benefit of the Aadhaar cards which he has realised now after passing of the interim order. 

"I don't want to be seen as blaming the court," he told the bench after explaining in detail the concept of the UIDAI number which is linked to various welfare schemes. 

He said issue of privacy cannot be linked to the Aadhaar card as the government is making efforts for those who cannot reach the court. 

"I am for those who have to take benefits of MNREGA, pension schemes etc. How it is understood that somebody is snooping into someone's bedroom. I am not doing that and I am not a paparazzi," he said. 

Read more at:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/49247057.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

8852 - No interim relief: SC refers Aadhaar case to larger bench - Money Control

Oct 07, 2015, 04.43 PM | Source: Moneycontrol.com

No interim relief: SC refers Aadhaar case to larger bench

A Supreme Court bench hearing the applicability of Aadhaar for

essential services referred the matter to a larger Constitutional

bench, and refused to provide interim relief for it and regulators

seeking the use of the identification program.

The case involved the government and regulators such as RBI, SEBI, PFRDA and TRAI seeking permission from the apex court to mandate the use of the biometric information-based identification program for telecom and financial services or for schemes such as Jan Dhan Yojana or or MGNREGA.

Opponents of Aadhaar say mandating its use could be an invasion of privacy and expressed concerns over security of users' data.

The Aadhaar, operated by the Unique Identity Authority of India

(UIDAI), is the world's largest biometric based idenfication system.

The program was started by the erstwhile UPA government and has been given a push by the current government, which has expressed its wish to widen its scope.

8851 - SC declines to modify order on Aadhaar use, refers matter to constitution bench - Live Mint

Last Modified: Wed, Oct 07 2015. 04 42 PM IST

SC declines to modify order on Aadhaar use, refers matter to constitution bench

The Supreme Court restricts Aadhaar use to identifying beneficiaries of the public distribution system and subsidies on cooking gas and kerosene

The constitution bench is yet to be constituted by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, H.L Dattu. Photo: Mint

New Delhi: A Supreme Court bench on Wednesday declined to modify its 11 August interim order restricting Aadhaar to food and fuel for now, and referred the issue to a larger constitution bench.

The earlier order by the three-judge bench comprising justices J. Chelameswar, S.A. Bobde and C. Nagappan had said that the use of Aadhaar should be restricted to identifying beneficiaries of the public distribution system (PDS) and subsidies on cooking gas and kerosene.

“Even for the PDS, kerosene and LPG (cooking gas) distribution system, the card will not be mandatory,” the court order had said.

Mint reported that the Union government would put up a joint defence for Aadhaar before the court to allow the use of the unique identification number for various welfare schemes.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority, Securities and Exchange Board of India, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority, Life Insurance Corp. of India, the income tax department and the Reserve Bank of India have supported the government plea to modify the court’s 11 August order and sought to link Aadhaar to the schemes they offer.

On Tuesday, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi who led the arguments against the court’s stay on the use of Aadhaar, had asked the court “if an interim order stops the benefit from reaching 50 crore (500 million) people?”

Separately, a reference on whether the Aadhaar scheme would be a violation of a citizen’s fundamental right of privacy was on 11 August referred to a larger constitution bench for its consideration. The bench is yet to be constituted by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, H.L Dattu.

Now, the applications seeking clarification and modification of the interim order will be decided by the same constitution bench that will hear the privacy issue.

Apurva Vishwanath

8847 - Supreme Court refuses to modify its order on use of Aadhaar card - Economic Times

Supreme Court refuses to modify its order on use of Aadhaar card

By Agencies | 7 Oct, 2015, 04.01PM IST

The Centre and its arms had pitched strongly for voluntary use of Aadhaar for benefits of various welfare schemes, other than PDS and LPG. 

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to modify its order on the use of Aadhaar card for now. A larger bench will decide on government's interim plea to relax the Aadhaar order, said ET Now. 

The Centre and its various arms had on Tuesday pitched strongly in the Supreme Court for voluntary use of Aadhaar cards to provide benefits of various welfare schemes, other than PDS and LPG, at the doorsteps of the aged and weaker sections of society, which are the target groups. 

However, the pleas for relaxation of the August 11 order restricting the use of Aadhaar cards for PDS scheme and LPG distribution scheme, was opposed by those petitioners on whose PILs the apex court had said these cards will not be mandatory for availing benefits of welfare schemes. 

A bench comprising Justices J Chelameswar, S A Bobde and C Nagappan had reserved its order on the pleas for relaxation, modification and clarification of its interim order by Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), RBI, SEBI, IRDA, TRAI, Pension Fund Regulatory Authority and states like Gujarat and Jharkhand, among others. 

Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi opened the arguments for UIDAI for lifting the bar on use of Aadhaar cards for various welfare schemes including Prime Minister's Jan Dhan Yojna. He was supported by Additional Solicitor Generals Tushar Mehta, P S Patwalia, Pinky Anand and senior advocates K K Venugopal, Jayant Bhushan who were appearing for various government organs and NGOs. 

All of them were in agreement with the Attorney General that since the apex court had said Aadhaar card was not mandatory, there should not be any problem in allowing it to be used on voluntarily basis to establish the identity of persons to make available the benefits of welfare scheme. 

Rohatgi conceded that he may not have understood fully the scope of the UIDAI scheme or was not able to explain properly to the apex court the benefit of the Aadhaar cards which he has realised now after passing of the interim order. 

"I don't want to be seen as blaming the court," he told the bench after explaining in detail the concept of the UIDAI number which is linked to various welfare schemes. 

He said issue of privacy cannot be linked to the Aadhaar card as the government is making efforts for those who cannot reach the court. 

"I am for those who have to take benefits of MNREGA, pension schemes etc. How it is understood that somebody is snooping into someone's bedroom. I am not doing that and I am not a paparazzi," he had said. 

Read more at:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/49257428.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

8838 - 'Poor starving man will shed his privacy rights for Aadhaar' - The Hindu

'Poor starving man will shed his privacy rights for Aadhaar'

KRISHNADAS RAJAGOPAL

The Centre on Tuesday told the Supreme Court that a poor starving man will have no second thoughts about shedding his privacy rights to enrol for Aadhaar, as it gets him a square meal and earnings.

With this, the government asked the Supreme Court to not stand in the way of crores of citizens willing to voluntarily enrol for Aadhaar to get social benefits and services.

The government's line saw the Bench led by Justice J. Chelameswar retort with a question whether "just because somebody is poor and starving, he should not have his privacy".

Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi said Aadhaar is taken voluntarily and is an "informed choice" made by the citizen.

"I do not have information on which I make this "informed" choice. That is, I do not have a complete picture of what will be done with the information I part with... You can use it for snooping, surveillance," Justice S.A. Bobde responded.

"Can you speak for 100 crore people? If a person has a problem with using Aadhaar, don't use it. People, who survive on daily wages, people who don't have food to eat need a foolproof mechanism like Aadhaar. But here you are speaking of apprehensions of a few on privacy rights... you are not speaking for the country," Mr. Rohatgi countered.

The bench on August 11, 2015, had made Aadhaar optional except for public distribution system and LPG connections. Various State governments, including Gujarat and Jharkhand along with central bodies such as RBI, SEBI, TRAI and the Pension Regulatory Authority returned to the court saying the August order had become a roadblock for people with Aadhaar to enrol in other social benefit schemes.

"Why should the Supreme Court of India deprive a vast section of the country from the benefits due to them? When a poor man says 'here take my privacy, please give me money', Your Lordships are saying 'don't take the money, please retain your privacy'," senior advocate K.K. Venugopal submitted in support of the AG's contentions.

Mr. Rohatgi said the Supreme Court cannot shut its doors on 50 crore people suffering because of its interim order confining the use of Aadhaar to PDS and LPG schemes.

"This is a court, which opened its doors for a man on death row at 2 am, it cannot close its doors on 50 crore people now," Mr. Rohatgi said.

Appearing for various petitioner NGOs, senior advocate Shyam Diwan said biometric data is harvested from citizens without any statutory sanction or administrative authority.

"Biometrics, my iris and fingerprints, is my most private personal property. Biometrics is me. But this personal unique data is harvested from millions of citizens by corporates with former FBI and CIA men at the helm. Government has no clue what they are doing with the data," Mr. Divan argued for outright dismissal of any pleas to modify the August 11 order.

To this, Mr. Rohatgi countered that Aadhaar is a voluntary scheme and does not require the force of law in the forum of a statutory sanction or the like.

The Bench posted the matter for orders at 3.30 pm on October 7.

Keywords: Supreme Court, Aadhaar

8821 - Debashis Basu: Sebi and black money - Business Standard

Debashis Basu: Sebi and black money

On September 30, when the window for black money declaration closed, the total disclosures amounted to only Rs 3,770 crore. Only 60 per cent of this money, or just Rs 2,262 crore, will go into the government's coffers. What can Prime Minister Narendra Modi do to make the scheme work? I believe he has to get his team to review the role of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in plugging one of the biggest ways in which black money is laundered into snow-white tax-free income. The funny thing is, the government knows all about this - it is what the market calls black-ka-white schemes. Take a look at this shocking information.

A couple of months ago, Shaktikanta Das, then revenue secretary, wrote a 'Secret' letter to the Sebi chairman, informing him that an "investigation carried out by the Income Tax Department (ITD) shows that regulated securities/ commodities market mechanism has been misused for large scale systematic tax evasion and round tripping of unaccounted funds... to generate fictitious Long term capital Gain (LTCG)". It further said, "Such rampant manipulations call for concerted and coordinated action by the agencies concerned. Sebi's proactive role in the above context is crucial."

It is surprising that the regulator needed to be goaded and pushed in this manner. After all, Sebi should have been on top of this issue on its own. My magazine has been openly writing about this black-ka-white scheme for years. Also, Sebi had grandly claimed in December 2014 and again in April 2015 that it has busted schemes that misuse the stockmarket platform for money-laundering. Obviously, what Sebi claimed as a huge crackdown on those two occasions, hardly scratched the surface.

Indeed, in his letter to the Sebi chairman, Mr Das writes "the Investigation Directorates of Ahmedabad and Kolkata have already shared findings of their investigation in the bogus LTCG cases with Sebi with a request to take further necessary action against the unscrupulous share brokers/entities who have misused the stock market. Copies of letters dated 25-08-2014, 10-02-2015, 08-06-2015, and 23-06-2015 from Ahmedabad Investigation Directorate and letter dated 27-04-2015 from the Kolkata Investigation Directorate." Note that the first letter was a year old. Mr Das then informs the Sebi chairman that Central Board of Direct Taxes is also in receipt of ad interim orders passed by Sebi so far (seven cases) in connection with the bogus LTCG racket. These orders were passed on to the relevant Investigation Directorates of ITD for taking necessary action against the beneficiaries.

Then comes the bombshell, although couched in polite bureaucratese. Mr Das writes: "Investigations conducted by ITD in the transactions of the aforesaid nature could not bear the desired fruits inter alia for the reasons that in most of such transactions the regulators concerned such as Sebi did not record any adverse finding qua such transactions. Judicial authorities have held that unless the corporate veil is lifted, onus on revenue is not discharged. The action taken by Sebi in such cases unravelling the facade is of critical importance, in these cases for effective handling of menace of bogus LTCG."

We do not know why Sebi "did not record any adverse finding". All we know is that in mid-2013, the earlier government with P Chidambaram as the finance minister had granted draconian powers to Sebi under which it can enter and search buildings, places, vessels, vehicles and aircraft of defaulters. Its officers can break open the lock of any door, box, locker, safe almirah, etc to get information. It can ask for information or records from any person, banks, authorities, boards or corporation. It has the powers of search and seizure, attachment of properties and arrest and detention of defaulters, as well as pass disgorgement directions. Finally, the government has also allowed the market regulator to seek information from other regulators within India and abroad with retrospective effect, going as far back as 1998.

And yet, Mr Das had to remind U K Sinha, Sebi chairman, to tear down the corporate veil. He also had to remind him to take "necessary action in the 84 scrips identified by the Kolkata Investigation Directorate". While Sebi has twice invested in highly sophisticated and expensive market surveillance software, the finance ministry had to tell Sebi to devise a "mechanism to raise triggers on this kind of suspicious trading on real time basis… so that preventive action could be taken before laundering takes place." Mr Das ends his letter with a reminder that the "income-tax Act, 1961, prescribes time limits within which assessments can be completed and tax demands can be raised. Therefore, timely action from Sebi in such cases would help in ensuring appropriate actions by the Income Tax authorities. Sebi may take note of violations of KYC norms by the stock brokers for further appropriate action."

Tax experts tell me that black money generation will slowly die down if that money can't be laundered. Today, the single most popular route of laundering is the stock market platform. If Mr Modi really wants to crack down on black money, he must take a close look at what Sebi has been up to - nobody is supervising the regulator at all.

8815 - Modi govt. gives Aadhaar one more push - The Hindu

NEW DELHI, October 4, 2015

Modi govt. gives Aadhaar one more push

• SMITA GUPTA

No person should be denied any benefits or suffer for not having the Aadhaar cards, says Supreme Court. File Photo: Ch. Vijaya Bhaskar

The tussle over universalising the cards continues; SC hearing case on Tuesday

In a move led by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), BJP-ruled States, including Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Haryana, have petitioned the Supreme Court to allow Aadhaar to be used for all government welfare schemes.

Simultaneously, the Election Commission of India and a phalanx of banking and economic regulators — the Reserve Bank of India, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority of India – have also filed similar clarification/modification applications in the apex court.

This comes ahead of October 6, when the Supreme Court will consider the merits of these applications seeking clarification of the order it passed on August 11 to restrict the use of Aadhaar cards to the Public Distribution Scheme (PDS), including the disbursement of kerosene and LPG.

In that order, the apex court had directed the government to give wide publicity that it would not be mandatory for a citizen to obtain an Aadhaar card, that its production would not be a condition for obtaining any benefits otherwise due to a citizen and that information about residents collected by the Unique Identification Authority Of India (UIDAI) would not be used for any other purpose except for the schemes mentioned and as directed by a court for criminal investigation only.

The Supreme Court had also decided to refer to a Constitution Bench whether the right to privacy of a citizen is a fundamental right or not.

Now, the Modi government’s push to universalise Aadhaar will once again foreground the concerns about violation of privacy as well as the fear that the poor and vulnerable might themselves be excluded from welfare benefits. Indeed, in its August 11 order, the Supreme Court had said, “No person should be denied any benefits or “suffer” for not having the Aadhaar cards issued by Unique Identification Authority of India.”

But official sources told The Hindu that the government believed — like its predecessor United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government — that the Aadhaar card would become an instrument of good governance, cut out the middlemen and eliminate corruption.

For Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it is part of his JAM trinity — Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar, mobile governance. On Wednesday, shortly after he returned from the US, official sources said, the Prime Minister held a review meeting of Aadhaar enrolments: he urged Chief Secretaries of the various States present that they must expedite enrolment and ensure Aadhaar cards to the entire population by December.

Keywords: Aadhaar, UIDAI, Aadhaar card, public distribution system

8805 - PMO’s Aadhaar card push: Mobilizing support via states a good idea - Financial Express

PMO’s Aadhaar card push: Mobilizing support via states a good idea

PM Narendra Modi has done well to mobilize BJP states like Gujarat and Haryana to petition the Supreme Court on its order on the usage of Aadhaar card...

By: The Financial Express | October 1, 2015 3:12 PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has done well to mobilize Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) states like Gujarat and Haryana to petition the Supreme Court on its order on the usage of Aadhaar card, and while regulators like The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) have also joined the petition, others like Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) and Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) are also expected to follow suit soon. As Narendra Modi pointed out in his Silicon Valley speeches, Aadhaar is one of the pivots of his anti-poverty strategies. Since creating jobs is not going to happen in a hurry, Modi’s best bet is to ensure the poor get all the money that is meant for them. If around half of this gets siphoned off along the way – that’s Rs 150,000 crore this year, for the centre alone – what kind of anti-poverty fight is Modi going to wage? Indeed, the petition by the Gujarat government puts it very well – with Harish Salve appearing for Gujarat, a bevy of top-notch lawyers will appear in the case representing various states/regulators – when it says that the SC needs to extend its own logic. The SC – which allowed Aadhaar for PDS, but made it non-mandatory – the Gujarat petition says, ‘was guided by the right to food, which is contained in Article 21 of the Constitution … it is submitted that the schemes falling under other rights, viz, the right to work, right to receive old age or disability pensions under the Article 21, may also be treated equally’.

While Gujarat’s petition includes MGNREGA under Article 21, Sebi and RBI say that Aadhaar allows easier Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and therefore, allows a much easier participation in banking/stock markets – for the poor who wish to open bank accounts, Aadhaar is critical, especially so in the case of payments being made through mobile phone networks.

Given that the SC’s real hesitation in making Aadhaar mandatory relates to its possible impact on privacy, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) would do well to have a special presentation on that alone, to show that Aadhaar’s network is such that it cannot be used to get details of users – indeed, as this newspaper has pointed out there is enough data on various official websites such as the Election Commission and property tax ones to be able to construct detailed profiles of individuals – and then there is Facebook, not to mention that most apps on phones demand access to a user’s contacts and calendar and, often, location details. Getting Aadhaar through is vital for the Modi government, so it has to put everything it has to convince the SC of its credentials, apart from showing how it is critical for the poor to get their rights.

First Published on October 01, 2015 1:09 pm