9444 - Fiddling while Rome is built - Indian Express

Fiddling while Rome is built

Aadhaar bill is one of the most transformative economic reforms ever. But does anyone care?

Budget 2017 contained the announcement that use of the biometric identity card, Aadhar, will be provided statutory backing. On Thursday, the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, hereafter Aadhaar bill, was introduced as a money bill in the Lok Sabha. I believe tabling this bill in Parliament is possibly one of the most transformative economic reform legislation introduced in India. But the editors of the white newspapers (including this paper) thought it more fit to give Kanhaiya Kumar 15 more minutes of fame. He pontificated the following: “Modiji was talking about Stalin and Khrushchev… I felt like jumping into the TV screen, grabbing his suit and saying, ‘Modiji, please speak about Hitler’” (Page 1, The Indian Express, March 4). The Aadhaar news, instead, was buried deep in the white papers (The Indian Express, The Hindu, The Times of India). Are they, too, going the way of TV news?

Coming back to the Aadhaar bill, why is it one of the most transformative economic legislation?Because it’s the single-most important method of decreasing massive political and bureaucratic corruption in India. And of delivering a much higher level of income transfers to the poor. Econ 101 teaches you that it’s important that the government do not interfere in the pricing of goods and services. But before Kanhaiya-led scholars from JNU (and elsewhere) protest that the free market doesn’t guarantee a just distribution of income (it absolutely does not, and not only because it is difficult to define “just”), let me remind the left that Econ 101 also teaches you that income transfers are a necessary part of a capitalist society. None other than the “arch-capitalist” Milton Friedman introduced the idea of a negative income tax.

More importantly, what Aadhaar will do, as it has already done for LPG connections, is to provide bank transfers in the name of the woman head of household. In his budget speech, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley stated the government has embarked upon “a massive mission to provide LPG connection in the name of women members of poor households”. This can now be used for other welfare payments (food subsidies, NREGA, etc). Presently, 50 per cent of food subsidies (approximately Rs 50,000 crore), registered as payments to individuals by the FCI, accrue to no known man, woman, or child in India. But that money is withdrawn from the exchequer — it’s not monopoly money.

The opposition to the Aadhaar bill is on several grounds (as is well known, in India, we also debate the existence of gravity, failing which we debate whether acceleration due to gravity is really exactly 32 ft/sec2! For you youngsters, that’s 9.8 m/sec2). But the prime concern is that the government is mistaken in introducing the bill as a money bill and that it’s doing so to circumvent the Rajya Sabha. This argument has merit, but only if it’s valid.

Article 110 of the Constitution, defining the money bill, states that in addition to taxation matters, “the custody of the Consolidated Fund or the Contingency Fund of India, the payment of moneys into or the withdrawal of moneys from any such Fund” is also part of a money bill. The opening paragraph of the Aadhaar bill, not surprisingly, states that the purpose of the bill is to “provide for… efficient, transparent, and targeted delivery of subsidies, benefits and services, the expenditure for which is incurred from the Consolidated Fund of India” (emphasis added).

 And remember, if any question arises whether this bill can qualify as a money bill, the decision lies with the speaker of the Lok Sabha, and is final. Therefore, the argument that the Aadhaar bill cannot be a money bill is invalid.

Moving on, the BJP is being attacked for having opposed the introduction of Aadhaar during the UPA regime, and rightfully so. The BJP in opposition has the disappointing record of helping the UPA pass every bad bill that shouldn’t have been passed, and obstructing the passage of all the bills that should have been passed. A not-so-publicised fact is that major elements within the UPA were opposed to Aadhaar as well.

The Standing Committee on Finance, in 2011-12, found that UPA ministries had raised several concerns with respect to Aadhaar — the finance ministry on the lack of coordination between agencies leading to duplication of expenditure; the home ministry on the involvement of private agencies in the scheme, resulting in a potential threat to national security, to name a few. While these are concerns to which solutions need to be found (or maybe are already in the pipeline), this is far from undermining the fact that Aadhaar is the need of the hour.

Other objectors belong to the narcissistic holier-than-thou ideologues — that is, impersonal government administered cash transfers are bad, but government administered in-kind subsidies (like food subsidies) are good as long as you ask me how it should be done. In this camp are leftist academics who believe we shouldn’t tinker with the PDS system because, recently, the corruption leakage has been reduced by 10 percentage points from the prior leakage level of 50 percentage points!

I started this article with reference to Kanhaiya, and I will be remiss and amiss if I didn’t comment on Justice Pratibha Rani’s judgment: “The thoughts reflected in the slogans raised by some of the students of JNU… cannot be claimed to be protected as a fundamental right of speech and expression. I consider this as a kind of infection… if the infection results in infecting the limb to the extent that it becomes gangrene, amputation is the only treatment.”

This, in a judgment on whether Kanhaiya should be granted bail after he was arrested allegedly on false charges of sedition and on the basis of allegedly doctored evidence. If this is a sound judgment, then pigs must have learnt to fly. It used to be said the Supreme Court and the RBI are the only two respectable institutions left in India. I guess India is left with only the RBI.

The writer is contributing editor, ‘The Indian Express’, and Senior India Analyst, the Observatory Group, a New York-based macro policy advisory group.

- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/aadhar-scheme-kanhaiya-kumar-narendra-modi-parliament-fiddling-while-rome-is-built/#sthash.lbQMjasf.dpuf

- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/aadhar-scheme-kanhaiya-kumar-narendra-modi-parliament-fiddling-while-rome-is-built/#sthash.lbQMjasf.dpuf

9439 - Budgeting for sustainable growth - Financial Express

Budgeting for sustainable growth

By sticking to fiscal targets, Jaitley demonstrated faith in Indian economic growth based on sound factors

By: Jaithirth Rao | March 4, 2016 7:46 AM

By sticking to fiscal targets, Jaitley demonstrated faith in Indian economic growth based on sound factors

My flight got delayed. I found it difficult to get my laptop connected to the net—as a result I failed to give my promised piece on Budget FY17 to my editor on time. While I apologise to him, I am not that upset. I think it has turned out for the best. 

Instead of instant noodles passing off as insight, I now have the opportunity to present a slowly seasoned dish, which despite my intellectual limitations, may actually pass off as genuinely insightful.

The first thing is that we we have all been tempted off and on, in fits of Keynesian naivety, to believe that blowing the fiscal target may be a risk worth taking. Luckily for us, our finance minister did not succumb to the temptation. I have lived in Latin America and have been witness to the follies of fiscal profligacy. Latin American elites have always felt that they could borrow and inflate their way out of self-created problems of poor productivity and bad economic incentives. They have frequently reneged on debts. The net result has been that despite decent human capital and enormous natural resources, they have failed to make it. 

Lets not forget that in the early part of the 20th century, Argentina was one of the richest countries in the world and considered the next USA. The Porteños elite must be held responsible for the spectacular failure of that beautiful and alluring country. With their faults, which are many, our elites have behaved responsibly. Chandrashekhar, Yashwant Sinha, PV Narasimha Rao, Manmohan Singh, S Venkitaramanan and C Rangarajan were willing to pledge the nation’s gold. But we did not default. If they had defaulted (as many clever American academic economists encouraged them to), we would have had three decades of negative growth, growing poverty and political disintegration. Jaitley is squarely in the intellectual tradition of responsible management. We may fudge a bit; we may struggle to meet or miss a target by a decimal point; but our hearts and heads are in the right place. Fiscal adventurism will lead to leaping inflation and eventually to low growth. By sticking to his fiscal targets, Jaitley has emphatically demonstrated faith in Indian economic growth based on sound factors, not just for the next few years, but for decades to come.

The second thing is the attempt to increase taxes on the rich. We must not forget that these are very modest increases. There is no TT Krishnamachari attempt to destroy individual or entrepreneurial initiative. It is a call to pay up a little more at a time when there is a worldwide ferment on this issue. By taking up these tax initiatives, finance minister Arun Jaitley has cut off at the proverbial pass, any silly, wealth-destroying carping from socialists. I believe this is a smart move. 

Frankly, if the rules for doing business actually get easier each day, the rich should be more than happy to pay up a tad more on their dividend incomes. 

The real taxes that the rich face in India are the hidden taxes imposed by procedural delays, legal confusions and transaction costs needed to lubricate the system. The focus must be on reductions in these hidden taxes and not on churlish protests on dividend taxes. By this one move, if nothing else, Jaitley has eliminated the possibility of inane and banal speeches by our leftists MPs that the budget is pro-rich. Elimination of boring speeches should be seen as a worthy end in itself. One has a a feeling that avoiding a simple procedure of repealing the disastrous retrospective amendment was a political decision. 

This move might have cost the support not just of the obstructive Congress Party, but also of other temporary political friends. Too bad. But that this a given in the world of democratic politics. A salutary lesson for future finance ministers. Do not try extra-clever attempts at squeezing revenues. The country will get stuck with the consequences for years to come.

I was struck by the finance minister’s almost personal, emotional concern with the fact that gargantuan medical costs so easily convert a middle class family into a poor one and a poor family into a destitute one. In contemporary times, it is simply too cruel and callous to ask people to travel hundreds of miles, lose their wages (possibly the biggest cost) to access medical facilities which modern technology has made available. Adopting an attitude of karmic passivity is immoral. The intent is above all morally exceptional. 

Now, lets just hope that we implement the proposed programmes with a minimum modicum of efficiency. As a country, we are not always inefficient. We have eliminated leprosy and polio. We might just pull this one off, too.

Giving the Aadhaar initiative a proper statutory basis is an overdue move. The Manmohan Singh government slipped it in by a sleight of hand, probably getting worried by the opposition of the poverty-lovers at the erstwhile NAC.

 I have had my own reservations from a libertarian perspective, but have, on balance, been supportive given the fact that it is pregnant with major technological gains and the fact that it might actually break the strangulating power of the intermediate bureaucracies of India and allow for direct contact between the hapless citizen and the imposing sovereign state. 

Sleights of hand are always dangerous. They can be reversed or sabotaged. A proper statutory basis after extensive and intensive parliamentary discussions (am I being too hopeful?) is the correct way to go. Proper safeguards covering citizen choice, individual privacy and limitation of the rights of the state can and should be embedded in the architecture of the legislation. If we are willing to put up with driver’s licenses and PAN cards, we just must learn to accept the intrusions of the Aadhaar. 

We can and we must try to make sure that it does not end up as a Stalinist nightmare. Lets all get ready to make our submissions—hopefully constructive ones—when the draft legislation is put up in the public domain. It is interesting to note that despite the raucous political rhetoric in our republic, the present government has actually embraced initiatives like insurance FDI, the Bangladesh Treaty and now Aadhaar in a khullam khulla way. The contrast with Latin American elite behaviour again stands out. Aadhaar, combined with inclusive banking and direct benefits transfer, may end up becoming one of Indian democracy’s sui generis achievements, much like introducing adult franchise in an illiterate country in 1952.

On tax administration, one would have liked more sweeping changes. The important thing to note is that for the first time in our history, there is an official acknowledgement that discretionary powers to the lower and middle bureaucracy is the real problem. The rest are mere symptomatic defects. An attempt has started to deal with this dismal problem. One can expect many attempts at push-back and sabotage as the small print of the rules are written. It is important for the finance minister to stay the course and to make sure that our tax-collectors end up as neutral implementers of clear and simple laws, not as whimsical and tyrannical vultures that the Krishnamacharis of the world trained them into becoming. Well begun is half done. Let us fervently hope that this effort gets fully carried out.

I close with a passing reference to something close to my heart and my personal pocket book. The clear support for affordable housing in the budget demonstrates that finally we have embraced the view that it is not the destiny of urban Indians to live in overcrowded, insanitary, leaky and soul-destroying homes. Our emerging middle class should have the right and the opportunity to address this core aspect of their lives—something that is so central to their well-being, pride and sense of having arrived. Since in my business interests, I am a beneficiary of these moves, it would be inappropriate to write a panegyric on this subject.

Budget FY17, with a little bit of luck—despite ominous global headwinds—might get us brisk—and, more importantly, sustained—growth. The probability of good outcomes has most certainly gone up.

The author is a Mumbai-based entrepreneur

9433 - Simply put: What is the Bill giving ‘statutory backing’ to Aadhaar about? - Indian Express

Simply put: What is the Bill giving ‘statutory backing’ to Aadhaar about?

The original purpose of the UID scheme was to establish the identity of individuals to ensure targeted delivery of subsidies and services under various welfare programmes of the government.

Written by Harish Damodaran | 

Updated: March 4, 2016 1:07 am 

Finance minister Arun Jaitley

On Thursday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley introduced the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill in Lok Sabha to provide “statutory backing” to the scheme of issuing unique identification numbers to every resident and using this biometric information-based platform to make payments under welfare schemes.  HARISH DAMODARAN explains what this entails

Many of us have Aadhaar or the 12-digit UID number based on the demographic (name, date of birth and address) and biometric (fingerprint and iris scanning) information that we have submitted to the enrollment agency concerned. So, what does this new bill really achieve?

The original purpose of the UID scheme was to establish the identity of individuals to ensure targeted delivery of subsidies and services under various welfare programmes of the government. The idea here was to ensure these benefits were going to the intended recipients. The Aadhaar platform was to serve as a means to authenticate the identity of the purported beneficiary, while weeding out fictitious, duplicate or non-targeted recipients.

But hold on, don’t we already have Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) in LPG cylinders that link customer connection and bank account numbers with Aadhaar? Besides, one hears even programmes like MGNREGA have Aadhaar-enabled payment systems today. And apparently, well over 98 crore individuals have been issued Aadhaar cards as of now.

All that is true: Indeed, since November 2014, some Rs 29,600 crore of subsidy payments have been transferred to over 15 crore beneficiaries under the DBT for LPG scheme. However, the Supreme Court ruled on September 23, 2013, that no person should suffer or be denied any service from the government for not possessing an Aadhaar card. In a subsequent ruling on August 11, 2015, the court said that the production of an Aadhaar card will not be a condition “for obtaining any benefits otherwise due to a citizen”, and directed the Centre to “give wide publicity in the electronic and print media… that it is not mandatory for a citizen to obtain an Aadhaar card”.

So, how has this government been implementing programmes like DBT for LPG?

Well, the Supreme Court’s August 11, 2015 order allowed the Aadhaar platform to be used for issue of foodgrains and kerosene under the PDS, and also for transfer of subsidy on LPG cylinders. On October 15, 2015, it also added payments under MGNREGA, Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, old age/widow/disability pensions and the EPFO in the list of schemes for which the Aadhaar platform could be deployed. At the same time, the court reiterated that “the Aadhaar card scheme is purely voluntary and it cannot be made mandatory till the matter is finally decided by this court one way or the other”.

What was “the matter” being referred to?

There are a number of cases challenging the use of Aadhaar in government programmes and the alleged invasion of the right to privacy of citizens resulting from the scheme. These cases have been referred to a Constitution Bench that is to deliver its verdict. Till that happens, the use of the Aadhaar platform in government schemes would remain restricted.

What would the Bill that has been introduced now do?

The Bill seeks to give statutory backing to the processes of enrolment, authentication and use of Aadhaar-related information for delivery of various benefits, subsidies and services by the government. Further, it has provisions to guarantee the security and confidentiality of identity information and authentication records of every individual who has been issued an Aadhaar number. The fact that there is no law in place, based on which the Aadhaar enrolments and use in government programmes have been happening, always makes the UID scheme open to challenge. Nor is there any legal recourse now for a person in the event of any misuse of identity information collected in the course of enrolment or authentication. All this uncertainty would end once there is a law governing the Aadhaar project. And the fact that 95% of India’s adult population has already been issued UID cards, perhaps, also make‘ the ‘voluntary versus mandatory’ debate rather infructuous today.

- See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/simply-put-what-is-the-bill-giving-statutory-backing-to-aadhaar-about/#sthash.23KI94Y6.dpuf

9424 - Bill to give statutory status to Aadhaar tabled in Lok Sabha - First Post

Bill to give statutory status to Aadhaar tabled in Lok Sabha

Mar 3, 2016 15:44 IST

New Delhi: Despite opposition from the Congress and the Biju Janata Dal, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday introduced the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2016 in the Lok Sabha.

The bill to provide Aadhaar statutory backing and make it the mainstay of the government's direct benefit transfer (DBT) programme for subsidies was tabled in the house as a money bill.

Objecting to the presentation of the bill as a money bill, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said, "Congress is ready to cooperate on the bill, but it should not come as a money bill. To avoid Rajya Sabha, they are bringing this bill as a money bill."

Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader Bhartruhari Mahtab also objected to the legislation and sought clarification from the minister.

"The bill was brought by the UPA government and then it was referred to the standing committee. Lots of recommendations were also made but I don't know the status of the bill in the Rajya Sabha. There are many contentious issues related to Aadhaar number and so the matter was also referred to the Supreme Court," he said.

Responding to the queries raised by the members, Jaitley said, "The bill is substantially different from what was brought by the UPA and it is up to the Speaker to decide. The substance of the bill is that whoever gets subsidies will have to produce Aadhaar."

The bill seeks to provide for "good governance, efficient, transparent, and targeted delivery of subsidies, benefits and services", from public funds, to the citizens through assigning of unique identity numbers to them.

IANS

9419 - Aadhaar legislation might be a Money Bill - Business Standard

Aadhaar legislation might be a Money Bill

The Bill will be introduced in the current Budget Session of the Parliament

Arup Roychoudhury  |  New Delhi 

March 2, 2016 Last Updated at 00:28 IST

The proposed Aadhaar Bill, announced by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget speech, might be introduced in the Parliament as a Money Bill within this week and, hence, will only require passage in the Lok Sabha to be enacted into law, Business Standard has learnt.

While presenting the Budget on Monday, Jaitley had said the government would introduce a Bill for targeted delivery of financial and other subsidies, benefits and services by using the Aadhaar framework.

Read our full coverage on Union Budget 2016

"The Bill will be introduced in the current Budget Session of the Parliament. The Aadhaar number or authentication shall not, however, confer any right of citizenship or domicile. A social security platform will be developed using Aadhaar to accurately target beneficiaries. This will be a transformative piece of legislation which will benefit the poor and the vulnerable," Jaitley had said.

Senior government officials said the Bill could be introduced in Lok Sabha very soon, perhaps this week, and may be a Money Bill. It would only need to pass muster in the 545 seat Lok Sabha where the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) holds comfortable majority with 337 seats.

The move to provide legislative backing for the Aadhaar framework arises from privacy and security concerns which have been raised for the platform.

In October, the Supreme Court had said that Aadhaar could only be used voluntarily for social schemes like MGNREGS and for foodgrain public distribution and LPG subsidies. The government's ambitious programme to link Aadhaar with Digital India initiative and essential services like banking and telecom was opposed due to fears of privacy breaches and data leaks.

9418 - Legitimate at last: When Aadhaar is grounded in law, it will make public spending precise TNN Blog

Legitimate at last: When Aadhaar is grounded in law, it will make public spending precise

After opposing Aadhaar through its inception and rollout, and vowing to junk it as soon as it came to power, the Modi government has now decided to make it the firm foundation of all its social programmes. Finance minister Arun Jaitley has said he will introduce a bill giving it statutory backing. This comes not a day too soon.

For all its game-changing promise, this 12-digit biometric-based ID plan has been blocked at every step, most seriously by the Supreme Court which had ruled that it could not be made a prerequisite for any public benefits, and also by privacy concerns. While it had been planned as the enabling architecture for all social provisions, it had been forced to roll out as an executive order and further hobbled by the court. Jaitley, however, has made a good case for the surpassing utility of Aadhaar, saying that it was not a forcible imposition, but it may be required if one seeks a social entitlement or other transfer from the government. Aadhaar is a precise way of getting money across, keeping government spending honest, preventing ghost accounts and leakage. For instance, according to the 2011 census, there are only 21 million households in Andhra Pradesh but 24.5 million ration cards. When Aadhaar had been tried out for LPG connections and PDS benefits, it had made a big difference by weeding out bogus beneficiaries. It can dramatically ease financial inclusion as electronic KYCs and micro-ATMs take banking to remote areas.

Jaitley should make good on his promise at the earliest. It will be difficult for the opposition to convincingly resist the legislation, given that it was the UPA’s big dream and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi had spoken up for it on multiple occasions. The bill should also build in strong privacy safeguards, and make sure that Aadhaar’s functioning is not undermined by the same recurring concerns.

This piece appeared as an editorial opinion in the print edition of The Times of India.

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March 2, 2016, 3:17 AM IST TOI Edit in TOI Editorials | Edit Page |

9417 - Focus on agriculture, infrastructure hailed - The Hindu

Updated: March 1, 2016 14:51 IST

Focus on agriculture, infrastructure hailed

• T. K. ROHIT

A.Vellayan 

Emphasis on irrigation, soil health and increased use of organic fertilizers a forward-looking feature

The Union Budget 2016-17 is a mixed bag for the chambers of commerce and industrial houses across the State. Corporate heads from various sectors commended it for its focus on infrastructure development, agriculture and rural sectors and termed it a forward-looking budget.

“The emphasis given to irrigation, soil health, increased use of organic fertilizers and developing a Unified Agriculture Marketing e-platform are steps in the right direction. The announcements for settlement of pending taxation matters will help resolve long overdue cases, and the simplified process of declaration of undisclosed income is likely to bring in new tax payers,” A. Vellayan, executive chairman, Murugappa Group.

B. Santhanam, president and managing director - Flat Glass, South Asia, Malaysia and Egypt, Saint Gobain India Private Limited, said overall the budget was positive and forward looking with more thrust on rural development, infrastructure, and digital connectivity besides social sectors. He also welcomed the continuity of the MNERGA & Aadhaar schemes and the doubling of the farmers’ income by 2020.

The Madras Chamber of Commerce & Industry welcomed the following measures from the point of view of boosting trade related transactions: deferring payment of custom duties for large exporters in line with central excise duty procedure; implementation of single window clearances using the EDI platform for customs transactions with a view to reducing transaction time and cost; replacing physical control of bonded goods with technology to ease doing business.

Proposals salutary

Chambers president S G Prabhakharan said from the industry and business point of view, the following proposals are salutary: doing away with multiple and unproductive cess and the decision to have a relook into the Companies Act.

C. K. Ranganathan,chairman and managing director, Cavinkare Private Limited, said that the allocation of Rs. 35,984 crore for the agriculture sector would indirectly fuel the demand for FMCG and have a trickle-down effect. “The 100 per cent FDI in marketing of food products produced and manufactured in India would help avoidance of wastage of over 30 per cent of farm produce and higher realisation to farmer,” he added.

At the budget viewing session organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry, E. S. Krishnamoorthy, founder and CEO, Neurokrish, appreciated the three-year tax-holiday for start-ups and the patent exemption scheme, which will boost the R&D and innovation.

He commended the renal dialysis scheme and suggested that government introduce similar schemes for other chronic illnesses.

S. Mahalingam, Chairman, CII National Committee on Sector Skill Councils, emphasised the importance of digital infrastructure (e-commerce) and Aadhaar.

9414 - Budget 2016: Jaitley ready to push for a law to give legal status to Aadhaar - First Post

Budget 2016: Jaitley ready to push for a law to give legal status to Aadhaar

By Rakesh Bhatnagar

The prime concern for finance minister Arun Jaitley after delivering the Budget on Monday is to move a Bill that gives statutory status to Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) which enrolls people for Aadhaar card.

Since the government will now link all subsidies and monetary benefits to a large section of beneficiaries with Aadhaar card, it becomes incumbent that the UIDAI is accorded legal status, which its creator Congress-led UPA couldn’t during its tenure, and take guard against the Supreme Court’s intervention on the issue whether this unique identity card violates right to privacy of citizens.

The UPA government had moved the National Identification Authority of India (NIDAI) Bill 2010 in the Rajya Sabha to provide statutory backing to its Aadhaar scheme, but it could not get the approval of Parliament because of little support from its key opponent BJP.

It was on the argument made by Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi that right to privacy could be voluntarily surrendered by people in order to avail the monetary subsidies provided by the government, the top court had slammed the government saying no scheme could violate the fundamental right of privacy.

Serious doubts were, however, raised on the Aadhaar card scheme as the government hadn’t been able to set up its statutory authority.

In October 2015, Supreme Court had issued an interim order rejecting mandatory requirement of Aadhaar for availing benefits or subsidies or services of government and said that the Aadhaar card scheme is purely voluntary and it cannot be made mandatory till the matter is finally decided by it.

Can an individual voluntarily waive his right to privacy by enrolling for Aadhaar? The Supreme Court had its reservation, thus referred this question for consideration by a Constitution Bench of at least five judges while refusing to modify its August 11, 2015 interim order restricting the use of Aadhaar to identify beneficiaries for the subsidies.

In a talk on national TV channel, Jaitley on Monday said the government will soon pilot a Bill to effectuate statutory status to UIDAI so that Aadhaar card is mandatory.

It is learnt that the Aadhaar (Delivery of Benefits, Subsidies and Services) Bill 2016 is ready and may be piloted in this current session in Lok Sabha.

This proposed legislation would grant statutory footing to Aadhaar card.

Attorney General Rohatgi has opined that the government could move the Bill as Money Bill under Articles 109 and 110 of the Constitution.

The Modi government also has plans to withdraw National Identification Authority of India Bill, 2010, from Rajya Sabha.

Jaitley says the proposed Bill wouldn’t interfere with the issue of privacy which is awaiting hearing by the Supreme Court. He doesn’t elaborate.

It is learnt that the Bill could help the government counter concerns raised over privacy and data security. It provides for proof of Aadhaar number as a condition for receipt of benefit and subsidy funded by the Consolidated Fund of India.

It is learnt that a framework is needed for effective implementation of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) schemes. Thus, all benefits, subsidies or services funded from the consolidated fund of India, should be through Aadhaar platform.

Though details of the Bill are awaited, it takes care of legislation, privacy and data security.

A retired judge, Justice K.S. Puttaswamy, who challenged the legality of Aadhaar had raised primary concern that whether the collection and storing of biometric and other information would compromise a citizen’s right to privacy.

Until date over 98 crore Aadhaar numbers have been generated. On an average 26 lakh biometric and over 1.5 lakh e-KYC transactions are prepared every day.

Aadhaar numbers have been fed in 11.19 crore Direct Benefit Transfer of LPG (DBTL) accounts out of total 16.5 crore DBTL beneficiaries.

Why statutory status to Aadhaar card is imperative? Jaitley says at a time when the government is determined to wipe out pilferage in distribution of subsidy meant for the rightful claimants, a unique number linked to bank account of the claimant is necessary.

The proposed food subsidy bill is of Rs 1.35 lakh crore, Fertiliser subsidies total to Rs 70,000 crore, petroleum bill at Rs 26,947 crore and another Rs 38,500 crore to the BPL farm labourers engaged in minor construction works 150 days in a year under MNREGA.

The Union Cabinet approved direct benefit transfer to beneficiaries of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) as it noted that delayed payments had been one of the biggest drawbacks of the affirmative scheme under which Rs 34,000 crore had been allocated this fiscal.

Direct benefit transfer ensures that scheme funds do not get indefinitely parked with the state finance departments or diverted to the vested interests in the government.

• 
  

9413 - Aadhaar gets statutory status; Centre to bring Bill in two days - Indian Express

Aadhaar gets statutory status; Centre to bring Bill in two days

The Centre is set to introduce the Aadhar Bill in Parliament over the next couple of days to give the platform a statutory backing.

Written by Aanchal Magazine | New Delhi | Updated: March 1, 2016 2:30 am - 

It has been suggested that all benefits, subsidies or services funded from the consolidated fund of India should be through Aadhaar platform.

The Government has decided to accord statutory status to Aadhaar to ensure that benefits of the government subsidies directly reach the needy. The statutory status will provide a legal basis to Aadhaar for expanding its use for a range of developmental purposes.

“Additionally, as I will elaborate later, we will undertake significant reform including enactment of a law to ensure all government benefits are conferred to people who deserve it by giving a statutory backing to the Aadhaar platform,” finance minister Arun Jaitley said while announcing the Union Budget 2016-17.

The Centre is set to introduce the Aadhar Bill in Parliament over the next couple of days to give the platform a statutory backing, a move that will expand its range of utility in providing government benefits. “I will introduce in one or two days. It is ready. I have also given notice,” Jaitley said while referring to his announcement on Aadhaar.

Watch video: The Big Picture Of Arun Jaitley’s Budget 2016

See more at: http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/budget-2016-aadhaar-gets-statutory-status-centre-to-bring-bill-in-two-days/#sthash.eO76wfkC.dpuf

9412 - Modi government to give statutory backing to Aadhaar scheme - Hindustan Times

Modi government to give statutory backing to Aadhaar scheme

• HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times, New Delhi |  Updated: Feb 29, 2016 17:32 IST

The government’s move to introduce a bill could help it overcome the legal challenges in linking Aadhaar to a host of government services. (HT File Photo)

The Modi government will give a statutory backing to Aadhaar, the unique identification scheme, and bill to this effect would be introduced in the ongoing budget session of Parliament, finance minister Arun Jaitley said on Monday while presenting the Union Budget.

The Aadhaar scheme, part of the government’s JAM -- Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhaar and Mobile number – policy, is currently under challenge from civil rights groups in the Supreme Court. The lack of any legal backing is one of the grounds on which Aadhaar has faced criticism.

The Supreme Court has since restricted the use of Aadhaar, key to the government’s plan to shift to cash transfers, to the public distribution system and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme.

“First, we will introduce a bill for Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services by using the Aadhaar framework. The bill will be introduced in the current budget session of the Parliament. The Aadhaar number or authentication shall not, however, confer any right of citizenship or domicile,” Jaitley said.

A social security platform would also be developed using Aadhar to accurately target beneficiaries. “This will be a transformative piece of legislation which will benefit the poor and the vulnerable,” the finance minister said.

The government looks to expand the use of Aadhaar, Jaitley said. “Second, we have already introduced Direct Benefit Transfer in LPG. Based on this successful experience, we propose to introduce DBT on pilot basis for fertilizer in a few districts across the country, with a view to improving the quality of service delivery to farmers,” the finance minister said.

The government’s move to introduce a bill could help it overcome the legal challenges in linking Aadhaar to a host of government services. The Supreme Court has also asked a constitutional bench to look into whether Aadhaar, which is based on biometric markers, violates citizens’ right to privacy.

The Supreme Court bench will decide where the right to privacy is a fundamental right. Petitioners who have contested the Aadhaar project claim it violates right to privacy by collecting and sharing biometric data of citizens.

The overall aim is “the enactment of a law to ensure that all government benefits are conferred upon persons who deserve it, by giving a statutory backing to the Aadhaar platform”, Jaitley said.

Currently, over 98 crore Aadhaar numbers have been generated. An average of 2.6 million biometric and over 150,000 lakh e-transactions are made under it.

The government has been able to connect Aadhaar numbers with 111.9 million direct-benefits-transfer accounts of a total 165 million beneficiaries. A National Identification Authority of India Bill, 2010 is already pending in the Rajya Sabha.