9521 - The Scheme is Safe And Beneficial, Says UIDAI Official - Indian Express

The Scheme is Safe And Beneficial, Says UIDAI Official

By Express News Service

Published: 14th March 2016 04:12 AM

The scheme is simple. Get an Aadhaar card, link it with your bank account number and all subsidies, pensions or scholarships provided by the Centre or the state will be credited directly to your account.

Aadhaar-based Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme has had an ambitious objective of plugging leakage in subsidies by removing middlemen. Now, the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2016, aims to provide a legal framework for the scheme.

Despite opposition by critics of the scheme, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and other organisations believe that it has been beneficial and is essential in the long run.

The petitioners against Aadhaar, on the other hand, believe that the Bill — even if it is enacted as law — will be scrapped as soon as the Supreme Court issues a final order.

‘It is Safe and Secure’

According to Anjali Ellis Shankar, Additional Director General, UIDAI, said depending on how various departments have used Aadhaar, it has been an efficient tool in ensuring benefits to the beneficiaries.

“With Aadhaar-based DBT, nobody can impersonate another. Earlier, people used to draw pensions even after the beneficiaries were dead. The scheme prevents such misuse,” she said.

Moreover, it has been a tool for identity. Even ragpickers have been keen on enrolling for Aadhaar as it cannot be duplicated.

To a question on concerns over data security, she said information security was at a “very high level”.

J R Bangera, former president of Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI), recalled the initiatives by the trade body in promoting Aadhaar enrolment. “In future, everything will be linked to Aadhaar. We have encouraged even our district chambers to hold programmes to popularise the scheme,” he said.

SC Ruling

With the final judgment on a petition against Aadhaar awaited, the petitioners believe that the ruling will be the final nail on Aadhaar’s coffin.

According to one of the petitioners, Aadhaar violates Article 31 and other rights of citizens enshrined in the Constitution. “With its judgement, SC can invalidate the Bill or ensure necessary changes — in case the Bill is enacted,” the petitioner said.

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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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.

9388 - Govt likely to make a bill to mandate Aadhaar for securing benefits - DNA India

Govt likely to make a bill to mandate Aadhaar for securing benefits

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

Wed, 24 Feb 2016-10:40pm , New Delhi , PTI

Government is considering a bill to make Aadhaar mandatory for securing benefits or subsidies funded from the consolidated fund of India.

The new legislation to grant statutory footing to Aadhaar is proposed to be introduced as Aadhaar (Delivery of benefits, Subsidies and Services) Bill 2016 as Money Bill under Articles 109,110 of the Constitution of India, an official source told PTI.

"The proposed Bill was seen by the Attorney General who has opined that the same can be introduced as a Money Bill as per Articles 109 and 110 of the Constitution of India," the source said.

Government has plans to withdraw National Identification Authority of India Bill, 2010, from Rajya Sabha and replace it with the Aadhaar Bill on approval of the Cabinet. At present Unique Identification Authority of India, issuer of Aadhaar numbers, is functioning under an executive notification of the Planning Commission.

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

"To rule out an adverse order as well as provide a legal foundation for expanding the use of Aadhaar for a range of developmental purposes, it is necessary that the Aadhaar scheme be given a firm statutory footing," the source said.

The official added that there is requirement of a framework which is essentially service delivery centric for effective implementation of Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) schemes. It is proposes that all benefits, subsidies or services funded from the consolidated fund of India should be through Aadhaar platform.

The source said that the Bill will address issues of legislation, privacy, data security raised before the apex court. Till date over 98 crore Aadhaars have been generated. Per day average of 26 lakh biometric and over 1.5 lakh e-KYC transactions are made. Aadhaar numbers have been seeded in 11.19 crore DBTL accounts out of total 16.5 crore DBTL beneficiaries.

9372 - #dnaEdit: Aadhaar’s bad luck - DNA

#dnaEdit: Aadhaar’s bad luck

Tue, 16 Feb 2016-06:40am , dna

The reported plan to introduce the Aadhaar legislation as a money bill does disservice to its potential for use in welfare schemes

The Centre’s plan to introduce a legislation to provide statutory backing to the disbursal of central subsidies through the Aadhaar Unique Identification (UID) project is welcome. However, it has been reported that the government is planning to introduce the legislation as a money bill, so that the Rajya Sabha, where the Opposition commands a majority, cannot block it. This is ill-conceived and may not withstand judicial scrutiny. While there have been two recent instances of the black money and the bankruptcy code legislations being introduced as money bills, the implications of the UID project are much bigger. A thorough discussion by both houses of Parliament will only help iron out the weaknesses in the Bill and ensure it passes legal scrutiny.

The Modi government has come up with the catchy acronym JAM (Jan Dhan, Aadhaar, Mobile Governance) to plug leakages and speed up the delivery of payments related to central welfare schemes worth nearly Rs3.5 lakh crore. Though over 90 crore persons have already been enrolled in the UID project, the failure to ensure statutory backing has hurt its rollout in cash transfer schemes. With concerns about privacy violations and its possible use for intrusive purposes unlike welfare schemes, Aadhaar has come under the Supreme Court’s scanner. 

Currently, the Supreme Court’s interim order on Aadhaar usage restricts it to identifying beneficiaries of the public distribution system (PDS) and transferring subsidies on cooking gas and kerosene. As a result, ambitious plans to use Aadhaar for biometric attendance, Jan Dhan Yojana, pension payments, scholarships, MGNREGA wage disbursals, and operating payment banks, which were finalised, are being held in abeyance.

The legislation which has reportedly been titled the Aadhaar (Delivery of Benefits, Subsidies and Services) Bill 2016 will have to ensure that the twin imperatives of privacy and data security are upheld. For the government, it is also an opportunity to convey the impression that it has not lost its reformist zeal. The Jan Dhan Yojana has been successful in meeting its financial inclusion goal by roping in more people into the banking structure. But a large number of zero balance accounts opened under JDY are not showing signs of activity thus robbing the scheme of any meaningful utility for the beneficiaries. But by tying the bank accounts to the Aadhaar UID number and the mobile phone number, the Centre is on the cusp of entering a revolutionary phase where cash transfers become the norm.

The Aadhaar UID number will help in identifying the beneficiary while the mobile number will help in alerting the beneficiary about deposits to the account. Currently, there is no way to account for the leakages at the grass-roots level where fake muster rolls and ration cards are being used to divert MGNREGA funds and food grains allocation. Similarly, payment banks can use Aadhaar and mobile numbers to validate payments thus helping to drive more financial transactions to digital platforms. Despite the benefits that Aadhaar entails, the central government has repeatedly made a mess of ensuring its orderly rollout. The Opposition is certain to see political motives in certifying the legislations as a money bill. The Centre should attempt to build political consensus over Aadhaar, a UPA-era project, rather than provoke the Opposition to mindlessly raise reservations.

9335 - Oilcos in Kashmir flout Supreme Court directive on LPG subsidy - Greater Kashmir.com

Oilcos in Kashmir flout Supreme Court directive on LPG subsidy

Compel beneficiaries to register Aadhar details

MUKEET AKMALI 

Srinagar, Publish Date: Feb 9 2016 12:40AM | Updated Date: Feb 9 2016 12:40AM

File Photo

In violation of the Supreme Court directions, Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) in Kashmir have issued ‘diktat’ to LPG consumers asking them to register Aadhaar details with respective dealers or else their subsidies would be stopped.

The Supreme Court of India in a latest judgement ruled that linking of Aadhaar for providing these services will only be on “voluntary basis and no person shall be deprived of any benefit for want of Aadhar”.

However, in clear violation of these directions, the oil marketing companies have asked the consumers to register their Aadhar details with respective LPG dealerships before February 29 for availing LPG subsidy.

An advertisement by HPCL here reads: “All LPG consumers of Jammu and Kashmir are requested to convert from Bank Transfer Compliant to Aadhar Transfer Compliant before 29 February.

The OMC order has come as a rude shock to the consumers in Kashmir who are yet to get Aadhar cards particularly in Srinagar district where only 30 per cent people have received Aadhar cards.

“This means all domestic LPG consumers who are availing subsidy without seeding their Aadhar card in LPG database and without linking their Aadhar details to their bank details, have to furnish Aadhar details to their LPG distributor and bank at the earliest,” the advertisement by the HPCL reads.

“Majority of LPG consumers are yet to submit their Aadhar card number but have linked their bank account with the LPG consumer number and continue to receive LPG subsidy in their bank accounts through Bank Transfer Compliant mode. In order to continue receiving LPG subsidy, such consumers will now have to submit the Aadhar card details with their LPG distributor and also link the Aadhar card with their bank accounts,” it states.

Meanwhile, the move has evoked sharp criticism from the consumers in the Kashmir Valley who accuse the OMCs of hoodwinking people of the state.

Scores of consumers told Greater Kashmir that they have yet to receive the Aadhar card. “What will we submit when we have yet to receive the Aadhar card? It is highly unreasonable on the part of the oil companies to press for the Aadhar cards when they obviously know that majority of people in Kashmir, particularly in Srinagar have not received the Aadhar cards as yet. This is clearly a ploy to deprive us from the subsidy,”  they said.

 “I am yet to get Aadhar card, what will I submit. It is a joke on part of the government as well as OMCs who are just harassing people on one pretext or the other,” said Abid Hussain, a Srinagar resident.

The consumers are evoking Supreme Court direction stating that why the OMCs are not keeping the submission of Aadhar details as “voluntarily instead of mandatory”.

“I have not opted for the Aadhar as I feel it intrudes my privacy but why it is made mandatory for availing benefits though the SC direction is against it, “said Javid Ahmad, a local resident.

Talking to Greater Kashmir, Deputy Manager Sales, HPCL, Zubair Banday said that they are following the guidelines of Union Oil Ministry.

“Union Oil Ministry has asked all the oil marketing companies to route LPG subsidy through Aadhar Transfer compliant,” he said adding they are following their guidelines.

When asked that majority of people in Kashmir are without Aadhar cards, he said that those who don’t have Aadhar cards can submit undertaking at their respective dealerships to continue subsidy till they get the Aadhar.

8988 - Fact check: Will restricting Aadhaar now affect crores of welfare recipients?- Scroll.In

Fact check: Will restricting Aadhaar now affect crores of welfare recipients?

Last week, the government told the Supreme Court that the biometrics programme has already become critical for paying wages and pensions. Its data suggests otherwise.

Anumeha Yadav  · Oct 22, 2015 · 12:30 pm

Has India’s biometrics-based identity project Aadhaar already become essential for the implementation of social welfare schemes? The Modi government steadfastly suggests so, even though there is no evidence on the ground to prove this.

On October 15, when the Supreme Court was hearing a clutch of petitions challenging the validity of the project, the government defended Aadhaar vehemently. It pointed to the court that the Aadhaar card has become the most widely held identity document in India, with an enrolment of around 92 crore people. More importantly, it claimed that Aadhaar is used to provide wages to 1 crore workers under the national rural employment guarantee scheme and to reach 30 lakh pensioners.

Disrupting the unique identification system now by limiting it to voluntary use, the government claimed, will shut off social schemes to a large section of the population. It requested the court to instead permit it to make Aadhaar mandatory in around 80 social schemes.

Once the arguments were heard, the Supreme Court permitted the voluntary use of Aadhaar in four schemes: the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana and schemes related to pension and provident fund. The court reasoned that if the Aadhaar card could be voluntarily used to avail LPG subsidy and ration – permitted through a court order on August 11 – then why not other social schemes.

But how factual were the government’s arguments in court? Has Aadhaar already become an indispensible welfare delivery system? Official data shows it hasn’t really.

Even now, Direct Benefit Transfers – subsidies given directly to people through their bank accounts – is carried out through the National Electronic Funds Transfer, not through Aadhaar. Contrary to the government’s claim, therefore, restricting the project even at this stage would neither impact a large section of beneficiaries nor disrupt their payments.

Ways of welfare delivery

The government wants to use the Aadhaar project in social schemes in three ways.

1. Every time a person enrols for Aadhaar, their biometric and demographic information is recorded and checked against the Aadhaar and welfare databases to weed out duplication. Called “de-duplication”, the idea behind this process is to identify and remove fake entries in the rolls and those who have duplicate cards. However, the procedure has counterproductively struck off genuine beneficiaries from welfare schemes, simply because they either missed Aadhaar enrolment or were not interested in it.

2. The second planned use is the Aadhaar Payment Bridge System. Under this, a welfare beneficiary’s unique Aadhaar number is added to – or “seeded in” – the government database. Banks carry out the same procedure, linking the Aadhaar number to the bank account number of their account holders. Next, banks report this “seeding” to the Reserve Bank of India’s National Payments Corporation of India to add it to a “mapper”. Once these steps are over, the government can make a Direct Benefit Transfer – that is, transfer benefits such as wages and pensions directly into a beneficiary’s bank account – using the Aadhaar Payment Bridge System.

3. The third use is doorstep delivery, or the Aadhaar Enabled Payment System. The government is giving accredited agents, called banking correspondents, a hand-held micro-ATM to take banking services right to the doorsteps of beneficiaries. These agents authenticate beneficiaries’ biometric information against the Aadhaar database on the micro-ATM using real-time internet, allowing on-the-spot payments of wages and pensions. This idea too has run into many problems – including poor mobile and internet connectivity, slow bank technology upgradation, problems in hiring enough banking correspondents.

Limited in reach

The second use of the unique identification project, the Aadhaar Payment Bridge System, has its own set of problems – it is still at a nascent stage and the government has found it difficult to scale it up. Concerted enrolment drives since 2011 have helped government enrol crores of people in Aadhaar. But officials acknowledge that the number of welfare recipients for whom seeding has been completed and who hold Aadhaar-mapped accounts is too low for the government to shift to the Aadhaar Payment Bridge System.

Given the lack of legal framework for Aadhaar and the many Supreme Court orders specifying that it can’t be made mandatory for social schemes, the government could not seed beneficiaries’ welfare schemes data at the time of enrolment. Even after beneficiaries enrolled in Aadhaar, a senior government official explained, they had to be physically located a second time to collect their data for seeding. In most states, however, banks did not deploy staff to seed data at their end, or they didn’t forward mapping requests to the National Payments Corporation of India.

As a result, the government couldn’t push Direct Benefit Transfers through the Aadhaar Payment Bridge System. Instead, it is making these transfers through the National Electronic Funds Transfer, which does not use Aadhaar.

Data from the Ministry of Finance shows that in both MNREGA and National Social Assistance Programme on pensions for the poor, the government is transferring funds using Aadhaar only in minuscule cases. Most funds are being routed through National Electronic Funds Transfers.

Finance Ministry data also reveals that although 65.3% of MNREGA beneficiaries have an Aadhaar number, their details have been seeded in 16.3% cases only. As for pensions, while 55.1% beneficiaries have enrolled in Aadhaar, “seeding” has been done for 10.6% of them.

In March, for instance, 98.3% of MNREGA workers received wages through NEFT. Only 1.6% of wages were paid through the Aadhaar Payment Bridge System, and 0.1% through another system, called the Public Financial Management System, which again doesn’t require Aadhaar.

Direct Benefit Transfers (in crores).

For social pensions, the government directed 92.6% of Direct Benefits Transfers through NEFT in March and only 5.2% through the Aadhaar Payment Bridge System.

Direct Benefit Transfers through various modes (%).

“Direct Benefit Transfer does not need Aadhaar. They can proceed without Aadhaar,” said Reetika Khera, an economist at the Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi. “Most of the DBTs so far have been using the NEFT transfer route very successfully.” Khera adds that in the last few years, corruption has reduced significantly in public schemes such as the Public Distribution System and MNREGA through simpler technology such as SMS alerts and computerisation of records.

Senior officials acknowledge that the actual number of Aadhaar payments is very low and the number of Aadhaar-seeded accounts even lower. They say the government is trying to bring every worker with an Aadhaar number under the Aadhaar Payment Bridge System and, for this, it needs the court to include “voluntary use” of Aadhaar in a greater number of social schemes.

“The court order has laid the ground for continuing our immediate work in Aadhaar,” said a senior official in the Direct Benefit Transfer department, which was recently placed under the Cabinet Secretariat. “We will continue to push banks and different ministries and departments to achieve higher seeding in MNREGA, pensions, Jan Dhan. We have discussed a proposal to draft a law for a new legal and statutory framework for Aadhaar.”

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8947 - FULL COVERAGE OF SUPREME COURT ORDER ON 15TH OCTOBER 2015

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Financial Express - ‎17 hours ago‎

SC extends voluntary use of Aadhaar card for schemes like MGNREGA, all types of pension schemes, PM's Jan Dhan Yojana and EPF. By: Agencies | New Delhi | October 15, 2015 4:57 PM. G+. Supreme Court. SC extends voluntary use of Aadhaar card for ...

SC allows voluntary use of Aadhar cards

IBNLive - ‎17 hours ago‎

New Delhi: Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the voluntary use of Aadhar cards which would not make it mandatory to posses the unique identification card in order to avail benefits under social welfare schemes. The move comes after the Centre on ...

Apex court permits 'voluntary' use of Aadhaar cards in welfare schemes

Hindu Business Line - ‎17 hours ago‎

Lifting its earlier restriction, the Supreme Court today permitted voluntary use of Aadhaar cards in welfare schemes that also included MGNREGA, all pension schemes and the provident fund besides the NDA Government's flagship programmes such as the ...

Supreme Court provides partial relief for Aadhaar

Livemint - ‎17 hours ago‎

Aadhaar is purely voluntary and not mandatory till the matter is decided by the Supreme Court. Photo: Priyanka Parashar/Mint. New Delhi: In a small but significant win for the government, the Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the use of the Aadhaar ...

Your Aadhaar card is now useful for more welfare schemes

India Today - ‎18 hours ago‎

A five-judge Supreme Court bench on Thursday allowed the use of the Aadhaar card, a development that comes as a huge relief for the government which had petitioned the apex court to extend its ambit. IndiaToday.in | New Delhi, October 15, 2015 | Edited ...

SC allows voluntary use of Aadhaar card for MGNREGA, 3 other schemes

Times of India - ‎18 hours ago‎

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday gave huge relief to the Centre by permitting voluntary use of Aadhaar card by citizens to avail benefits under MGNREGA, pension, PF and PM Jandhan Yojna schemes. A 5-Judge bench headed by Chief Justice ...

Govt seeks to put Aadhaar's privacy fears to rest through legislative action

Business Standard - ‎20 hours ago‎

In a move aimed at comprehensively dealing with the privacy issues surrounding Aadhaar, the Narendra Modi-led government might take legislative action to institutionalise stricter guidelines regarding, who could access the central Aadhaar database and ...

Nobody Should be at Disadvantageous Position for Want of Aadhaar: Supreme Court

NDTV - ‎Oct 14, 2015‎

New Delhi: In a last ditch attempt before the issue moves to a larger Constitutional bench, the government on Wednesday made a fresh pitch before Supreme Court for allowing voluntary use of Aadhaar cards for welfare schemes, saying it was prepared to ...

Aadhaar more secure than social media apps and phones, centre to Supreme Court

Economic Times - ‎Oct 14, 2015‎

NEW DELHI: Aadhaar is far more secure in ensuring privacy than some social media apps and mobile phones in today's digital world, the government told the Supreme Court, as it wants the top court to permit wider use of the databank containing citizens' ...

Aadhaar use will be voluntary, says government

Times of India - ‎Oct 14, 2015‎

NEW DELHI: Desperate to make Aadhaar usage universal to optimize implementation of welfare schemes, the Centre on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that it was ready to promise in writing that it would be completely voluntary for citizens to obtain and ...

Absolute privacy is a futile notion, says AG

The Hindu - ‎Oct 14, 2015‎

What harm can Aadhaar do when the right to privacy of an Indian citizen has become a futile notion in an era when Facebook can track every detail, thought and movement through its WhatsApp software application, Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi asked a ...

Right to privacy concerns: Aadhaar holder can block his biometric info, Govt ...

The Indian Express - ‎Oct 14, 2015‎

It is for the first time that the government or the UIDAI has disclosed that a mechanism exists under which a card holder can choose to block the biometric information linked to his Aadhaar card. Google +. Comments. Written by Utkarsh Anand | New Delhi ...

SC Bench starts hearing Centre's petition on Aadhaar

Business Standard - ‎Oct 14, 2015‎

A five-judge constitution Bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice H L Dattu, on Wednesday started hearing the Centre's petition to modify its earlier order on Aadhaar and the main question which fell from the judges was whether the identity ...

Aadhaar case: Supreme Court begins hearing arguments

Livemint - ‎Oct 14, 2015‎

New Delhi: A five-judge constitution bench of the Supreme Court headed by chief justice H.L. Dattu began hearing arguments in the Aadhaar case on Wednesday. Two separate references were made to a constitution bench in the case—one seeking ...

Clarify Aadhaar is voluntary: Supreme Court tells govt

Moneycontrol.com - ‎Oct 14, 2015‎

The statement was made by a five judge constitutional bench headed by the Chief Justice of India (CJI). The bench is hearing the case on the application as well as implementation of Aadhaar. Ashmit Kumar. Reporter, CNBC-TV18. More about the Expert.

Use of Aadhaar card will be voluntary, Centre tells SC

Business Standard - ‎Oct 14, 2015‎

The centre on Wednesday told Supreme Court that the use of the Aadhaar card will be voluntary. The centre said the government's "highest functionary" would file an affidavit in the apex court stating that possessing an Aadhar card would not be ...

Aadhaar card use can't be stopped, it is backed by the IT Act 2000

Financial Express - ‎Oct 13, 2015‎

Officials who have designed the blueprint for utilisation of Aadhaar card say that the Narendra Modi govt should have forcefully stated that Aadhaar usage is compliant with the Information Technology Act, 2000 in the Supreme Court. By: Santosh Tiwari ...

Aadhaar encryption protects privacy, will take eons to crack

Times of India - ‎Oct 13, 2015‎

NEW DELHI: The Aadhaar system's data collection and storage is strongly protected by sophisticated encryption processes to ensure biometric data does not leak either through private contractors running enrollment centres or at the central data servers ...

Raghuram Rajan welcomes Supreme Court's decision related to Aadhaar use

BLR Eagle - ‎33 minutes ago‎

The Supreme Court (SC) ruling in making use of of Aadhaar card in additional schemes was welcomed by Raghuram Rajan, the RBI Governor and for this brilliant ruling he said that now the Aadhaar will certainly help in expanding banking system, which ...

Supreme Court permits 'voluntary' use of Aadhaar cards in welfare schemes

Niticentral - ‎1 hour ago‎

New Delhi, Oct 16 (PTI) Lifting its earlier restriction, the Supreme Court yesterday permitted voluntary use of Aadhaar cards in welfare schemes that also included MGNREGA, all pension schemes and the provident fund besides ambitious flagship ...

South Carolina allows Aadhar for welfare schemes

Celebrity Cafe - Entertainment News (blog) - ‎2 hours ago‎

Also, the apex court had earlier directed that no information about an individual that the Unique Identification Authority of India obtains while issuing an Aadhaar card can be used for any other objective except, with court permission, for criminal ...

SC allows voluntary use of Aadhaar for 4 Govt schemes

Indiainfoline - ‎3 hours ago‎

The apex court relaxed its stance on the wider use of Aadhaar card after the Government promised that absence of Aadhaar card would not prevent people from benefiting from the Central schemes. Print Email. Save. Article saved successfully to my page.

Consti bench surprises all, modifies Aadhaar interim order after 4 hours of ...

Legally India - ‎3 hours ago‎

Looks like Aadhaar card is back on the menuChief Justice HL Dattu, who led the five-Judge Constitution Bench, had a surprise in store after hearing rival contentions for and against relaxing the 11 August interim order in order to exempt more schemes ...

Aadhaar voluntary,says Supreme Court

The Hans India - ‎6 hours ago‎

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday modified its October 8 order restricting the use of the Aadhaar card for only Public Distribution System and LPG subsidy. The apex court has now said that voluntary use of Aadhaar card for schemes like MGNREGA ...

SC Allows Voluntary Use of Aadhaar

The New Indian Express - ‎6 hours ago‎

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday permitted voluntary use of Aadhaar cards in welfare schemes that included MGNREGA, all pension schemes and the provident fund programmes such as 'Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojna' of the present NDA ...

More Aadhaar leeway for Centre

Calcutta Telegraph - ‎8 hours ago‎

New Delhi, Oct. 15: A five-judge constitution bench today allowed the Centre to link several social benefit schemes to Aadhaar but added that the cards cannot be made mandatory. Today's order modifies an August 11 directive by a three-judge bench that ...

Supreme Court allows use of Aadhaar card in more areas

The Asian Age - ‎8 hours ago‎

Lifting its earlier restrictions, the Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the wider usage of the Aadhaar card to a limited extent, on a purely voluntary basis, to avail of benefits under MGNREGA, all types of pensions, the employees' provident fund and ...

Aadhaar's 'voluntary' use for 4 more schemes permitted

Chandigarh Tribune - ‎9 hours ago‎

The Supreme Court today enlarged the scope of the Aadhaar card by allowing its voluntary use for four more schemes — rural employment (MNREGA), zero-balance bank accounts under Jan Dhan Yojana, provident fund and pension. The court has already ...

Indian Government argues Aadhaar card usage voluntary

Biometric Update - ‎9 hours ago‎

The Indian government admitted to India's Supreme Court that Aadhaar cardholders can opt out of the unique identification scheme if they wish by blocking data embedded on the cards. “The making of the card is voluntary,” stated Attorney General Mukul ...

SC allows use of Aadhaar card in welfare schemes

Deccan Herald - ‎9 hours ago‎

The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the government to use Aadhaar cards for Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, MNREGA and pension and provident fund schemes only after obtaining the citizens' consent. A five-judge bench presided over by Chief ...

SC increases ambit of Aadhaar Card

New Kerala - ‎11 hours ago‎

Agreeing to the Centre's plea, the Supreme Court on Thursday increased the ambit of Aadhaar Card. The Aadhaar Card can now be used to avail government schemes including employment guarantee, pension and bank accounts, the apex court said. Earlier ...

Huge relief to Centre as SC permits linking of Aadhaar cards to welfare schemes

Live Law - ‎12 hours ago‎

Central government today got a major relief with the Supreme permitting linking of Aadhaar cards in welfare schemes that also included MGNREGA, all pension schemes and the provident fund besides ambitious flagship programmes like 'Pradhan Mantri Jan ...

Supreme Court modifies interim order on Aadhaar; Right to privacy to be heard ...

Bar & Bench - ‎14 hours ago‎

The Supreme Court today modified the interim order pertaining to the use of Aadhaar. The court also directed the case be placed before a larger Bench to decide the issue of the status of right to privacy in Indian jurisprudence. With the modification ...

Supreme Court relaxes Aadhar card restriction

International Business Times, India Edition - ‎15 hours ago‎

In a shift from its interim order restricting the use of the Aadhaar card for only Public Distribution System (PDS) and LPG subsidy, the Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the use of the unique identity number for all central and state schemes. These ...

Supreme Court relaxes Aadhaar card use

Jagran Post - ‎16 hours ago‎

New Delhi: The Supreme Court today relaxed its earlier order extending use of Aadhaar card on voluntary basis in social welfare scheme MNREGA, old age pension scheme, provident fund and Prime Minister's Jan Dhan Yojana. Why wait till January 23, ...

Aadhaar: Supreme Court lifts restrictions; allows voluntary use of card for ...

India.com - ‎16 hours ago‎

New Delhi, Oct 15: Supreme Court on Thursday, provided relief to the Centre by uplifting the restrictions imposed on the usage of Aadhaar Card. The unique identification number can once again be used by the citizens for availing public benefits. The ...

8942 - SC relaxes Aadhaar card use - Business Standard

http://www.business-standard.com/article/news-ians/sc-relaxes-aadhaar-card-use-115101500689_1.html

SC relaxes Aadhaar card use

IANS |  New Delhi 

October 15, 2015 Last Updated at 16:02 IST

The Supreme court on Thursday relaxed its earlier order extending use of Aadhaar card on voluntary basis in social welfare scheme MNREGA, old age pension scheme, provident fund and Prime Minister's Jan Dhan Yojana.

The apex court constitution bench headed by Chief Justice H.L. Dattu modified the order on a batch of applications by the central government and its various agencies seeking modification of August 11 order by which the use of Aadhaar card was limited for getting foodgrain and kerosene under PDS and for LPG.