Bro, just got aadhaar fingerprint auth rejected two days in a row. Don't think i'll get it to work anytime soon. Local states' aadhaar auth rejection seems to be 30% rejection rate. (For first 3 months of 2017).
Those changes have little to do with Aadhaar. Efficiency in delivery could be achieved despite Aadhaar. If you look at the savings figures and all the analysis put in by many people, you'd understand that the government is publishing bogus figures. In the case of cooking gas (LPG), even the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General of India) disproved the claims of huge savings.
Does the author mean, biometric details have been leaked? I think he last 3 paragraphs, it looks like she's kind of using the numbers leak (aadhar numbers are not meant to be private, like SSN in the US) and the biometrics leak interchangeably.
The whole purpose of the project was to provide means of identification of people that didn't have any kind of document – passport, driving license, etc.
Identification of people is crucial in regions where some people receive subsidies as ensures it reaches the right people.
It's a shame this platform is being potentially used to violate citizen's privacy. Maybe a EU GDPR-esque regulation would balance the control on where private information is used back to the citizen.
> The whole purpose of the project was to provide means of identification of people that didn't have any kind of document – passport, driving license, etc.
That was just the guise under which it was launched. Aadhaar has been a poorly thought out and poorly implemented solution that's still looking for problems. Responses to RTI (Right to Information) queries have shown that 99.7% of people who enrolled for Aadhaar did so using existing identification documents. Only 0.3% enrolled without identity documents using the "introducer" system. [1]
I hope they don't. Do you even realize what you are talking about! If they did that, it is easy to conceive a system that can determine whom you voted for (at a certain level of confidence). That kind of information can have potentially harmful consequences for many.
You don't need to link your vote to aadhaar. Vote can be anonymized, but polling booths can still check and identify voters using aadhaar and easily avoid duplicate votes & rigging.
If online verification is used, issues of no-connectivity/poor-connectivity/latency can cause problems. Polling units are sent to remote corners of the country.
Loading the polling unit with aadhar database can be one approach. Very few know (relative to the number of personnel involved in the polling process), as to which polling unit will go to which polling station. Trying to load constituency specific database into polling unit will increase the surface area of the people who have to know which unit goes where. Loading the aadhar database of full constituency into polling units might not be technically feasible.
Why don't they create a system like UIDAI Payments where you can generate different aliases that all link to your actual aadhaar profile with permission based access and access history features. Seems like an issue that can be remedied with technology IMO.
To clarify, instead of submitting his actual aadhar details, the user submits a generated token that can be used by the information-requesting party to pull details of the user from the aadhaar database. This transaction is logged and the user gets to see the details of the party who requested it.
This is actually one of the long term plans. Like another comment said it's very difficult to identify who's a citizen and who's not, so people are likely to give up some privacy for getting other benefits. In fact most people outside of the urban areas don't even give a fk about privacy and are merely looking forward to getting food for the next meal. So in India the people's priorities are very different than that in US/EU.
Firstly, Aadhaar is for residents of India, not just citizens. Anyone who has resided for more than half a year in the country can get it. Many places take the Aadhaar number or just a photocopy/print of the image as proof and provide other real identities. Even the passport office has started accepting Aadhaar, which makes it easier for resident, non-citizens to get an Indian passport and claim citizenship. This whole charade is going to hurt Indians of today and future generations for a long time.
It can be obtained by "legal" residents, although I don't think legal residents can get passports on the basis of their aadhar number. Aadhar fundamentally solves the problem of illegal residents and nefarious foreign agents getting valid credentials, but I do agree that there are a lot of corner cases where they have been able to obtain one. Another issue is that ration cards and subsidies accounts (including LPG subsidies in urban areas) can be duplicated - meaning that one person can (and do) open multiple accounts. Tying these to Aadhar will definitely reduce the abuse prevalent in the system.
> It can be obtained by "legal" residents, although I don't think legal residents can get passports on the basis of their aadhar number. Aadhar fundamentally solves the problem of illegal residents and nefarious foreign agents getting valid credentials...
Please see the documentation accepted for proof of date of birth [1] and proof of address [2] to get an Indian passport. Both accept a valid Aadhaar number that can be verified. And an Aadhaar number can be obtained through an introducer without providing documents. Since the government has also claimed that there are fake PAN cards, fake drivers licenses, etc., an Aadhaar number can be obtained by providing those too. It's not as difficult to get a passport and claim citizenship as you think. Aadhaar, in a convoluted way, makes this a lot easier. It does not solve the problem in any way.
As for rations and subsidies, you can read the links tryprasannan has posted or visit Rethink Aadhaar [3] to understand how these claims are erroneous and how people are getting excluded.
Indian left wing has been calling the current ruling party and the government "Fascist"[1] for a while now. So there is quite a bit of fear mongering regarding Adhar, as left suspects that govt. will eventually use this to crack down on the dissenting voices. But for those who don't share that opinion, this is part that needs attention,
"The guidelines could have come earlier, and given large data leaks in the past may also be redundant. Nevertheless, it is reassuring to see practices for keeping information safe and the idea of positive informed consent being reinforced for government departments."ie, Though delayed, corrective measures are being taken.
And it is the current party that was parading the dangers of Aadhar when they were in opposition. I like how you gave a completely one-sided view of the story. There have been documented cases of Aadhar misuse and personal information being leaked, but of course none of this bothers you.
It's real and existential threat, given Indian govt is lousy when it comes to data protection. Indeed all aadhaar data is floating in many corporations especially the one supporting current govt. No laws on its misuse and govt cannot be taken to court. Indeed by blaming and divisive politics current govt is very capable to divert attention from real issue and blame left and calls all those opposing it enemies.
Please dispute points with explanations or counterpoints instead of condescending dismissals. It looks like you are the one who does not have enough information to counter GPs stated points.
> However, unlike countries where similar schemes have been implemented, invasive bio-metric collection is being imposed as a condition for basic entitlements in India
Remember: India has a unique set of challenges to overcome if it has to survive and prosper as a nation. It is surrounded by not-so-amenable neighbors and with cross-border infiltration at a constant strategy used against India ("death by thousand cuts").[1]
And almost 20 million Bangladeshis have illegally crossed over from the eastern border [2] [3] and (unfortunately, reportedly getting Aadhar cards through whatever means, which defeats the purpose if it is true), for a country of a billion odd people at risk with such high uncertainty profile - the requirement to identify at least their own citizens vs the intruders/ offenders becomes a strategic and security action from the government perspective.
I think we would be in wrong to compare the "right to privacy" in this scenario to that of the more developed nations that are pretty much geographically blessed/ isolated, population wise less dense, religiously homogenous and technologically advanced as such that they can track covertly vis-a-vis getting biometric details directly. In fact, the Supreme Court of India has observed that [4] "Supreme Court asks if right to privacy is absolute?"
Please refer to the ToI article I cited in the reference. This figure is not pulled out of thin air, but neither it is 100% accurate.
From ToI article: "The government, citing inputs available with it , told the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that there were around 2 crore Bangladeshi immigrants staying illegally in India.
If you were to believe the government estimates, you have to believe it. Even if it's off by 50%, you still have 10 million of them.
P.S: In 2004 >> the estimate was 12 million, according to the article.
Starting with 12MM[1] in 2004, what you are effectively suggesting is that 1 in 15 Bangladeshis has left India in the last decade[2]. Come on: outside of Superpower 2030 memes, the grass isn't that green in India, and I'd like to think that the first million or Bangaldeshis crossing over would have sent home word that migration wasn't actually worth it. Why go to India and be poor in Calcutta when you can go to the Middle East and make (even factoring in broker fees) 2-3 orders more money for your family?
I'm willing to acknowledge that there have been some cross border shenanigans in the last fifty years, but the statistics trotted out by the Centre are transparently politically motivated, i.e. lies. What is more, these are stupid lies, relying on completely irrational behavior of potential migrants, who in my experience are some of the savviest agents in existence.
[1] 10 million of whom came over in 1971, making for an annual migration of ~50K between 1971 and 2004.
[2] By this measure, every family in Bangladesh would have someone who has left for India in the last decade. This is...not true?
> what you are effectively suggesting is that 1 in 15 Bangladeshis has left India in the last decade
I am not suggesting anything. I am only answering to your questioning of the source of the numbers.
As for the your other points, you can hold counter or conspiracy theories. I was only answering to your source claim. You may want to repudiate this in public domain if you feel GoI is mis-estimating or ToI is misreporting.
> Remember: India has a unique set of challenges to overcome if it has to survive and prosper as a nation.
Every country has unique challenges, and India does too. But throwing technology, and that too unreliable technology with almost non-existent infrastructure (like connectivity in rural areas where the poor really have to have an Aadhaar for benefits), is a very naive way to handle it.
> And almost 20 million Bangladeshis have illegally crossed over from the eastern border [2] [3] and (unfortunately, reportedly getting Aadhar cards through whatever means,
Aadhaar is for any resident in India, and not just for citizens. Since Aadhaar is also provided through the "introducer" system without any documents, it's not difficult to get. Plus, UIDAI has blacklisted 34,000 enrollment agencies so far over the years. That's one rogue private agency every two hours, on average!
In the state of Assam (bordering Bangladesh), Aadhaar enrollment is not being done. The same is the case in a few other border states too.
Any assumption of Aadhaar identifying legal aliens vs. illegal aliens/non-citizens defies the very fundamental definition and implementation of Aadhaar. There is no way, currently, for Aadhaar to be used to identify citizens or even to be provided only to citizens!
> I think we would be in wrong to compare the "right to privacy" in this scenario to that of the more developed nations that are pretty much geographically blessed/ isolated, population wise less dense, religiously homogenous and technologically advanced as such that they can track covertly vis-a-vis getting biometric details directly.
I completely disagree. A country like India with lower awareness about privacy, identity theft, etc., actually needs privacy as a fundamental right more than other countries where such awareness is more. Now Indians are just being fooled and coerced into submission to get an Aadhaar number. Also, it's important to remember that privacy is not just about one person alone. Without privacy and safeguards, the very foundations of democracies will crumble when there can no longer be any kind of dissent or disagreement with respect to those in power (because they can use their means to find out who the dissenters are, where they go, who they communicate with, etc.).
Dismissing privacy as not a requirement is very dangerous for humans and societies. While it cannot be an absolute right, there certainly must be due process and safeguards against the state machinery misusing its powers against individual citizens. Currently India does not have any such safeguards.
Lastly, on your link on the Supreme Court asking if right to privacy is absolute, that case was heard and concluded last week. The court hasn't yet delivered its judgment. So taking piecemeal articles about the proceedings does not provide any meaningful way to understand what transpired.
One can only hope that the Supreme Court of India decides to declare privacy as a fundamental right subject to due process and considerations for different matters. If it doesn't declare so, the India of next century will likely be an authoritarian nation only because of Aadhaar and the lack of any consideration about privacy.
- I don't think you should dismiss Aadhar too quickly on technological grounds.
- You mis-represent what I said. I never said Aadhar is citizenship etc., only that biometrics help identify people within the border at any given time.
- I agree with your third point. I am also for not dismissing right to privacy. Only said the concept cannot be straight away can be an import from developed nations.
- Lastly, I never said SC delivered judgement and neither gave any piece meal information. I had clearly mentioned SC had only questioned and linked the complete article which also clearly says the judgement is not delivered yet.
The pro: There have been significant fiscal benefits - fake personas have been completely eliminated in the welfare schemes that are aadhar linked, saving a lot for the taxpayers.
The con: Government has all your biometrics, and can technically mine data from connected services to build a very detailed profile of you (hypothetically).
IMO, both sides have valid points, and so it ends up being about which side the ruling government wants to fall towards.
Most (all?) savings claims by govt are at best projected numbers. For those interested in an analysis of the savings claim and some of the other myths propagated by govt, see the 3 part analysis by Anand (https://twitter.com/iam_anandv) linked below
> The pro: There have been significant fiscal benefits - fake personas have been completely eliminated in the welfare schemes that are aadhar linked, saving a lot for the taxpayers.
Sorry, you seem to be misinformed. If you look at Rethink Aadhaar [1] and its Twitter feed [2], you'd see how state governments were weeding out fake personas even without and before Aadhaar, and that Aadhaar by itself didn't make a big dent. All the claims of savings have reasons other than deduplication (including lies and excluding hundreds of thousands of genuine beneficiaries from welfare that they're legally entitled to).
What Aadhaar has really done is excluded poor people, manual laborers whose biometrics cannot be verified, those who live far from where their entitlements are given (forcing them to visit multiple times instead of working to earn money or live their lives), those who're in areas of poor network connectivity (which is really huge in India). People have literally died, because Aadhaar and the governments' blatant disregard of the Supreme Court orders to keep it optional have excluded them and treated them as non-persons and non-citizens.
Sorry, after reading up about all this for quite sometime, I feel so strongly about what's been happening that I'm going to be quite harsh here. Aadhaar is a genocide enabler that the government is using and turning a blind eye to. One cannot even take anybody to court for any failures or identity thefts on this matter, because that right is solely reserved for the UIDAI through the Aadhaar Act. And UIDAI would promptly respond or take action only if you're a famous cricketer (like Dhoni). The rest of them can keep trying the call center number 1947 and pray that the Gods listen and do something.
> There have been significant fiscal benefits - fake personas have been completely eliminated in the welfare schemes that are aadhar linked, saving a lot for the taxpayers.
I'm deeply suspicious of any unqualified statements. It is extremely hard, if not impossible to prove your proposition.
Usha Ramanathan has noted many times that the so called 'savings' are due to two factors: global fall in oil prices, and more worryingly due to the denial of services from biometric issues.
Someone here worried it can be use d for genocide, You know what ? It's already happening.
> There have been significant fiscal benefits - fake personas have been completely eliminated in the welfare schemes that are aadhar linked, saving a lot for the taxpayers.
Oh I didn't know that. I used to blame politicians for our sorry state.
Please check the links posted by tryprasannan above and also https://rethinkaadhaar.in/ . All the savings numbers by the government are bogus claims. The poor continue to be affected by quantity and quality fraud when it comes to subsidized food entitlements. Aadhaar cannot solve that. It has added one more layer for corruption in many places instead.
Sure there are problems to be fixed but lets fix basic problems first