An Analysis

AADHAAR CARD

AADHAAR CARD-AN ANALYSIS

Unique identification project was initially conceived by the Planning Commission as an initiative that would provide identification for each resident across the country and would be used primarily as the basis for efficient delivery of welfare services. It would also act as a tool for effective monitoring of various programs and schemes of the Government. a) The concept of a unique identification was first discussed and worked upon since 2006 when administrative approval for the project "Unique ID for Below Poverty Line (BPL) families" was given on 03 March 2006 by the Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. This project was to be implemented by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) over a period of 12 months. Subsequently, a Processes Committee to suggest processes for updation, modification, addition and deletion of data fields from the core database to be created under the Unique ID for below BPL project was set up on 03 July 2006. This was set up under the chairmanship of Dr. Arvind Virmani, Principal Adviser, Planning Commission. b) A "Strategic Vision on the UIDAI Project" was prepared and submitted to this Committee by M/S Wipro Ltd (Consultant for the design phase and program management phase of the Pilot UIDAI project). It envisaged the close linkage that the UIDAI would have to the electoral database. The Committee also appreciated the need of a UIDAI Authority to be created by an executive order under the aegis of the Planning Commission to ensure a pan-departmental and neutral identity for the authority and at the same time enable a focused approach to attaining the goals set for the XI Plan. The Seventh Meeting of the Process Committee on 30 August 2007 decided to furnish to the Planning commission a detailed proposal based on the resource model for seeking its "in principle" approval. c) At the same time, the Registrar General of India was engaged in the creation of the National Population Register and issuance of Multi-purpose National Identity Cards to citizens of India. d) Therefore, it was decided, with the approval of the Prime Minister, to constitute an empowered group of Ministers (EGoM) to collate the two schemes the National Population Register under the Citizenship Act, 1955 and the Unique Identification Number project of the Department of Information Technology. The EGoM was also empowered to look into the methodology and specific milestones for early and effective completion of the Project and take a final view on these. The EGoM was constituted on 04 December 2006.

The Mission The role that the Authority envisions is to issue a unique identification number (UIDAI) that can be verified and authenticated in an online, cost-effective manner, which is robust enough to eliminate duplicate and fake identities. The Timelines The first UIDAI numbers will be issued over the next 12-18 months counted from August 2009. The first number would be issued between August 2010 to February 2011. Over five years, the Authority plans to issue 600 million UIDs. The numbers will be issued through various 'registrar' agencies across the country. Organization Details UIDAI was set up as an attached office of the Planning Commission through Notification dated 28.01.09 with a core team of 115 officers and staff. Under the Notification, 3 Posts (DG, DDG and ADG) were sanctioned for Headquarter with 35 UID commissioners in each of the States. It was thereafter decided to have Regional Offices in Bangalore, Chandigarh, Delhi, Hyderabad, Guwahati, Lucknow, Mumbai and Ranchi with their jurisdiction covering specific states across the country.A Technology Centre has been set up in Bangalore. 268 additional posts were created in September 2009. UIDAI at present has a total sanctioned strength of 383 officers and subordinate staff. Aadhaar: The UID brand name and logo The brand name of the Unique Identification number (UID) will be Aadhaar. The name and logo for the unique numbers to be issued by the UIDAI have been developed keeping in mind the transformational potential of the program. Together, they communicate the essence and spirit of the UIDAI's mandate to people across the country. The UIDAI's mandate is to issue every resident a unique identification number linked to the resident's demographic and biometric information, which they can use to identify themselves anywhere in India, and to access a host of benefits and services. The number (referred to until now as the 'UID') has been named Aadhaar, which translates into 'foundation', or 'support'. This word is present across most Indian languages and can therefore be used in branding and communication of the UIDAI program across the country. As Mr. Nandan Nilekani, Chairman of the UIDAI notes, "The name Aadhaar communicates the fundamental role of the number issued by the UIDAI the number as a universal identity infrastructure, a foundation over which public and private agencies can build services and applications that benefit residents across India."

Aadhaar's guarantee of uniqueness and centralised, online identity verification would be the basis for building these multiple services and applications, and facilitating greater connectivity to markets Aadhaar would also give any resident the ability to access these services and resources, anytime, anywhere in the country Aadhaar can for example, provide the identity infrastructure for ensuring financial inclusion across the country banks can link the unique number to a bank account for every resident, and use the online identity authentication to allow residents to access the account from anywhere in the country Aadhaar would also be a foundation for the effective enforcement of individual rights. A clear registration and recognition of the individual's identity with the state is necessary to implement their rights to employment, education, food, etc. The number, by ensuring such registration and recognition of individuals, would help the state deliver these rights. The key features of Aadhaar-enabled micropayments outlined are as follows: 1. Aadhaar will become the single source of identity verification. Residents would be spared the hassle of repeatedly providing supporting identity documents each time they wish to access services such as obtaining a bank account, passport, driving license and so on. 2. By providing a clear proof of identity, UID will also facilitate entry for poor and underprivileged residents into the formal banking system and the opportunity to avail services provided by the government. 3. Giving migrants mobility of identity. 4. Financial inclusion with deeper penetration of banks, insurance and easy distribution of benefits of government schemes

Direct Benefit Transfer or DBT An anti-poverty program launched by the Government of India on 1 January 2013. This program aims to transfer subsidies directly to the people living below the poverty line through the Unique Identification Authority of India.

Report of the Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance In December 2011, Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance headed by Yashwant Sinha while considering the National Identification Authority of India Bill 2010 (that was to give

legal backing for the whole exercise), termed the project as directionless and conceptualised with no clarity of purpose.The committee also expressed its reservations on the technology used for the project calling it "untested, unproven, unreliable and unsafe". According to the standing committee report the scheme is riddled with serious lacunae and concerns. The UID scheme has been conceptualized with no clarity of purpose and leaving many things to be sorted out during the course of its implementation; and is being implemented in a directionless way with a lot of confusion. The report continues The scheme which was initially meant for BPL families has been extended for all residents in India and to certain other persons. The Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM), constituted for the purpose of collating the two schemes namely, the UID and National Population Register(NPR), and to look into the methodology and specifying target for effective completion of the UID scheme, failed to take concrete decision on important issues More importantly the committee has observed that the UID scheme lacks clarity on even the basic purpose of issuing aadhaar number. Financial Exclusion Observation 3(f) of the standing committee reads: The full or near full coverage of marginalized sections for issuing aadhaar numbers could not be achieved mainly owing to two reasons viz. (i) the UIDAI doesnt have the statistical data relating to them; and (ii) estimated failure of biometrics is expected to be as high as 15% due to a large chunk of population being dependent on manual labour. Even the Ministry of Planning in their written reply to the standing committee stated that failure to enroll is a reality. Dependency on Private Players The National Informatics Centre (NIC) have pointed out that the issues relating to privacy and security of UID data could be better handled by storing in a Government data centre; . Even then the UID project is dependent on private players. UIADAI has entered into contracts with several government and non-government agencies for enrollment and data collection. The private companies include foreign companies like L1 Identity solutions (now MorphoTrust USA) and Accenture that have even ex-CIA officials on board and as staff. National Security The committee has expressed concern over the implications of the Project Aadhaar on national security. It said: The Committee are unable to understand the rationale of expanding the scheme to persons who are not citizens, as this entails numerous benefits proposed by the Government This will, they apprehend, make even illegal immigrants entitled for an aadhaar number. The committee especially is concerned about the efficacy of introducer system on national security. As opined by many the introducer system could result in many anti-national and anti-social elements acquiring aadhaar numbers on false addresses.

Relationship with National Population Registry UIDAI is using data collected by the Census authorities to prepare the National Population Register(NPR) for creating the UIDs. The NPR is not an exclusive database of Indian Citizens. It contains data on all residents of the country including foreigners. Therefore, issuing UIDs based on the data in the NPR would help illegal migrants get these IDs and would allow them access the government services and programs. Nationality of the individual is one of the variables being recorded during the enumeration of NPR. But the instruction to the Census personnel says:"Nationality of each person has to be asked from the respondent and recorded as declared by him". The officials have been asked to advise people to give correct nationality and that he/she can be penalized for giving false information. Such advise may not work with illegal migrants. The responsibility of proving the identity still lies on the shoulders of residents and not on UIDAI. Economic risks The projected costs of the Aadhaar project have been quoted between US$6 billion and US$30.42 billion. These costs may not be covered by future revenue produced from the project, which is estimated at US$1.32 billion.[citation needed] The benefits arising from reduction in leakages with modest assumptions are estimated to be 52.85% as mentioned in the cost and benefit analysis done by National Institute of Public Finance and Policy

Legal challenges K S Puttaswamy, a retired judge of Karnataka High Court filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court challenging the legality of UIDAI.[47] The petition, among other things, argued that:

UIDAI and Adhaar are illegal as the bill that seeks to legalize them, National Identification Authority of India Bill, 2010 has been rejected by Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance. The bill is pending for further consideration.[48] UID numbers and Aadhaar cards are being given to all residents, including non-citizens. This means, illegal migrants and foreigners residing in India could possibly get benefits based on Aadhaar cards. This is contradictory to the Citizenship Act, 1955, which does not recognize non-citizens at par with citizens.[49] collection of biometric data is an invasion of a citizens right to privacy which is guaranteed by the Constitution under the Fundamental Right to Life, and therefore requires Parliaments sanction and is beyond the executive power.[49]

A bench of Chief Justice Altamas Kabir and Justice Jasti Chelameswar agreed to examine the matter and issued notice to the Govt of India on 30 November 2012.

BIBLIOGRAPHY http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct_Benefit_Transfer http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unique_Identification_Authority_of_India http://uidai.gov.in/why-aadhaar.html http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/direct-benefit-transfer-a-failure-beneficiaries-excludedaruna-roy.html