Monday Briefs

As I was travelling for last few days, I could not write my blogs after 20th Sept. So in the last few days many news items cropped up in the media, and the most happening was Supreme Court’s (SC) verdict on Aadhaar. So in nut shell what is the SC verdict:

The SC has upheld the validity of Aadhaar saying sufficient security measures are taken to protect data and it is difficult to launch surveillance on citizens on the basis of Aadhaar. A five judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) asked the govt to provide more security measures as well reduce the period of storage of data.

• The SC asked the centre to bring robust law for data protection as so on as possible.
• The SC said Aadhaar can not be made mandatory for openings bank account and for getting mobile connection.
• The SC said that the Aadhaar must not be made compulsory for school admission and the admission can not make it mandatory.
• The SC has made linking of Aadhaar and PAN mandatory, and Aadhaar is also mandatory for filing income tax returns.
• The SC directed the govt to ensure that illegal migrants are not issued Aadhaar to get benefits of social welfare scheme.
• Private companies can not ask for Aadhaar.
• One Judge while reading out the verdict on the constitutional validity of Aadhaar said that there is a fundamental difference between Aadhaar Card and Identity proof, as Aadhaar can not be duplicated. Once the biometric information is stored, it remains in the system. Further gives the identity to the marginalised sections of the society. Aadhaar satisfies the doctrine of proportionality, it is better to be unique than to be best.

The only point of contention in this verdict is Aadhaar not required for Mobile connection and opening bank accounts. For last few years Aadhaar had become accepted norm of person’s identity proof and most of the mobile operators were accepting/insisting Aadhaar card as ID proof. It has not been specified what other form of identity proof will be accepted for opening bank accounts and for mobile connections. Will PAN card become a proof of ID ? Now if you give ID proof as PAN card, but it is linked with your Aadhaar card, then what will happen? Now what will happen to the people who have already linked their Aaadhar card with mobile phone and bank accounts, will the receiving authorities destroy this data or it will still remain in the system.

I still fail to understand the issue of Aadhaar invading individual’s privacy, as most of the political parties and some activists made the issue out of it. They made a big issue of Aadhaar being biometric, hence person’s privacy is invaded but today in the market Apple and Samsung are offering biometric ID phones, where phone can not be started without your biometric identity and people are using  these phones, so their identity is available with phone companies, but here no one objects. Even some phones can take your eye scan and store in their memory, and all these types of phones save so much data  in their back up server, and these data is not secured. The Activists say that data on Aadhaar is not secured although it is encrypted, where as data on phone servers is not encrypted.Even google collects so much data on their server through your account on  Face Book, whatsapp, movements through google maps but there no one objects about invasion of privacy, and people willingly allow the phones and Google to invade their privacy, just because Aadhaar has been introduced by govt, then all these activist thinks it should be bad, and specially when the most provision on Aadhaar cards are introduced by BJP govt, so all these pseudo seculars want to oppose the same, while they willingly part their data to phone companies and Google.Interestingly the judges who gave verdict in this case also must be using smart phone or I phone, and their personal data will also be available with Phone Co’s servers and Google server, how they are going to ensure that it is not being misused. Or  it is the Indian mentality, why should I give personal information to some system without being charged a single paisa, but I am willing to buy costly product and part with the same personal information thinking it will be safe in their system because I have paid so much for the product. But in this case it is reverse, the data stored on Aadhaar is comparatively much safer, as it is encrypted, where as data stored in other server is not encrypted, can be easily hacked or can be shared with third party. You all must have read how Face book shared their data with Cambridge Analytica few years back during US elections.

And lastly it was UPA govt who had asked former founder director of Infosys Nandan Nilekani to develop this Unique Identity system for the citizens of our country. UPA govt just started the system  and did nothing afterwards. NDA govt thought this Unique ID system can be used to plug the leakage in the system and they have successfully used in giving benefits of social welfare schemes by plugging the loop holes. Then govt thought of using this Unique ID  for all purposes when the activist took over and SC had to intervene. The world has acknowledged that Aadhaar is a Unique ID system and it is among the best in the world.

So friends what is your say in this matter.

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Anil Malik

Mumbai, India

Oct 1, 2018