Monday, January 23, 2012

How the Tax Payers Money is Wasted to Feed Corporate Greed!Illegal, Unconstitutional AADHAR Project Continues violating parliament and Dispelling fears that the biometric technology being employed for the Aadhaar project is flawed, the UIDAI on Monda

How the Tax Payers Money is Wasted to Feed Corporate Greed!Illegal, Unconstitutional AADHAR Project Continues violating parliament and Dispelling fears that the biometric technology being employed for the Aadhaar project is flawed, the UIDAI on Monday asserted that its system is reliable and can achieve the task of providing unique ID cards to the entire population of the country. UID project cost may not cross Rs 18,000 cr: Aadhaar Project Mission Director,Vodafone wins Rs 11,000 crore tax case, to get Rs 2,500 cr with interest!

Aadhaar project will continue: Montek Singh Ahluwalia

Where from Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia is elected to Represent Indian People and Entitled to Kill Citizen`s Sovereignity?
Budget 2012 to herald changes in line with planned GST,the Reserve Bank today pitched for expediting economic reforms including reduction of subsidy and implementation of DTC and GST to contain the fiscal deficit which is expected to exceed the Budget estimate.

Montek is Known to Plan the Budget and Revenue Management for a NON ECONOMIST Finance Minister whose Brahaminical face is used to FEED POISON to the Excluded Mulnivasi Bahujan! While UID BOSS Nan Nilekani represents India Incs and MNCs whose interests are best served with UID!Rejecting reports of a tussle between his ministry and the Unique Identification Authority of India, Home Minister P Chidambaram today said the government was mulling incorporating Aadhar numbers in the future resident ID cards of the National Population Register.


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BJP president Nitin Gadkari backs Narendra Modi for PM's post!

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The mammoth task of bringing lakhs of residents under the Aadhaar scheme (unique identity card) came to a grinding halt in Gurgaon.

The decision to shut down operations was taken in the wake of the contentious issue of the relevance of the UID when the National Population Registry is doing a similar exercise across the country.

In Gurgaon, four private companies were recording the details of the residents. The work has now been put on hold till further notice from the Unique Identity Authority of India (UIDAI) which is awaiting for the final decision of the Cabinet committee on the fate of the project.
The Haryana government had kicked off the drive amidst great fanfare in December last year.
But the abrupt closure of the project has left the residents high and dry with the enumeration centres being closed on January 10.
So far, over 2.5 lakh residents have been enumerated in the city but no one knows when and how they will get their unique ID number. "There is no information about the reopening of the centres in Gurgaon. No one knows what will happen next," said a senior executive working with a private company.

Meanwhile, the four private companies are in a fix now over the financial prospect of the project.

Each of the companies had shelled out lakhs of rupees to purchase iris and thumb scanners for enumeration. They had imported the machines before starting the enumeration work in Gurgaon.

"Each machine had cost us more than Rs 1.50 lakh. We had placed bulk orders for completing the project but now we don't know where these machines will be used," said another senior executive of the company.

According to the agreement, the private companies are to be paid Rs 25 to Rs 30 for each enumeration done in Gurgaon. The companies in each centre had targeted 200 enumerations daily. "The payments for enumerations were to be done in a phased manner by the UIDAI. But after the closure of the centres, there is no clarity as to how the payments will be made to companies," said the executive.

For the enumeration process, the company had to collect the form and fill in the details of the residents including the iris and thumb impression scan. This data was to be manually taken to the centre control room in Delhi for uploading it to the UIDAI server directly.
But with the centres closing down, it has forced the companies to sack employees who were manning the centres.

"There is no point in keeping the employees when the company doesn't know about the future of the project itself. The employees were local residents who would be recalled if the project restarts," said the executive.

UID row intensifies: Home Ministry writes to PM, Cabinet Secretary

http://youtu.be/4h5cnN7DNh8
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/4h5cnN7DNh8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The row between UID project Chairman Nandan Nilekani and Home Minister P Chidambaram over the Unique Identification (UID) project has intensified. The Home Ministry has written to the Cabinet Secretary, seeking a clear cut direction on who will do the enrolment. CNN-IBN has accessed a copy of the note. http://ibnlive.com/livetv


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Telegraph.co.uk

Jaipur Literature Festival: Rushdie row turns ugly, suspense over video conference

Times of India - ‎28 minutes ago‎


JAIPUR: The row over Salman Rushdie deepened on Monday with five complaints being filed against the four authors who read out passages from his banned "Satanic Verses" at the literature festival and its organisers, as suspense grew whether his video ...



BJP president Nitin Gadkari backs Narendra Modi for PM's post!

How the Tax Payers Money is Wasted to Feed Corporate Greed!Vodafone wins Rs 11,000 crore tax case, to get Rs 2,500 cr with interest!

UID project cost may not cross Rs 18,000 cr: Aadhaar Project Mission Director

Aadhaar project will continue: Montek Singh Ahluwalia

Where from Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia is elected to Represent Indian People and Entitled to Kill Citizen`s Sovereignity?

Montek is Known to Plan the Budget and Revenue Management for a NON ECONOMIST Finance Minister whose Brahaminical face is used to FEED POISON to the Excluded Mulnivasi Bahujan! While UID BOSS Nan Nilekani represents India Incs and MNCs whose interests are best served with UID!

Illegal, Unconstitutional AADHAR Project Continues violating parliament and Dispelling fears that the biometric technology being employed for the Aadhaar project is flawed, the UIDAI on Monday asserted that its system is reliable and can achieve the task of providing unique ID cards to the entire population of the country.

Rejecting reports of a tussle between his ministry and the Unique Identification Authority of India, Home Minister P Chidambaram today said the government was mulling incorporating Aadhar numbers in the future resident ID cards of the National Population Register.

"There were some media reports about conflict between the Home Ministry and the UIDAI, but they are not true," he said launching the distribution of smart cards under NPR for coastal villages in Tamil Nadu at nearby Pattipulm village, about 80 km from Chennai.

Chidambaram said Aadhar was a unique number while the smart card being issued under the NPR would have comprehensive details.

"Aadhar is the unique identification number. NPR issues an identity card with all relevant information. The NPR card would get a special status if Aadhar number is incorporated," he said.

His comments come in the backdrop of a battle between the Home Ministry and the Planning Commission, under whose ambit the UIDAI comes, over carrying out the bio-metric collections for the ambitious Unique Identification Number project.

Home Ministry had recently written to the Prime Minister objecting to UIDAI collecting bio-metric data beyond its mandated 20 crore limit. But, the Planning Commission has thrown its weight behind the Nandan Nilakeni-headed UIDAI.

Chidambaram said inclusion of Aadhar number in the NPR smart cards would allow its effective use in ensuring government services were delivered to the right beneficiary.

Citing an example, he said in the case of a scholarship for student, only the designated beneficiary can avail it by using the NPR smart card having the Aadhar ID number.

Meanwhile,the Reserve Bank today pitched for expediting economic reforms including reduction of subsidy and implementation of DTC and GST to contain the fiscal deficit which is expected to exceed the Budget estimate.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Seeking to dispel the impression that sharp differences existed between it and the Union Home Ministry over the UIDAI project, the Planning Commission on Monday said it should be allowed to go ahead with steps taken to avoid overlap with the National Population register.

The Planning Commission proposed to take a note to the Cabinet on this which was scheduled to meet on Wednesday, its Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia said here.

"We regard the Aadhar project as a very important national project that will enable much greater efficiency in the operation of a large number of government schemes", he told reporters. "If there is a small overlap (with Home Ministry's National Population Register) that would not matter. There are many government programmes which do similar things and we don't apply the principle that you should not have any overlap," he said.

"One can never avoid controversies because even when there isn't a controversy somebody has to write a nice press report, he said when asked about reports of differences between the Planning Commission and the Home Ministry over the Aadhar issue.

Noting that he was "very happy to clarify it", Ahluwalia said, "We regard the Aaadhar Project as a very important national project. It is a project that will enable much greater efficiency in the operation of a large number of government schemes. Reduce leakage make things easier etc."

The Aadhar Project had an approval to go up to a certain level, he said, adding the project authorities were told earlier to try and avoid an overlap with the NPR, which was a completely separate scheme under the Home Ministry.

Now discussions had taken place between the Registrar General's office and the Aadhar authority to see whether an overlap could be avoided.

"The Home Ministry and the Registrar General's office have said they will not be able to use any data collected by the UIDAI because they have a statutory requirement that only data that each has collected in a particular way can be used. So our view is, of course, that we should not interrupt the Aadhar process which is going very well," he said.

"May be by modifying the guidelines perhaps the Registrar General will also be able to choose the data from Aadhar. But if for some reason that is not possible, my position is that the Aadhar project should be allowed to proceed at its own pace because it's a very crucial project to improve efficiency of number of government programmes," Ahluwalia said.

"The fact is that these are separate projects. Ministry of Home affairs project has completely different objective. So we are asking a note to the Cabinet. I hope the Cabinet will decide. This is scheduled at the moment on Wednesday. So I hope we got to go ahead."

When asked about security concerns expressed by the Home Ministry, he said, "You know my understanding is this security concerns are relevant for Home Ministry's project. We are not saying that the Aadhar project should actually necessarily be used by the Home Ministry."

If they felt they wanted to have a higher level of security concern, they could do that in NPR. "I think the whole idea that each has a video on the other is what we are trying to avoid. We are simply saying the Aadhar project is well conceived for what it is trying to do and basically it should be allowed to work."

ull coverage

Montek backs UIDAI, say it's better than MHA proposal

Hindustan Times - ‎Jan 7, 2012‎

Backing expansion of the Nandan Nilekani-led UIDAI project at the cost of the national identity cards, planning commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia on Saturday said the unique identity number project was better than the smart ID cards.

'Merging UID, NPR projects is not feasible'

Hindustan Times - ‎Jan 7, 2012‎

Government sources said the authority was now seeking a fresh revision in the already circulated note for the Union Cabinet stating that the Aadhaar project's objective was to provide a proof of identity to all willing residents in order to improve ...

Montek says UIDAI better than Home Ministry's proposal

Economic Times - ‎Jan 7, 2012‎

NEW DELHI: The Planning Commission today said the Nandan Nilekani-led UIDAI project is better than the one being advocated by the Home Ministry for capturing data regarding residents and improving the delivery of the government schemes.

Plan panel rejects PC's ID card proposal

Hindustan Times - ‎Jan 6, 2012‎

Within weeks after home ministry protests halted the expansion of the Nandan Nilekani-led UID project, the Planning Commission that administers UID has hit back. The Planning Commission has rejected the home ministry proposal to issue smart identity ...

MONTEK 2 LAST

IBNLive.com - ‎Jan 7, 2012‎

PTI | 06:01 PM,Jan 07,2012 On duplication of work and extra burden on exchequer, On duplication of work and extra burden on exchequer, Ahluwalia said, "I am not responsible for NPR. UIDAI money, I know what it is. It is well worth it.

Montek Singh raises 'technical questions' on Universal Identity Card

TruthDive - ‎Jan 8, 2012‎

New Delhi, Jan 7 (ANI): Planning Commission, Deputy Chairman, Montek Singh Ahluwalia has said that there is a need to address and resolve certain technicalities in the Universal Identification Card (UID) programme. He said this on the sidelines of an ...

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Unique Identification Authority of India

Identity document

UID

Montek Singh Ahluwalia

Nandan Nilekani

National Public Radio




The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)Saturday said inclusion of all residents of India in the Unique Identification number (UID) scheme would present a threat to the nation's security by giving illegal migrants rights of citizens.


"In many parts of India, infiltrators from Bangladesh are there, there are people from Pakistan living in parts, they are not citizens of India, but terror, trouble and destablisation is fermented by them," BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said.


"The UID would include all residents, not citizens. So the overlapping between the national population register and UID, who will answer it?" he asked.


The BJP leader said the issue of national security cannot be different from development.


"Can the issue of development be diverse from national security. In many parts, specially in northeast, illegal immigrants have manipulated documents, like ration cards, voter I-cards, and got several rights. If we give them UID, they will say they are citizens of India," he said.


Nearly 12 crore UID numbers have been issued so far.

"Based on the analysis, the UIDAI confirms that the enrollment system has proven to be reliable, accurate and scalable to meet the nation's need of providing unique Aadhaar numbers to the entire population," theUnique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) said.

Amid concerns raised by the Home Ministry about the quality of data collected by the UIDAI, which could be a security threat, the body today released a report titled, 'The Role of Biometric technology in Aadhaar Enrollment', which confirms the high degree of accuracy of biometrics used in the UID project in the context of the large-scale enrollment across India.

The Planning Commission and the Home Ministry are at loggerheads over the need for the UID project, with both putting forward their respective points of view to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

The controversy is centred on the collection of biometric data of all residents. While the Home Ministry has maintained that data collected by the Registrar General of India for the National Population Register should form the basis for issuance of unique ID cards, the Planning Commission has reposed faith in the data collected by the Nandan Nilekani-led UIDAI.

The Union Cabinet is likely to discuss the proposal for allowing the UIDAI to continue its work beyond the mandated 200 million enrollments tomorrow.

According to the UIDAI study, it has been affirmed that the authority's biometric enrollment system is ready to handle high throughput of up to 10 lakh registrations per day and has 99.965 per cent accuracy in terms of duplication detection.

The system meets the country's requirements in terms of scale as well, with the database capable of accommodating 1.2 billion people.

"The UIDAI biometric system is processing over 100 trillion biometric person matches with a high degree of accuracy each day, capable of issuing 10 lakh Aadhaars daily. This makes it not only one of the most accurate, but soon to be the largest biometric system in the world," UIDAI Chairman Nandan Nilekani said in a statement here.

"This certainly gives us a high degree of confidence in executing this project of national importance with scale and accuracy," UIDAI Director General R S Sharma said.
  1. UIDAI

  2. uidai.gov.in/

  3. Aadhaar number valid Proof of Identity and Proof of Address for new mobile connections · Sukrithy becomes the one ... UID enrolment Proof of Concept Report ...

  4. Check Your Aadhaar Status - Aadhaar Enrolments - How to enrol for Aadhaar - RTI

  5. AADHAAR – uidnumber.org

  6. uidnumber.org/

  7. AADHAAR UID Card India, AADHAR Card Form Status Camps Website.

  8. Aadhaar Application Form - Aadhar Card Status - Aadhaar Enrollment Camp - Blogs

  9. No UID till Complete Transparency, Accountability and People's ...

  10. www.cis-india.org/.../no-uid-till-complete-transparency-accountabilit...

  11. 25 Aug 2010 – An interactive meeting on UID's lack of a feasibility study, cost involved and dangers of abuse is being held in New Delhi at the Constitution ...

  12. Press Relese: UID NOT IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST - anivar's ...

  13. anivar.in/press-relese-uid-not-in-the-public-interest

  14. 25 Aug 2010 – UID NOT IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST ... meeting organized by a coalition of civil society groups under the banner of Campaign for No UID.

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  15. Anivar Aravind shared this

  16. UID Not In The Public Interest

  17. www.countercurrents.org/cfnu250810.htm

  18. 25 Aug 2010 – UID Not In The Public Interest. By Campaign For No UID. 25 August, 2010. Countercurrents.org. Scheme is deeply undemocratic, expensive ...

  19. No UID, no salary for govt staff

  20. www.mid-day.comPune

  21. 7 Jun 2011 – "We have issued a circular to all our 18500 employees that their salary for the month of June will not be deposited unless they get the UID card ...

  22. You visited this page on 4/1/12.

  23. No UID, no salary, Thane teachers told - Times Of India

  24. articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.comCollectionsTeachers

  25. 26 Aug 2011 – MUMBAI: Teachers from schools and colleges in Thane are a worried lot.A Government Resolution (GR) dated April 18 states that all those ...

  26. You visited this page on 4/1/12.

  27. Aadhaar Number / UID - Advantages and Benefits

  28. www.iaadhaar.com/advantages/

  29. Advantages after getting an Aadhaar Number / UID The Aadhaar will become the single source of identity verification. Once residents enrol, they can use the.

  30. Stop UID number scheme immediately activists urge PM - Moneylife ...

  31. www.moneylife.inlifepublic-interest

  32. Activists are urging the PM to immediately stop the UID or Aadhaar number scheme due to invasion and misuse of privacy, saying that it is against the ...

  33. Say No to UID

  34. www.nouid.in/

  35. Say no to UID. In Uncategorized on October 14, 2010 by admin. Welcome to "Say no toUID!" campaign website! Please wait patiently as the site gets populated ...

  36. anivar's posterous - Filed under 'UID'

  37. anivar.in/?tag=uid

  38. 30 Aug 2011 – There are, therefore, no protections that the law provides. There are noprotocols about who can access the information, how the UID number ...

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  39. Anivar Aravind shared this


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"Prospectively, improvement in fiscal situation in 2012-13 is not only contingent upon the growth performance but also on the progress in implementation of tax and expenditure reforms," RBIsaid in a macroeconomic review of the economy ahead of third quarter review of monetary policy.

Unless fiscal reforms are expedited, the Centre could miss the rolling target of fiscal deficit at 4.1 per cent of GDP for 2012-13 as set out in 2011-12 Budget, it said.

On the expenditure front, it said, the government needs to move towards deregulation of pricing of diesel for controlling its expenditure on petroleum subsidies.

It also said, "a delay in enactment of the Direct Tax Code (DTC) Bill (presently under consideration of the Standing Committee on Finance) may affect its scheduled introduction from April 1, 2012".

It is expected that DTC system would improve compliance levels as rates of corporation tax and surcharge are reduced and tax base is widened, it said.

In respect of Goods and Services Tax (GST), it said, while the Bill to amend the Constitution for introducing this tax was tabled in March 2011, the draft GST legislation requires consensus on a number of issues involving both the Centre as well as State governments.

RBI also noted that the larger fiscal spending could further affect growth in the economy amidst a widening current account deficit.

There is need for cutting government's consumption expenditure and stepping up its capital spending in order to lift both the current and future growth. This will help the economy to get back to higher potential growth that it had realised in the pre-crisis period, it said.

It is estimated that the higher expenditure on petroleum subsidy could drive up the fiscal deficit by around 0.8 percentage points of GDP for 2011-12, RBI said.

The government pegged the fiscal deficit target at 4.6 per cent for the current fiscal.

The government will face additional pressures on account of food subsidies when the proposed Food Security Bill is enacted and implemented, it said, adding, the government needs to control its expenditure on petroleum subsidies.

Subsidies and the resultant higher fiscal deficit may help in keeping inflation suppressed in near term, but over time the impact of higher subsidy induced deficit would exert pressure on the inflation path, it said.

World's Biggest biometric scheme to remove from India

Mohadesa Najumi
Monday, January 23, 2012, 19:39 [IST]
Oneindia » News » Feature

World's Biggest biometric scheme to remove from India

Mohadesa Najumi
Monday, January 23, 2012, 19:39 [IST]
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In India, if we think of call centres, a thriving economy should come into mind. India is a cost effective and labour intensive economy with a strong manufacturing and export orientated industrial framework. The UN has predicted a 7.7 percent growth rate in 2012 which is relatively good bearing in mind the challenges pressing the global economy at the moment.

But how does a country with such a name for its economic growth harbour one quarter of the worlds hungry population? Unicef once declared the country to have some of the worst rates of child survival in the world. In 2006 at the same time its GDP (Gross Domestic Product) was 10 per cent, twenty-six percent of India's population was officially classed as poor. I would continue but you understand my point.


Poverty in India is rampant and it is surprising to some. Economics professor in Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University, Jayati Ghosh expresses that "People tend to forget that in all this talk of India Shining, our development project is still very incomplete".


She is right. However it is not so much that the development project is incomplete as it has been flawed. India sorely lacks a viable identity system for the poor who possess no driving licence, passport or proof of address. They may live in a village where ten other people share the same name as them.


Their lack of identity not only excludes them from the modern economy but may be the strongest argument as to why the government has been unable lift them out of poverty. Enter genial ex-tycoon, Nandan Nilekani, Launched in 2010, Nilekani's "unique identity (UID) scheme is the worlds largest, most advanced, biometric database of personal identities. It may be more than appropriate to have the word "hallelujah" resinating in your thoughts at this point. The unique identity scheme will enroll its two hundred millionth member by the end of this month and by the end of the year could stand at four hundred million, a third of all Indians.


A pilot project that has just begun in Jharkhand, an eastern state, will link new identities to individuals bank accounts. If you're wondering what this means to the poor, you only have to look at the queues of people who are waiting to have their fingerprints and irises scanned whilst innocently unaware that their relationship with the modern world will never be the same again. The scheme in which any resident who wants can volunteer for, combines work by central and state governments and a number of other partners- largely technology firms that capture and process individuals' data. The goal, says Mr Nilekani, is to help India cope with the past decades expansion of welfare provision. A mother of three need no longer go through the tedious process of travelling for hours to distant towns or bribing officials to obtain paperwork. Instead the money which she is owed by the government will transfer electronically to her bank account or at a village shop.


Further "hallelujahs" may appear at the idea of thieving middlemen being cut out of the picture by the UID. Poor Indians with an identity number are much harder to rob. Ghost labourers staffing public-work schemes and any among India's twenty million government employees, should disappear and the middlemen who steal billions should be caught as they are obliged to deliver grain, not to the poor, but rather to named individuals who could confirm receipt by scanning their fingerprints. India will be able to transform its welfare state and send out the message that designing such a scheme as a platform for government services rather than security keeps the costs down and bolsters the benefits.


Home minister Palaniappan Chidambaram may be blocking the new mandate on worries of national security and India may require enhanced data protection laws to facilitate this scheme however, UID has given me hope, a sentiment seldom felt when thinking of the state of developing countries. With the cost of enrolling each person being a little over a hundred rupees ($2), India will set the example for other poor countries to follow. Who knows what country could be next?


Certainly, poverty has many causes and no simple cure. But do i think this is the answer to India's staggering poor population? No. I think opens to door to binding them to a modern economy from which they have been so longly closed out from.

Topics:poverty, children, health, economy, uid

Other articles published on January 23, 2012

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New Delhi, Dec 31: The Planning Commission was at the centre of a big controversy in 2011 after it adopted Rs 32-a-day poverty line, inviting sharp criticism from many quarters, even as the government grappled with slowdown and high inflation throughout the year. NGOs, commentators and the common man all alike criticised the Plan panel's description of the poor. Irked by the Plan panel's definition of poverty, N C Saxena, a member of the National Advisory Council (NAC) had told PTI that "only.....

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BJP president Nitin Gadkari backs Narendra Modi for PM's post
23 JAN, 2012, 10.33AM IST, TNN

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NEW DELHI: BJP president Nitin Gadkari has endorsed Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi for the top posts of prime minister and party head, stirring a fresh debate among GenNext leaders positioning themselves for the 2014 sweepstakes.

In an interview to a TV channel, Gadkari ruled himself out of the race for the PM's post and said he would not seek an extension as party chief after his tenure ends in December. "I will never be a candidate for PMnor will I topple anybody. Modi has good potential to be BJP president and PM," he said, adding, "I am ready to work as an ordinary party worker. I will support Narendra Modi to take over the mantle."

While he parried queries on the BJP's choice for the PM's post, saying the party would make the decision at an appropriate time, his firm endorsement of the Gujarat CM is likely to renew questions about the party's future leadership.

The Hindutva strongman is seen to be a polarising figure who many feel could be an impediment in BJP attracting allies with "secular" claims. The hostility of Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar to Modi is known and picking the Gujarat leader could hamper alliance making, thereby negatively impacting the party's poll prospects. This is said to be the main handicap for the leader appreciated for "good governance".

The key issue will be the organizational leadership if Gadkari refuses a second term as BJP helmsman. The party will face the question much sooner than it has to decide about elections and the PM candidate.

Modi is popular with the saffron cadre and is also seen by a section as the panacea for organizational weaknesses which have hobbled the BJP in comparison to Congress.

Though the decision on who should head the BJP may be an int
ernal issue, its tricky nature stems from the fact that BJP chief would automatically get projected as the party's PM candidate.

BJP strategists are eager that it forge a rainbow alliance like NDA under A B Vajpayee. But many from Vajpayee's NDA have since left, citing "secular" concerns, among them being Chandrababu Naidu's TDP, National Conference and BJD of Navin Patnaik.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/BJP-president-Nitin-Gadkari-backs-Narendra-Modi-for-PMs-post/articleshow/11598927.cms
Vodafone wins Rs 11,000 crore tax case, to get Rs 2,500 cr with interest

The Supreme Court on Friday set aside a Bombay High Court judgement asking Vodafone International Holding to pay income tax of Rs 11,000 crore on a deal abroad. In a big victory to Vodafone, apex court directed the tax department to return Rs 2,500 crore deposited by Vodafone in compliance of its interim order within two months.


Vodafone, challenging the tax bill over its $11 billion deal to buy Hutchison Whampoa Ltd's Indian mobile business in 2007, had appealed to the Supreme Court after losing the case in the Bombay High Court in 2010.


"The government has no jurisdiction over Vodafone's purchase of mobile assets in India as the transaction took place in Cayman Islands between HTIL & Vodafone," Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia said.


He said for the stability of economic operations, investors should know where they stand.


He said Hutch Essar, whose Indian operations were acquired by Vodafone, was not a fly-by-night operator and was in India since 1994 and had contributed Rs 20,242 crore by way of direct and indirect taxes.


Justice Kapadia delivered the majority judgment alone with Justice Swatanter Kumar. However, Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan differed with the judgment.


Lawyer Harish Salve, who represented Vodafone said, "I am very happy with the verdict; very few countries can boast of such a judiciary. The verdict will boost people's confidence on the Indian judiciary."


Vodafone shares in London rose 1.4 percent after the verdict. The decision will come as a relief to international investors who feared the Vodafone precedent would expose them to new tax liabilities.


Analysts say at least 8 other companies are facing similar litigation, as the government steps up tax collection efforts to help plug a growing fiscal deficit.


GE, SAB Miller, Cadbury, AT&T, Sanofi, and Vedanta are among the companies fighting tax cases in India that could be affected by the Vodafone precedent, said Sandeep Ladda, executive director at PricewaterhouseCoopers in India.


Vodafone lost 9 million pounds in India during the six months ending in September, but counted on the country for 9 percent of the group's 23.5 billion pound global revenues during the period.


Vodafone had moved the apex court challenging the Bombay High Court judgement of September 8, 2010 which had held that Indian IT department had jurisdiction over the deal.


Through the $11.2 billion deal in May 2007, Vodafone acquired 67 per cent stake in the Hutchison-Essar Ltd (HEL) from Hong Kong-based Hutchison Group through companies based in Netherlands and Cayman Island.


The IT Department maintained that since capital gains were made in India through the deal, Vodafone was liable to pay the tax and issued a show cause notice to it asking as to why it should not be treated as a representative assessee of the Vodafone International Holding.


Vodafone, however, challenged the the show cause notice before the Bombay High Court saying it was share transfer carried outside India. The appeal was rejected by the high court in December 2008 which was again challenged by Vodafone before the apex court.

Budget 2012 to herald changes in line with planned GST
23 JAN, 2012, 06.49AM IST, DEEPSHIKHA SIKARWAR,ET BUREAU

Budget 2012 to herald changes in line with planned GST

RELATED ARTICLES



NEW DELHI: The finance ministry is likely to introduce a slew of measures in the budget to prepare the ground for the proposed goods and services tax that is yet to be approved by the states.


The indirect tax reforms are expected to withdraw some fiscal stimulus measures, raise excise on diesel cars and cigarettes and switch over to a negative service tax list. This would help the government align taxes with a unified GST, the country's most comprehensive indirect tax reform, and also raise additional revenue.


"The idea would be continue with what was initiated in the last budget... a full-fleged GST would be the culmination of the reform process, but that would take time," said afinance ministry official.


The finance ministry may opt for a gradual increase inexcise rates because of the current slowdown even though policymakers say that the fiscal stimulus should be fully withdrawn. After the 2008 financial crisis, the government had cut excise duty from 14% to 8% and service tax was brought down to 10% from 12%.


"We should go back to the rates that prevailed before the crisis," C Rangrajan, chairman Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council had told ET in an interview earlier this month. The North Block, which houses the ministry, is also studying a proposal to raise excise duty on diesel cars and cigarettes.


The steadily widening gap between the price of petrol and diesel has led to a spurt in demand for diesel-run vehicles, increasing the government's subsidy burden. The petroleum ministry and some sections within the finance ministry strongly support a higher excise on diesel cars.


The government earns aboutRs 8,000 crore from duty on diesel cars and Rs 10,000 crore on cigarettes each year. At present, the excise duty on cars is based on length and not fuel. An expert panel headed by formerPlanning Commission member Kirit Parikh last year has also recommended imposition of additional excise duty on diesel vehicles of up to Rs 80,000.


Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee had brought only 130 items under excise duty out of a list of 370 that enjoyed exemption. These include milk products, yogurt, baby foods, paper products, edible oil and equipment supplies to infrastructure projects.

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http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/Budget-2012-to-herald-changes-in-line-with-planned-GST/articleshow/11596155.cms

22 JAN, 2012, 09.51AM IST, MANJU V,ET BUREAU

Rs 10,030 crore plan to link India with choppers


MUMBAI: It's a project that would straightaway double the number of helicopters in the country. The government-owned Pawan Hans has submitted a Rs 10,030-crore proposal to four central ministries seeking the purchase of 249 helicopters and 10 sea planes and the construction of 180 helipads across India. The aircraft and helipads would aid tourism, of course. But, more significantly, they would transform aerial surveillance, law-and-order monitoring and India's response to medical emergencies and natural disasters. They would also make at least 30% of India's districts and many remote areas more accessible.


The project, split into four categories, would be funded with budgetary support from the four ministries. The major portion, a Rs 7,760-crore proposal, has been submitted to the Union ministry of home affairs. The other initiatives include a Rs 1,010-crore proposal sent to the Union ministry of civil aviation, a Rs 1,020-crore proposal sent to the Union ministry of development of the northeastern region and a Rs 240-crore proposal sent to the Union ministry of tourism. Once a ministry passes its respective proposal, it would then be included in its 2012-2017 five-year plan and implementation could begin, said an official at Pawan Hans.


Of the new choppers, 178 would be for disaster management, medical emergencies and law enforcement, another 20 would be specially equipped for air surveillance, 20 would be for tourism and 21 for the North-East. The 10 sea planes would help connect Andaman, Nicobar and Lakshadweep.


Currently, India has about 250 helicopters in the civil category. Of these, about 20% are engaged in offshore oil rig operations and the rest are with government or charter aircraft operators or are privately owned. Consequently, the role of civil helicopters in the country has been largely limited to ferrying a select category of flyers who include tourists, politicians, medical emergency patients, offshore workers and those travelling to areas inaccessible by road.


"The Pawan Hans project would bring helicopters into the mainstream, so to speak. For instance, the project would introduce highway aerial surveillance in the country," the Pawan Hans official added. So in case of a road accident, a section of a highway could be cordoned off for a helicopter to land and then ferry the victim to a hospital. "It would improve the infrastructure needed to handle emergencies, like earthquakes, floods and so on," the official added.


"The ministry of civil aviation has cleared its part of the project, but the destiny of the proposal rests largely with the ministry of home affairs as its share in the plan is Rs 7,760 crore," said an official. The ministries, including the home ministry, could decide to accept only part of the proposal.


Evidently, the most visible changes would be in law-and-order and surveillance. "Under the proposal submitted to the Union home ministry, 20 fully equipped medium helicopters would be procured to monitor anti-national activities, coastal surveillance and so on," the official said.


Helicopter support would also be provided by initially deploying 178 helicopters so that at least 30% of the total districts in India have access to helicopters. "These helicopters would be used for disaster management, primary health care, medical evacuation and law enforcement," the official added.


Under the tourism ministry's proposal are plans to acquire 20 helicopters to develop tourist sectors that are otherwise not operational at present because of poor infrastructure. For instance, the Sunderbans region, the Buddhist circuit and so on would be made more attractive for tourists because of time-saving flying options. The Rs 1,020 crore given to the northeastern ministry includes the acquisition of 21 helicopters to enhance connectivity in the northeast.


The proposal given to the Union ministry of civil aviation includes the acquisition of 20 sea planes for inter-island connectivity between Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep and for connecting them to the mainland. Other than that, the proposal talks of creating infrastructure, like one or more helipad per district in all northeastern states, totalling to around 40 helipads.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/infrastructure/Rs-10030-crore-plan-to-link-India-with-choppers/articleshow/11586708.cms

7 JAN, 2012, 09.36AM IST, TNN

UID is game changer, put it back on track: Som Mittal, President, NASSCOM

Is India willing to believe that technology-led solutions can enhance governance and transparency in the country? Should good be given away for the sake of perfection?


To reach masses, reduce the digital divide and have inclusive growth, development initiatives like UID are a game changer. The current debate around UID project-relevance, technology, security and privacy, duplication of effort , costs-indicate that the policy makers are having second thoughts. After two years and 100 million registrations, we should not be doubting fundamentals of the project, but focus on addressing issues and finding solutions. Openended review processes hinder successful execution of any dream project.


The UID project in all its details went through interministerial scrutiny and was cleared by the Cabinet. It was supported by states, irrespective of political affiliations. If the concerns are on project costs, then the one-time cost of implementation of this project would be a fraction of the money lost through leakages in our social schemes, apart from the multifold improvement in efficacy. It will be leveraged by the Centre, state and local governments as well as the private sector. We must not forget the mandate of UID is of a developmental project and should not be burdened with issues of security , terrorism, illegal immigration etc.


While the debate on citizen versus resident is important, India needs a credible way to provide a unique identity to residents. Citizenship and other applications can leverage this platform based on data from relevant ministries. Just as UID will not substitute the need for a passport, ration card, voter ID, PAN number etc., a UID holder cannot claim citizenship. Aadhar is only a proof of identification.


Many contest that no other country in the world has this and some had to shelve similar projects due to cost or privacy reasons. India has unique problems and would need unique solutions that are robust, scalable and most likely have no precedence. Has the mobile phone done to any other geography what it has done to India?


UID is the only project in the world that leverages multimodal biometrics combining fingerprint and iris with the accuracy levels of 99.9%. Is there a better way of providing identity of the last man and woman in an Indian village who cannot even spell their names? For its high degree of accuracy, among others, biometrics are also being used by the US Immigration authorities for authentication.


There can be privacy and security concerns associated in dealing with citizen's data that may get interlinked. UIDAI stores biometrics, it is only for authentication and personal data cannot be accessed. Banks, PDS, immigration and income tax can embed the Aadhar but each will manage and control its own data. The probability of all agencies colluding to profile citizen is almost negligible. Moreover, a privacy bill is being drafted to ensure legal enforcement.


Concerns on duplication of efforts, inter-ministerial collaboration, the role of state governments and the Centre, use of multiple private agencies, delays etc may be valid concerns, but are operational in nature and can be resolved. We must believe this is the right initiative for India and risks of not doing higher. A project of this magnitude will have naysayers, fence-sitters, vested interest and those uncomfortable with change.


There are even larger number who understand the opportunity that this provides. Do most revolutions get caught in a political crossfire? Can we just step aside and make way for national interest? We cannot make it another progressive project lost in the din? Let us put our convictions together to resolve the issue and put UID back on fast track.


http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/software/UID-is-game-changer-put-it-back-on-track-Som-Mittal-President-NASSCOM/articleshow/11520818.cms

ull coverage

Identity crisis

Indian Express - ‎20 hours ago‎

Ever since the Unique Identification (UID) project rolled out, it has had to weather hit-and-run attacks. Concerns about privacy and budgets have been mounted from influential staging posts in attempts to derail the project altogether by isolating the ...

UIDAI gives numbers to highlight 'low cost', 'accuracy'

Indian Express - ‎Jan 21, 2012‎

There was no shadow of the controversy over the collection of biometric data under the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) scheme today as its project coordinators rattled numbers to show that it was a success.

PM must resolve dispute pertaining to UID scheme

Daily Mail - ‎Jan 21, 2012‎

By Mail Today Reporter The Union Ministry for Home Affairs (MHA) tends to behave like the colonial relict that it is. Not only does it want to keep track of who you talk to and what you email, but it also wants to protect you against the big bad ...

UID can be a threat to nation's security, warns BJP

Economic Times - ‎Jan 21, 2012‎

NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Saturday said inclusion of all residents of India in the Unique Identification number (UID) scheme would present a threat to the nation's security by giving illegal migrants rights of citizens.

Stage set for PC-Montek face-off on UID project

Daily Mail - ‎Jan 21, 2012‎

By Aman Sharma It will be the Unique Identification Authority of India's (UIDAI) 'speed' versus the National Population Register's (NPR) 'fool-proof security'. All eyes will be on home minister P. Chidambaram and Planning Commission deputy chairman ...

Chidambaram gets BJP support

Hindustan Times - ‎Jan 21, 2012‎

The BJP seems to be backing home minister P Chidambaram on the issue of not extending the mandate of Unique Identification (UID) scheme without addressing national security concerns. "The most important aspect is the issue of national security when we ...

'Address security before extending UID mandate'

Hindustan Times - ‎Jan 21, 2012‎

PTI However, the party said by raising security concerns over the UID project, it was not siding with P Chidambaram in the ongoing battle between the Home Ministry and the Planning Commission. "Security concerns are more important than the home ...

Montek vs PC faceoff over UID and Aadhaar cards project

Daily Mail - ‎Jan 21, 2012‎

By Aman Sharma With a crucial cabinet meeting on the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) and Aadhaar cards likely next week, the battle lines are clearly drawn. The home ministry, under P. Chidambaram, wants to be solely in charge of all ...

Aadhar clocks impressive progress

IBNLive.com - ‎Jan 21, 2012‎

BANGALORE: The UID number programme may have seen its share of turbulence in the past, but its success was still on course, as on Friday, nearly 12 crore Aadhar numbers were generated. Speaking to media persons at an interaction at their Technology ...

600 million people to get UIDs by 2014

Daily News & Analysis - ‎Jan 21, 2012‎

By DNA Correspondent | Place: Bangalore | Agency: DNA Nandan Nilekani, chairman of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), on Friday, cleared doubts over the fate of Aadhaar project that aims to provide those residing in India with biometric ...

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RAISINA TATTLE: Chatterjee steps in to sort out the UID tangle

By MAIL TODAY REPORTER
Last updated at 1:52 AM on 23rd January 2012
Has Pulok Chatterjee, who replaced TKA Nair as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's principal secretary, managed to arrest the impression of a policy paralysis?
While Nair has been a copycat bureaucrat, Chatterjee, considered a link between PMO and 10 Janpath, is politically savvy.
Last week, a hyperactive Chattterjee convened a series of meetings with corporate honchos and PSU chiefs with the PM. The idea was to address the concerns of the industry which is going through bad times.
Now, following reports of differences between home minister P. Chidambaram and Planning Commission deputy chairperson Montek Singh Ahluwalia over the UID project, Chatterjee has stepped in to convene a meeting of the cabinet committee to sort out the tangle.

Slow-moving NHAI

After keeping the National Highways Authority of India headless for over two years, the government has finalised the criteria for selecting its chief.
The post will be open not only for bureaucrats but also for private sector professionals. Despite being the crucial sector in the country's growth story, highway construction has slowed down.
Surprisingly, the ministry, headed now by C.P. Joshi, couldn't decide the selection criteria for NHAI's chief for two years. But the big question is: Will the final clearance speed up construction work?

Anna mocks PM

Anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare has once again prodded Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to bring a strong Lokpal.
Hazare reminded Singh that he was almost on the fag end of his political career, as the Congress may not give him another chance to run the country. The natural course for the PM then, says Hazare, is to show courage like he did for the Indo-US nuclear deal.
'You have turned 80 and this country has given you everything. Now the county is asking for something in return. Show courage to push for a stringent Lokpal Bill,' Hazare has written to the PM. Will mocking the PM again bear any fruits? History tells us otherwise.

It's JD-U vs BJP

Janata Dal (United) is miffed with its senior ally BJP for letting Gujarat CM Narendra Modi campaign in Uttar Pradesh while also taking credit for the 'Bihar model of development'.
The two parties are contesting separately in the state. But both are competing with each other to sell the 'Bihar model' to garner votes.
'Since they (BJP) have chosen Modi as their star campaigner, it would have been better if the BJP had talked about Gujarat model,' says JD-U general secretary K.C. Tyagi, a close confidant of party president Sharad Yadav.

Moment of honour

It is rare for someone to be the chief guest at an institution of which he has been a member. That honour came to Vice- President Mohammad Hamid Ansari at the India International Centre which celebrated its golden jubilee on Sunday.
Ansari used the occasion to stir the IIC's intellectual tradition by talking of giants from Hegel to Russell while making a mention of Nehru and Mirza Ghalib as well.
It was a special day for Ansari because he was present when the institution was inaugurated by the first Vice-President Sarvapelli Radhkrishnan in 1962.


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South Asia
    Jan 24, 2012

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India faces identity crisis
By Raja Murthy

MUMBAI - A key parliamentary body has all but hurled out India's high-profile national Unique Identification Project, perhaps the most hurried, if not largest of its kind in human history.

After a two-year life, the biometric identification scheme for 1.2 billion people faces either redesign or death. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh heads a cabinet meeting this week to decide its destiny.

Called "Aadhaar" - meaning "foundation" or "support" - India budgeted US$603 million to give a 12-digit number to each of 600 million residents by March 14, 2014, in the first two phases. It could be big money and effort down the drain.

The central government had asked Unique Identification Authority

Dilbert
 

of India (UIDAI) project chairman Nandan Nilekani to enroll 200 million people by January 2012, in a first phase. With the target set to be reached by January end, the project goes effectively into a coma if the government does not give the go-ahead.

The UID number, set to only prove identity, not citizenship [1], would be supported by biometric devices such as facial recognition systems, eye and fingerprint scanners. But the Parliament Standing Committee on Finance delivered the near knockout punch to the mega mission, with its December 13 report sharply questioning its practicability and credibility.

The Finance Committee, one of 17 such workhorse entities for legislative homework, also challenged the legality, quality of technology and potential misuse of the UID information collected over the past two years. The project had "no clarity of purpose," observed the 48-page report from 53 parliamentarians, "and it is being implemented in a directionless way with a lot of confusion". [2]

The confusion is not surprising, given that India already has one too many national ID cards, unlike the multiple-purpose single devices seen in other countries - the nine-digit Social Security number in the US, for instance, China's 18-digit Resident Identity Card, or the Hong Kong Identity Card.

In contrast, India has the Voters ID card issued by the Election Commission, the Permanent Account Number (PAN) card issued by the Ministry of Finance, the passport issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, the driving license issued by Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) - any one of which serves as the mandatory photo ID proof for uses like opening a new bank account, a cellular phone service and entering airports. And there is also the ration card issued by state governments to any Indian family needing subsidized basic groceries.

But apart from the PAN card for income tax payers, none of these national ID devices are compulsory. Now the UID increases chances of various ministries not just re-inventing the wheel, but studiously reinventing the reinvented wheel.

Adding to any overlap, India has another ongoing mega project in the Ministry of Information Technology's National Population Register (NPR). This mammoth exercise to build a database of Indian citizens includes a listing of residential houses in the country. The UID project was to later merge with the NPR. But differences of opinion have arisen whether that will happen.

Singh's cabinet meeting this week will decide whether to resolve such issues or dissolve the UID. Or perhaps invent a peculiar Ministry for National Identity Cards to avoid turf wars breaking out.
Another tacitly understood reason for the UID was fool-proof identity verification. Yet the "Aadhaar" number apparently has also been doled out to illegal residents, many of whom sneak in through India's eastern borders. The Home Ministry has strongly expressed its security concerns about the UID.

Such concerns are as ancient as Rome, the earliest known country with a concrete citizenship process. Male citizens had to register in the census once every five years, and declare details of family members, wealth and slaves. To free a slave he owned, he could register the slave in the census as a citizen, a procedure called "manumissio censu". The census gave a sense of national identity, and became a foundation of the Roman Empire.

The Roman census was compulsory. If a citizen failed to sign up, Rome was entitled to confiscate his possessions and sell him as a slave. Roman citizenship perks included the right to vote, and not to be tortured or crucified for any crime.

More modern national identity rights though serve more benign reasons. Ashwini Kumar, the Minister of State for Planning and Science and Technology, told parliament that a key objective of the UID was to ensure the economically weaker sections are not get excluded from access to governmental welfare schemes for want of identity documents.

"Aadhaar aims to provide a soft identity infrastructure which can be used to re-engineer public services so that these lead to equitable, efficient and better delivery of services," Kumar said on March 10, 2011.

For this aim, the UID project seems to have modeled itself on the 75-year old US Social Security Services number that entitles United States governmental aid, including for the homeless, disabled and health care for people over age 64. But as a two-year old project, the UID may have attempted too much too soon for too many.

The US Social Security System, for instance, reached out to 53,236 Americans in 1937. By 2008, 50.8 million American residents benefited from US$615.3 billion of governmental welfare programs. It took a journey of over seven decades before now, when one in seven Americans now benefits from the Social Security number. In contrast, the UID project aims to give 600 million people their national ID numbers in four years.

The result is tokenism in welfare rather than substance. In November 2010, for instance, 27 homeless street dwellers in New Delhi like Khaiver Hussain and Tufail Ahmed received their UID cards. Their new ID numbers helped them open bank savings accounts and access old-age pensions. But India has millions of urban homeless, and there is no focused plan to reach out to them. In Mumbai, where over one million live on the streets, the UID has opened a facility for online registering. The Internet and cyber cafes are not exactly favored mode of communication among pavement dwellers in India.

Besides the homeless, the UID project aims to enroll the aged, migrants, leprosy patients and other disadvantaged sections through an "introducer system" - where the vouching "introducer" could be a responsible citizen, from a parliamentarian to the postman.

The postman could have been a bigger fulcrum of the project. The US Social Security Administration used post offices as starting point for registration forms when it started in 1936. It now operates from 1,400 office and US embassies worldwide. India's 150,000-plus post offices - the largest postal network in the world - were not used for distributing UID applications. Where these 20,000 enrollment stations exist has not been made advertised either.

Instead of manageable morsels, the UID project may have bitten off more than it can chew - and the government may have to spit the whole mouthful out.

Doing some good is of course better than doing no good at all, but the UID could have done with a trial run in a state like Maharashtra, or a mega city like Mumbai. Glitches could have been ironed out, before gradually widening its scope on a national scale - glitches like finger prints not showing clearly in the calloused hands of laborers, a section of population the UID is targeting.

The cabinet meeting this week would decide whether the world's largest biometric ID project would solve such problems, or end up creating new ones. The parliamentary report is anyway a severe indictment on the governmental habit of launching grandiose schemes without adequate homework - particularly of the kind to see if it would be wiser to strengthen and fine-tune existing solutions.

Notes
1. "The Unique Identification (UID) number called 'Aadhaar' is a 12-digit random number. It does not contain any intelligence. The number will prove only identity and not citizenship," Ashwini Kumar, India's Minister of State for Planning, Parliamentary Affairs and Science and Technology told the Rajya Sabha (the indirectly elected Upper House of parliament) in response to a question on the UIDAI project. "No demographic or biometric information will be shared in response to requests for authentication of identity. A set of mandatory, conditional and optional demographic data such as name, date of birth, gender, name of parents, residential address and biometric features such as photograph, all 10 finger prints and iris images will together establish and verify the identity of a resident."
2. Standing Committee on Finance Report on the National Identification Authority of India Bill, 2010.

(Copyright 2012 Asia Times Online (Holdings) Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)



http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/NA24Df01.htm

Bihar Government Should Put A Stay
On The Execution Of The Aadhaar Related Projects

By Gopal Krishna
12 January, 2012
Countercurrents.org
Patna: A compelling logic has emerged for the Bihar Government to put a stay on the execution of the aadhaar related projects in the state following a revealing report of a multi-party Parliamentary Standing Committee (PSC) on Finance that considered the National Identification Authority of India (NIDAI) Bill, 2010 and following the grave concerns expressed by eminent citizens, former judges and academicians. Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) had signed a MoU with Bihar Government on August 20, 2010 without any legal and constitutional mandate.
This disdain for the law has been characterised by the Standing Committee as `unethical and violative of Parliament's prerogatives'. Citizens have been protesting against the UID and NPR based MINIC project across the country from the very outset but prior to PSC's report it was ignored. By now it is clear that it is an unnecessary project which must be stopped.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance considering the National Identification Authority of India (NIDAI) Bill, 2010 presented its report to the Parliament on December 13, 2011. The report rejects biometric data based identification of Indians. The report is a severe indictment of the hasty and `directionless' project which has been "conceptualised with no clarity of purpose". Even the functional basis of the Unique Identification Authority of India UIDAI is unclear and yet the project has been rolled out. The Standing Committee found the biometric technology `uncertain' and 'untested'. As early as December 2009, the Biometric Data Committee had found that the error rate using fingerprints was inordinately high. In a recent interview to the press, the Director General and Mission Director of the UIDAI had admitted that fingerprints are likely not to work for authentication. The error rate could end up excluding up to 15% of the population. Yet, the UIDAI has gone on with the exercise.
There is no data protection law in place. Even though the government had recognised the need for a law to deal with security and confidentiality of information, imposition of obligation of disclosure of information in certain cases, impersonation at the time of enrolment, investigation of acts that constitute offences and unauthorised disclosure of information, the Unique Identification (UID) project was allowed to march on without any such protection being put in place.
The Parliamentary Report has raised questions of great severity about the legality and constitutionality of the Unique Identification (UID) project. It has acknowledged the many concerns that have been voiced in the past two years about the absence of a feasibility study, no cost-benefit assessment, uncertain and untested technology, an enrolment process that has national security repercussions, the lack of data protection and privacy legislation and the disrespect for Parliament by going ahead with a project that was pending parliamentary approval. It is also noticed that the data that is being collected is not being held by a government agency, about which the National Informatics Centre has expressed anxiety.
Prof. D M Diwakar, Director, ANISS said, in the aftermath of this report of the PSC, the continuance of the project as also the ongoing collection of demographic and biometric data needs to be rigorously examined, as also its ramifications for the project in Bihar. UIDAI has been trying to push for the adoption of the UID through multiple committees of several ministries and for the re-engineering of current systems to fit the requirements of the UID. There have been attempts to withdraw services such as LPG if a person has not enrolled for a UID. The creeping of voluntariness into compulsion through threat of discontinuance of services has been roundly castigated by the Standing Committee.
There has been an extraordinary amount of duplication of work. The NPR is doing the same exercise, except that the Ministry of Home Affairs has found that the excessive outsourcing and the methods used by the UIDAI for enrolment make the data inaccurate and insecure. The multiplicity of Registrars with whom the UIDAI has entered into MoUs produces their own problems of duplication. The Standing Committee is categorical that the Empowered Group of Ministers (EGoM) constituted for the purpose of collating the two schemes namely, the UID and National Population Register (NPR), has failed.
The project has been replete with unanswered questions. The 17 eminent citizens, as also other civil society activists and academics, had asked that the project authorities acknowledge that many countries had abandoned identity schemes such as had happened in the UK, China, USA, Australia and the Philippines. The Standing Committee has taken on board studies done in the UK on the identity scheme that was begun and later withdrawn in May 2010, where the problems were identified to include "(a) huge cost involved and possible cost overruns; (b) too complex; (c) untested, unreliable and unsafe technology; (d) possibility of risk to the safety and security of citizens; and (e) requirement of high standard security measures, which would result in escalating the estimated operational costs."
Echoing citizens' concerns, the Parliamentary Committee has noted that the government has "admitted that (a) no committee has been constituted to study the financial implications of the UID scheme; and (b) comparative costs of the aadhaar number and various existing ID documents are also not available." It discloses that while the UIDAI was constituted on January 28, 2009 without parliamentary approval, and UID numbers were begun to be rolled out in September 2010, the Detailed Project Report of the UID Scheme was done much later in April, 2011. The Standing Committee expressed its anxiety that, the way the project had been run, "the scheme may end up being dependent on private agencies, despite contractual agreement made by the UIDAI with several private vendors." The report records the views of Dr Usha Ramanathan, a noted jurist saying, "It is a plain misconception to think that the executive can do what it pleases, including in relation to infringing constitutional rights and protections for the reason that Parliament and legislatures have the power to make law on the subject." In view of the above, the Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) signed by UIDAI with the partners including all the States and Union Territories, 25 financial institutions (including LIC) to act as Registrars for implementing the UID scheme has become of doubtful legality.
Prof. (Dr) Mohan Rao, Centre for Social Medicine & Community Health, Jawaharlal Nehru University said, UID is dangerous for public health. It should be rejected unequivocally because it violates confidentiality and privacy which is considered sacred in medical practice and is sought to be used for accuracy in clinical trials". At the meeting J T Dsouza, Expert, Biometrics Technology, Mumbai said, "Both the UID and NPR project has been about technology that is flawed, with risks to national and individual security, ill conceived in its aims and uses, and has attempted to occupy a place where it can be above the law." In relation to biometrics, the NPR too is guilty of going beyond the mandate give to it by law. Neither the Citizenship Act 1955 nor the Citizenship Rules of 2003 permit the collection of biometrics. The Standing Committee, recognising this, has asked that the use of biometrics in the NPR be examined by Parliament. Till then the collection of biometrics must be suspended. "It is apprehended that once the database is ready it can be used to eliminate minority communities, migrants and political adversaries by some regime which finds them unsuitable for their political projects. The fact is a centralized electronic database and privacy both are conceptually contradictory; it is advisable to let it remain in decentralized silos something which even the central government's Discussion Paper on Privacy implied," said Gopal Krishna, Member, Citizens Forum for Civil Liberties.
Taking cognizance of these concerns, Indo-Global Social Service Society (IGSSS), a civil society organization based in Delhi working with the homeless, has disassociated itself from UID Number project which was being undertaken under Mission Convergence in Delhi. Withdrawal of IGSSS that works in 21 states of the country merits the attention of all the states and civil society organisations especially those who are unwittingly involved in the UID Number enrollment process. In its withdrawal letter IGSSS said, "we will not be able to continue to do UID enrolment, as we discussed in the meeting of 10th May 2011." It is clear that both Mission Convergence and UIDAI have been hiding these crucial facts. The letter reads, "IGSSS like many other leading civil society groups and individuals are opposed to conditional cash transfers and the UID will be used to dictate it."Most manual workers of both organised and unorganised sector lose their finger prints. The project claimed to work for them but it is they who would get excluded. It is not the question of onetime cost being incurred but also of the recurring cost of the UID and NPR project that reveals its character which does not have any constitutional or rational basis.
A Round Table on the PSC Report and its implications for the Unique Identification (UID) project and for the Union Home Ministry's National Population Register (NPR) and the issuance of Multipurpose National Identity Cards (MNIC) was organised on January 10, 2012 at AN Sinha Institute of Social Studies (ANISS), Patna. It was organised jointly by A N Sinha Institute of Social Studies, Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF) and CFCL. This meeting was a follow up to the Round Table on Unique Identification (UID) project & Bihar Govt's role held on 3rd January, 2011, the National Seminar on Idea of Unique Identification (UID) Project held on February 21, 2011 held in the state capital. Several eminent intellectuals from various sections of society expressed their concerns about the effect of this project on the liberty of citizens and sovereignty of the country.
It emerged that journalists appear to have been compelled to accept biometric identification in the offices where they work. They have been made to accept it as a fait accompli. As a consequence they have not reported about violation of privacy rights due to biometric identification of citizens and residents of India under UID and NPR.
For Details: Gopal Krishna, Member, Citizens Forum for Civil Liberties, E-mail:krishna1715@gmail.com

http://www.countercurrents.org/krishna120112.htm

GOVERNANCE

Setback to UID
USHA RAMANATHAN
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance finds the UID project to be "conceptualised with no clarity" and "directionless".


At Tembhli village in Nandurbar district, a day before the launch of the UID in 2010.The village received the first numbers under the project.
THE Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance has dealt a body blow to the Unique Identification (UID) project.
The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) was set up under the Planning Commission by an executive order on January 28, 2009. The scheme involves the collection of demographic and biometric information to issue ID numbers to individuals. The first numbers were handed to the tribal residents of Tembhili village in Nandurbar district of Maharashtra on September 29, 2010. The National Identification Authority of India Bill, 2010, was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on December 3, 2010. On December 10, 2010, it was referred to the Standing Committee.
Over the next year, the Standing Committee received suggestions, views and memoranda, and heard from various institutions, experts and individuals. It was briefed by representatives of the Planning Commission and the UIDAI. News reports were considered and clarifications sought from the Planning Commission. The Standing Committee adopted the report on December 8, 2011. On December 13, 2011, it was placed before Parliament.
The report is a severe indictment of the UID project. It found the project to be "conceptualised with no clarity of purpose" and "directionless" in its implementation, leading to "a lot of confusion". The overlap between the National Population Register (NPR) and the UID is unresolved. The structure and functioning of the UIDAI had not been determined before beginning the exercise. The methodology of collection of data is built on shifting sands. There is no focussed purpose for the resident identity database.
Nandan Nilekani, chairman of the UIDAI, in his talks and interviews, calls it "open architecture". The UID project is only about producing a number and linking an identity to the number. What could be done with that identity infrastructure will depend on who uses it and for what purpose. It leaves the field open for those who have the power to use, or abuse, the data and for those who use the number to converge on data about individuals.
Even as it is claimed that obtaining the UID number is voluntary, apprehensions have grown that services and benefits will be denied to those without the number. This is an inversion of the idea of inclusion, which is a key element in the image-building exercise done for the project.
The lack of preparation before launching a project of this dimension is striking. As the Planning Commission admitted to the Standing Committee, no committee had been constituted to study the financial implications of the project. There is no comparative analysis of costs of the UID number and the various extant ID documents. No comprehensive feasibility study was carried out at any time. In fact, the Detailed Project Report was done as late as April 2011. On September 28, 2010, a day before the launch, a group of eminent citizens, including V.R. Krishna Iyer, Romila Thapar, Upendra Baxi, A.P. Shah, Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey, S.R. Sankaran, Bezwada Wilson, and nine others released a statement reflecting just these concerns. This statement was later submitted to the Standing Committee. In the time that elapsed between the expression of concern by the group of eminent citizens and the report of the Standing Committee, the situation had hardly changed.
The Standing Committee has found the project to be "full of uncertainty in technology as the complex scheme is built upon untested, unreliable technology and several assumptions". This is a serious concern given that the project is about fixing identity through the use of technology, especially biometrics. As early as December 2009, the Biometrics Standards Committee set up by the UIDAI had reported adversely on the error rate. Since then, neither the Proof of Concept studies nor any assessment studies done by the UIDAI have been able to affirm the possibility of maintaining accuracy as the database expands to accommodate 1.2 billion people. The estimated failure of biometrics is expected to be as high as 15 per cent.
Critics of the project have referred to studies such as the 2010 report of the National Research Council in the United States (cited in Frontline December 2, 2011: "How reliable is UID?"), which concluded that "human recognition systems" are "inherently probabilistic and hence inherently fallible". In India, a report from 4G Identity Solutions, which is a consultant to the UIDAI and supplies it with biometric devices, suggested that children under 12 years and persons over 60 years would find their fingerprints to be undependable biometrics. Most damaging to the credibility of using fingerprints for authentication – which is what is proposed and currently seen as practical in terms of cost and technology – is what Ram Sevak Sharma, Director-General and Mission Director of the UIDAI said in an interview to Frontline(December 2, 2011, page 8): "Capturing fingerprints, especially of manual labourers, is a challenge. The quality of fingerprints is bad because of the rough exterior of fingers caused by hard work and this poses a challenge for later authentication…. Issuing a unique identity with iris scans to help de-duplication will not be a major problem. But authentication will be because fingerprint is the basic mode of authentication." The Standing Committee has taken this admission on board.
Enrolment requires an individual to produce documents that the enroller accepts as sufficient proof of person and address. When documents do not exist, or they are inadequate for the purpose, a person may find a "verifier" to establish their identity. Or, especially in the case of the poor, they may be introduced to the system by approved introducers. In practice, these two methods have been shown to be irrational and prone to error. The Home Ministry had questioned this erratic method of enrolment and its implications for national security. These concerns have resonated with the Standing Committee.
Nilekani has been talking about enrolling 600 million residents before he completes his term in 2014. However, it seems that the Cabinet Committee on UID had, in the first instance, given its approval to let him enrol 10 crore residents, which was later increased to 20 crores. The UIDAI does not currently have the mandate to enrol more than that number. To meet his target of 600 million, Nilekani entered into memorandums of understanding with a multiplicity of entities, including State governments, banks, oil companies and insurance companies, to act as registrars. This may have helped in spreading the net wider to capture residents to get their demographic and biometric data. But it also meant that the chances of duplication of work increased. The Ministry of Home Affairs also alleged that some registrars had not adhered to the procedures laid down by the UIDAI, setting the MoUs to nought. This, it was feared, was also compromising the security and confidentiality of the information gathered. The Standing Committee found that issues relating to the process of data collection, the duplication of efforts and the security of data remained unresolved.
The UIDAI says it is now developing a monitoring and evaluation framework. There are plans for periodic audits. The project has carried on so far without these essential safeguards.
There has been speculation that the dissensions within are signs of a turf war. There could be something in that. Yet, the Standing Committee report reveals that the issues have been raised by a range of agencies and they are impossible to ignore. So:
the Ministry of Finance (Department of Expenditure) has been concerned about the duplication of effort and expenditure among at least six agencies that collect information – the NPR, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS), the BPL (below poverty line) Census, the Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) and bank smartcards.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has raised security concerns about "introducers", the involvement of private agencies which could also have security implications, and the uncertainties in the revenue model of the UIDAI which proposes that a fee be imposed once a separate pricing policy is in place.
The NIC has pointed out that privacy and security of UID data may be better handled if they were stored in a government data centre.
The Planning Commission has voiced its reservations about the merits and functioning of the UIDAI. It has also questioned the necessity of collecting iris images, which has resulted in a steep escalation of costs.
R. ASHOK
IRIS SCANNING AS part of the process to obtain biometric data at the Head Post Office in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, on December 5, 2011.
Further, there is the matter of the number of government agencies collecting biometrics as part of different schemes that ought to give one pause.
Setting a refreshing precedent, the Standing Committee has drawn on the research around the United Kingdom's Identity Project anchored at the London School of Economics and Political Science. While acknowledging that there are likely to be differences between one jurisdiction and another, it found it relevant to draw lessons regarding the factors of complexity; untested, unreliable and unsafe technology; possibility of risk to the safety and security of citizens; and requirement of security measures of a high standard, which is likely to result in escalating operational costs.
In the UID project, every resident is entitled to a UID number. It is not a marker of citizenship. The Standing Committee's concern is that even illegal migrants can get the UID number. It favours restricting the scheme to citizens for the reason that this entails numerous benefits proposed by the government.
What upset the Standing Committee most was the disdain shown to Parliament in proceeding with the project, on the premise that the "powers of the executive are coextensive with legislative power of the government". What would happen if Parliament rejected the project and the law?
In the Attorney-General's opinion: "If the Bill is not passed for any reason and if Parliament is of the view that the authority should not function and expresses its will to that effect, the exercise would have to be discontinued. This contingency does not arise." This anticipation has been belied by the rejection of the project and of the Bill by the Standing Committee. The Standing Committee also considered "unethical and violation of Parliament's prerogatives" the continuance of the project while the framing of the law is under way.
The government, as the Standing Committee records, had recognised the need for a law to deal with the security and confidentiality of information, imposition of obligation of disclosure of information in certain cases, impersonation at the time of enrolment, investigation of acts that constitute offences, and unauthorised disclosure of information. Yet the project was rolled out with no protections in place.
The Standing Committee recognised the legitimacy of concerns raised about issues, including access and misuse of personal information, surveillance, profiling, linking and matching databases in securing confidentiality of information. A data protection law has to be debated and enacted before large-scale collection of information from individuals and its linkage across separate databases can be contemplated.
The "concerns and apprehensions" voiced by the Standing Committee have led to its categorical rejection of the Bill. In conclusion, the committee has said that it will "urge the government to reconsider and review the UID scheme as also the proposals contained in the Bill in all its ramifications and bring forth a fresh legislation before Parliament".
The data already collected may be transferred to the NPR, if the government so chooses.
That, however, is not all. The NPR, which came in for scrutiny because of its link with the UID project, has embarked on the collection of biometric data which is authorised neither by the Citizenship Act, 1955, nor by the Citizenship Rules of 2003. This, the report says, has to be examined by Parliament. Until then it is reasonable to assume that it should be suspended.
The UID project has raised many questions about data convergence, imperfect technology, national and personal security, extraordinary expenditure, exclusion and inclusion, and the source of power to gather, hold and use data about individuals. This report raises unanswered questions about the biometric and data-gathering ambitions of the state. The association of the project with a corporate icon has tended to lull many into complacency. Yet, as is reflected in the Standing Committee report, the process, the technology and the consequences are deeply problematic. The report leaves no room for doubt that the UID project will have to be revisited and the NPR re-examined.
Usha Ramanathan works on the jurisprudence of law, poverty and rights.
http://www.frontline.in/stories/20120127290103900.htm

Hi-tech, low cost, no thought

Seema Kamdar | Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Mantralaya has evolved. Its officious portals are sporting some smart gadgets these days. Your identity proof alone is no longer enough. Each visitor is photographed, her index finger scanned and her cell number fed into a computer before she is ushered in.
This is a sea change from two decades ago. All you needed then was to scribble your name in a scruffy muster, fill up a chit and get in. You could use a false name, you could use a two-day-old slip if you got weary of the queues and nobody would really know.
When the government felt the need to screen its visitors, it made some form of identification compulsory. For years since, the visitor slip has had to be presented along with some identity proof. And now, it has taken a technological leap. Or, has it? A chat with officialdom shows that confusion within the government mirrors the confusion at its gates. Biometric scanning is done for the UID scheme and in large private offices or laboratories which have footfalls of a hundred or two. Mantralaya has a daily traffic of around 5,000 people. It has x-ray machines and door frames at every entry point. And, of course, the identification requirement is still in place. What, then, is the point of the new system? The phone number is supposed to help them locate the visitor inside the premises if necessary. When was the last time a babu went looking for a visitor who is usually an uninvited guest?
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If the government was planning to use the database for some academic profiling of visitors like urban-rural, my picture or fingerprint would tell them nothing. Anyway, I was told that is not the idea at all. I was also told the new system would speed up my entry the next time. So, I would still have to wait in the queue, but when my turn comes, I tell them my cell number and they trace my fingerprint for me. It would conceivably save me a minute or two.
The time spent on processing my face and finger can be saved the first time itself by simply not doing it in the first place. The queues have only got longer. More importantly, a majority of visitors to Mantralaya are not regulars.
The government has no real reason for this 'upgrade' except that it just seemed hi-tech enough to do it. And the fact that a database on 1.5 million people a year can be crammed into one terabyte of memory without pinching the pocket. So, we have a modern screening system because it comes cheap but serves no purpose.
Finger scanning, the oldest technology in biometric sciences, is widely used for access to computer or other highly sensitive networks and by banks. As a means of access control, it works because biometric data cannot be easily hacked. But as a technology in a government office which has new visitors every day and which will not be used for any other purpose whatsoever, it's quite lost. The new system is being tracked at the highest levels in the home department who say the idea is work in progress. We will take their word for it. By the way, there is no iris scan. Yet.
http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/comment_hi-tech-low-cost-no-thought_1638521l

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Palash Biswas
Pl Read:
http://nandigramunited-banga.blogspot.com/

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