Social activists, legal researchers and academicians have demanded a nationwide public debate and discussion on the Centre's plan to issue an Unique Identification Number for Indians and its consequences.They have also questioned the claim of the Unique Identification Authority of India -- the nodal agency responsible for implementing the ambitious project -- that it will make every citizen, particularly the poor, visible to the state.
The linking of biometric UID/Aadhaar number to all public services makes "We, the People of India" worse than slaves, says Gopal Krishna.
It's one tender that could usher in an era of partnership between domestic and global IT service providers, who compete fiercely for deals in India and abroad.
Given the security dilemma prevailing between India and China, India should curb the operation of Chinese telecom companies in India, asserts Dr Rup Narayan Das.
Nandan Nilekani said plans are on track to issue Aadhaar numbers to 600 million (60 crore) people in three to three-and-half years.
Nandan M Nilekani will take charge as the head of the Unique Identification Authority of India on Thursday and has sought the cooperation of all the ministries for the success of the project.
Data privacy, he said, is a broader argument beyond Aadhaar as it includes everything such as issues related to mobile phones and social media data.
There are unprecedented political implications of identification based on 'biological attributes of an individual', such as employed by Aadhaar, warns Gopal Krishna.
'The most valuable personal sensitive information of present and future citizens has been made available to foreign data firms and governments and non-State actors for all time to come,' says Gopal Krishna.
It is aimed at curbing the menace of fake or duplicate PAN cards which are allotted by I-T department to taxpayers.
Nandan Nilekani will have the responsibility to lay down plans and policies to implement the Unique Identity card scheme and shall own and operate the UID database. The authority was notified on January 28 this year as an attached office under the aegis of the Planning Commission with an initial core team of 115 officials and staff. The scheme will be implemented in three years.
The Unique Identification Database Authority of India has been under the media glare ever since its launch and ever since former Infosys honcho Nandan Nilekani took over the reins as its chairman.
Last September, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government chose Tembhli, a small village in the predominantly tribal Nandurbar district, to launch its ambitious Unique Identification (UID) project - now known as Aadhaar - giving it a special mention in history.
Silently, resolutely, 'Aadhaar' -- as the UID project has now been christened -- and Nilekani have succeeded in attracting some of the best and brightest that the IT world can offer, both from within India and from overseas.
The Unique Identification Number will bring in mobility, choice, transparency and accountability at the doorsteps of the common man, UIDAI Chairman Nandan Nilekani has said.
The DoT is wrongly asking subscribers to link their mobile numbers to Aadhaar in order to keep them active, says Gopal Krishna.
People can now use their imagination and creative ability to give a boost to the brand image of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) by designing a logo which will fetch 'instant public recognition' for the massive project.
The bank will join the UIDAI, an ambitious plan to provide unique identification number to all residents of the country, in collecting biometric and demographic details of its customers as well as others.
The Government's ambitious unique identity project aiming to give a 16-digit number to all citizens of the country was renamed 'AADHAAR' and its new logo unveiled.
'The government's proposal to store citizens' data including Aadhaar data under its Digital India initiative on cloud is violative of the citizens' human rights because the cloud is admittedly beyond India's jurisdiction.'
'The attempt to make Aadhaar mandatory has now emerged as an act of bullying by government agencies, turning citizens into subjects by making fundamental rights conditional on biometric identification,' says Gopal Krishna.
Unless the judges factor in the ungovernability of technologies and their beneficial owners, present and future Presidents, prime ministers, judges, legislators and officials handling sensitive assignments may become redundant with reference to their age-old roles for securing 'national resources and assets', warns Dr Gopal Krishna.
The plan of UID/Aadhaar-based surveillance does not end with the collection of fingerprints and iris scan, it goes quite beyond it and poses a lethal threat to the idea of India, says Gopal Krishna.
Nilekani, whose name is doing the rounds for Bengaluru South constituency, however, did not say when he will join Congress party.
The verdict in the right to privacy case is historic and of global significance because it establishes dharma, righteousness and destroys adharma.
The verdict in the right to privacy case is historic and of global significance because it establishes dharma, righteousness and destroys adharma.
Admittedly, EVMs too have a UID number and any convergence of data can make the secret ballot system a party of history, warns Dr Gopal Krishna in the 5th part of his series against Aadhaar.
'Bureaucrats have transformed a project meant to empower the poorest Indians into one that empowers only babus and disempowers everyone else,' says Mihir S Sharma.
UIDAI Chairman Nandan Nilekani on Friday said he will resign from his job by March-end to contest Lok Sabha election on Congress ticket.
Isn't National Intelligence Grid and UIDAI engineered by vested interests, asks Gopal Krishna.
Private firms' offer to print Aadhaar details on plastic card a breach of law
While Jay Shah has warned the media against violating his fundamental right to privacy, Tushar Mehta -- his lawyer in the defamation case -- had opposed right to privacy in the Supreme Court, says Dr Gopal Krishna.
The court was hearing petitions challenging the Aadhaar scheme.
It is widely believed that Nandan Nilekani's meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi saved the ambitious Aadhaar project from oblivion or a takeover by the home ministry.
'When a newspaper says that Karnataka leads in corruption, one must also know it means Karnataka leads in patronising corruption.' 'You can't be corrupt without me succumbing to your corruption.'
'The government that is talking all the time about national security and national interests should be concerned.' 'When national interests are jeopardised by their own project, they should pause and listen.' 'Whether it is the BJP or the Congress, they all want control over the people.' 'They don't give a damn if anything happens to the people of the country; they are only interested in what they can get out of the data.'
So far, 758 million Aadhaar numbers have been generated.
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The implementation of the much-hyped Aadhaar Card scheme is in trouble following the Supreme Court's interim order on Monday, which observed that the card can be issued only to Indian nationals and the identification number cannot be made mandatory for availing of benefits of the government's subsidy schemes.
Nandan Nilekani talks about moving towards a cashless economy and freedom of Internet, among others
UID project was launched by the UPA government in 2009.
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