HINDU
‘Campaign for no UID' flags privacy concerns
NEW DELHI, September 29, 2010
As the Prime Minister hands out the first official AADHAAR numbers in the tribal district of Nandurbar on Wednesday, civil society activists in the capital are questioning the very basis of the ambitious Unique Identification (UID) scheme.
“Even basic procedures have not been followed before launching such a massive project,” said Usha Ramanathan, an expert in law, poverty and civil rights. “The people of India, as well as Parliamentarians need to be informed, consulted and involved in a debate about a project that could have wide-ranging impacts. It should be halted before it goes any further,” she said, during a meeting here on Tuesday.
The project, first called the UID Authority of India and then renamed AADHAAR, aims to create a database with a unique identity number for every resident of the country, authenticated by fingerprints and iris scans. Its supporters, led by UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani, claim it will benefit the poor and bring inclusivity and efficiency to government schemes. Its detractors, who are in the nascent stages of forming a campaign against it, warn that the project will allow the government to play Big Brother, and raise concerns of profiling and exclusion.
“No legal backing”
In a statement signed by eminent citizens, including retired Supreme Court judge V.R. Krishna Iyer, historian Romila Thapar and social justice campaigner Aruna Roy, activists questioned the undemocratic process behind the project. UIDAI was set up through a government notification as an attached office of the Planning Commission without any discussion in Parliament or civil society. Despite having no legal backing – a draft Bill was approved by the Cabinet last Friday – the Authority has signed contracts and agreements with States, banks and a large number of technology companies, said the statement.
“Historically, it has always been dangerous to issue a number or card to a population,” says Ms. Ramanathan.
She raised issues such as the possibility of profiling, tracking and surveillance which could be increased by the converged information that a UID database would provide.
Apart from the dangers, activists also questioned the efficacy of the project. “Mr. Nilekani claims that UID will allow better delivery of public schemes such as PDS or NREGA. Yet, he intends to use the existing NREGA and PDS databases to enrol people for UID, so where does the ‘inclusivity' aspect come in?” asked Reetika Khare, a developmental economist at the Delhi School of Economics.
“It is a myth that technology will promote inclusivity. All it means is that anyone left out will become disenfranchised for all purposes.”
She added that while the UID might help prevent duplication of PDS beneficiaries, most of the leakage in the PDS system came from dealer fraud.
Activists asked why the government seemed to be steamrollering the project through without allowing time for public debate. Even while the pilot studies are still throwing up problems such as poor people without stable fingerprints or with iris scans affected by malnourishment-related cataracts, the Authority is rushing to formally launch the scheme.
The statement demands that a feasibility study be carried out, to demonstrate the benefits to social welfare schemes, examine the effects on privacy and detail who will have access to the UID database.
“Without guaranteed security against data theft, the wisdom of holding this in a central registry may need to be reviewed.” With Rs. 45,000 crore planned to be spent on UID over the next four years, activists demanded a cost-benefit analysis to see what the final cost would be for the end user and cardholder.
________________________________________________________________“Even basic procedures have not been followed before launching such a massive project,” said Usha Ramanathan, an expert in law, poverty and civil rights. “The people of India, as well as Parliamentarians need to be informed, consulted and involved in a debate about a project that could have wide-ranging impacts. It should be halted before it goes any further,” she said, during a meeting here on Tuesday.
The project, first called the UID Authority of India and then renamed AADHAAR, aims to create a database with a unique identity number for every resident of the country, authenticated by fingerprints and iris scans. Its supporters, led by UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani, claim it will benefit the poor and bring inclusivity and efficiency to government schemes. Its detractors, who are in the nascent stages of forming a campaign against it, warn that the project will allow the government to play Big Brother, and raise concerns of profiling and exclusion.
“No legal backing”
In a statement signed by eminent citizens, including retired Supreme Court judge V.R. Krishna Iyer, historian Romila Thapar and social justice campaigner Aruna Roy, activists questioned the undemocratic process behind the project. UIDAI was set up through a government notification as an attached office of the Planning Commission without any discussion in Parliament or civil society. Despite having no legal backing – a draft Bill was approved by the Cabinet last Friday – the Authority has signed contracts and agreements with States, banks and a large number of technology companies, said the statement.
“Historically, it has always been dangerous to issue a number or card to a population,” says Ms. Ramanathan.
She raised issues such as the possibility of profiling, tracking and surveillance which could be increased by the converged information that a UID database would provide.
Apart from the dangers, activists also questioned the efficacy of the project. “Mr. Nilekani claims that UID will allow better delivery of public schemes such as PDS or NREGA. Yet, he intends to use the existing NREGA and PDS databases to enrol people for UID, so where does the ‘inclusivity' aspect come in?” asked Reetika Khare, a developmental economist at the Delhi School of Economics.
“It is a myth that technology will promote inclusivity. All it means is that anyone left out will become disenfranchised for all purposes.”
She added that while the UID might help prevent duplication of PDS beneficiaries, most of the leakage in the PDS system came from dealer fraud.
Activists asked why the government seemed to be steamrollering the project through without allowing time for public debate. Even while the pilot studies are still throwing up problems such as poor people without stable fingerprints or with iris scans affected by malnourishment-related cataracts, the Authority is rushing to formally launch the scheme.
The statement demands that a feasibility study be carried out, to demonstrate the benefits to social welfare schemes, examine the effects on privacy and detail who will have access to the UID database.
“Without guaranteed security against data theft, the wisdom of holding this in a central registry may need to be reviewed.” With Rs. 45,000 crore planned to be spent on UID over the next four years, activists demanded a cost-benefit analysis to see what the final cost would be for the end user and cardholder.
‘Campaign for no UID' flags privacy concerns
Academics, jurists, activists urge caution; want more debate.
The campaigners are demanding the project be halted for now, a feasibility study undertaken, constitutional aspects debated.
Our Bureau
New Delhi, Sept. 28
With barely 24 hours to go before the first set of ‘Aadhaar numbers' are handed out in Maharashtra, a group of academics, jurists, activists and film makers have raised their voices against the UID project.
They are flagging concerns on issues of privacy, potential for misuse of information, and “limited public discussion on implications and fall-out” of the UID project.
The campaigners are demanding the project be halted for now, a feasibility study undertaken, constitutional aspects debated, and a cost-benefit analysis conducted for the mega project. “The law on privacy needs to be worked on, urgently. A project with such a wide implication cannot be undertaken without a debate in Parliament and civil society,” Mr Justice A.P. Shah, Retired Chief Justice of High Court of Delhi said at a conference.
Other signatories to ‘Campaign for no UID' are Mr Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer, (Retired Judge, Supreme Court of India), Prof Romila Thapar (Historian), Mr K.G. Kannabiran (Senior Civil Liberties Lawyer), Ms Kavita Srivastava (People's Union of Civil Liberties and Right to Food Campaign), Ms Aruna Roy and Mr Nikhil Dey (Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, Rajasthan), Mr Upendra Baxi (Jurist and ex-Vice Chancellor of Universities of Surat and Delhi), Ms Uma Chakravarthi (Historian), Ms Shohini Ghosh (Teacher and Film Maker) and Mr Amar Kanwar (Film Maker), among others.
One of the main grouse of the campaigners is the privacy aspect – the signatories contend that the information which is today scattered across diverse databases can now be linked to the UID number, and potentially thus lead to convergence of all kinds of personal details including medical and financial information. The database, they fear, could be hacked into and misused.
“What if the information lands up in wrong hands…There is clearly a need for a wide debate on the protection of privacy. Besides, the information can lead to profiling and tracking of residents by the State,” Ms Ghosh said.
However, the campaigners are not yet exploring legal options. Approaching the courts would be the last resort for them and the focus currently is on raising a debate on the issue, they say.
The dissent note comes just a day before the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, and the UPA Chairperson, Ms Sonia Gandhi, are slated to issue the first set of UID numbers in Nandurbar district of Maharashtra, The stated objectives of the project include establishing a ubiquitous authentication infrastructure to easily verify identities of residents online and in real-time.
The Government believes that the UID project would enable state agencies and service providers to clean out duplicates and fakes from their databases, and, in turn, improve the efficiency of the public delivery systems.
The campaigners are demanding the project be halted for now, a feasibility study undertaken, constitutional aspects debated.
Our Bureau
New Delhi, Sept. 28
With barely 24 hours to go before the first set of ‘Aadhaar numbers' are handed out in Maharashtra, a group of academics, jurists, activists and film makers have raised their voices against the UID project.
They are flagging concerns on issues of privacy, potential for misuse of information, and “limited public discussion on implications and fall-out” of the UID project.
The campaigners are demanding the project be halted for now, a feasibility study undertaken, constitutional aspects debated, and a cost-benefit analysis conducted for the mega project. “The law on privacy needs to be worked on, urgently. A project with such a wide implication cannot be undertaken without a debate in Parliament and civil society,” Mr Justice A.P. Shah, Retired Chief Justice of High Court of Delhi said at a conference.
Other signatories to ‘Campaign for no UID' are Mr Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer, (Retired Judge, Supreme Court of India), Prof Romila Thapar (Historian), Mr K.G. Kannabiran (Senior Civil Liberties Lawyer), Ms Kavita Srivastava (People's Union of Civil Liberties and Right to Food Campaign), Ms Aruna Roy and Mr Nikhil Dey (Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, Rajasthan), Mr Upendra Baxi (Jurist and ex-Vice Chancellor of Universities of Surat and Delhi), Ms Uma Chakravarthi (Historian), Ms Shohini Ghosh (Teacher and Film Maker) and Mr Amar Kanwar (Film Maker), among others.
One of the main grouse of the campaigners is the privacy aspect – the signatories contend that the information which is today scattered across diverse databases can now be linked to the UID number, and potentially thus lead to convergence of all kinds of personal details including medical and financial information. The database, they fear, could be hacked into and misused.
“What if the information lands up in wrong hands…There is clearly a need for a wide debate on the protection of privacy. Besides, the information can lead to profiling and tracking of residents by the State,” Ms Ghosh said.
However, the campaigners are not yet exploring legal options. Approaching the courts would be the last resort for them and the focus currently is on raising a debate on the issue, they say.
The dissent note comes just a day before the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, and the UPA Chairperson, Ms Sonia Gandhi, are slated to issue the first set of UID numbers in Nandurbar district of Maharashtra, The stated objectives of the project include establishing a ubiquitous authentication infrastructure to easily verify identities of residents online and in real-time.
The Government believes that the UID project would enable state agencies and service providers to clean out duplicates and fakes from their databases, and, in turn, improve the efficiency of the public delivery systems.
