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Blog Entry FAQ on the Aadhaar Project and the Bill
by Elonnai Hickok, Vanya Rakesh, and Vipul Kharbanda published Apr 13, 2016 last modified Apr 13, 2016 02:06 PM — filed under: , , , , , , ,
This FAQ attempts to address the key questions regarding the Aadhaar/UIDAI project and the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2016 (henceforth, Bill). This is neither a comprehensive list of questions, nor does it contain fully developed answers. We will continue to add questions to this list, and edit/expand the answers, based on our ongoing research. We will be grateful to receive your comments, criticisms, evidences, edits, suggestions for new answers, and any other responses. These can either be shared as comments in the document hosted on Google Drive, or via tweets sent to the information policy team at @CIS_InfoPolicy.
Located in Internet Governance / Blog
Blog Entry Flaws in the UIDAI Process
by Hans Varghese Mathews published Mar 06, 2016 last modified Mar 06, 2016 10:40 AM — filed under: , , , , ,
The accuracy of biometric identification depends on the chance of a false positive: the probability that the identifiers of two persons will match. Individuals whose identifiers match might be termed duplicands. When very many people are to be identified success can be measured by the (low) proportion of duplicands. The Government of India is engaged upon biometrically identifying the entire population of India. An experiment performed at an early stage of the programme has allowed us to estimate the chance of a false positive: and from that to estimate the proportion of duplicands. For the current population of 1.2 billion the expected proportion of duplicands is 1/121, a ratio which is far too high.
Located in Internet Governance / Blog
Blog Entry Glaring Errors in UIDAI's Rebuttal
by Pranesh Prakash published Sep 18, 2016 last modified Sep 18, 2016 03:22 AM — filed under: , , ,
This response note by Pranesh Prakash questions Unique Identification Authority of India’s reply to Hans Verghese Mathews' article titled “Flaws in the UIDAI Process” (EPW, March 12, 2016), which found “serious mathematical errors” in the article.
Located in Internet Governance / Blog
Blog Entry Identity of the Aadhaar Act: Supreme Court and the Money Bill Question
by Vanya Rakesh and Sumandro Chattapadhyay published May 09, 2016 — filed under: , , , ,
A writ petition has been filed by former Union minister Jairam Ramesh on April 6 challenging the constitutionality and legality of the treatment of this Act as a money bill. The Supreme Court heard the matter on April 25 and invited the Union government to present its view. It is our view that the Supreme Court can not only review the Lok Sabha speaker’s decision, but should also ask the government to draft the Aadhaar Bill again, this time with greater parliamentary and public deliberation. Vanya Rakesh and Sumandro Chattapadhyay wrote this article on The Wire.
Located in Internet Governance / Blog
Blog Entry List of Recommendations on the Aadhaar Bill, 2016 - Letter Submitted to the Members of Parliament
by Amber Sinha, Sumandro Chattapadhyay, Sunil Abraham, and Vanya Rakesh published Mar 16, 2016 last modified Mar 21, 2016 08:50 AM — filed under: , , , , , , , ,
On Friday, March 11, the Lok Sabha passed the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2016. The Bill was introduced as a money bill and there was no public consultation to evaluate the provisions therein even though there are very serious ramifications for the Right to Privacy and the Right to Association and Assembly. Based on these concerns, and numerous others, we submitted an initial list of recommendations to the Members of Parliaments to highlight the aspects of the Bill that require immediate attention.
Located in Internet Governance / Blog
MongoDB startup hired by Aadhaar got funds from CIA VC arm
by Prasad Krishna published Dec 13, 2013 last modified Dec 13, 2013 11:53 AM — filed under: ,
Two weeks ago, Max Schireson, chief executive of MongoDB, a New York-based technology startup, was in New Delhi to sew up a very important contract for his company — with the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
Located in News & Media
No party's got a clear stand, Aadhaar's fate hangs in balance
by Prasad Krishna published Apr 13, 2014 last modified May 05, 2014 06:01 AM — filed under: , ,
A non-UPA government for sure will review the multi-crore UID programme, but none of the parties have yet talked about scrapping it.
Located in News & Media
Pratap Vikram Singh - Why Aadhaar is Baseless?
by Prasad Krishna published Mar 17, 2016 last modified Apr 02, 2016 05:31 AM — filed under: , , , , ,
This article by Pratap Vikram Singh, Governance Now, discusses the problems emerging out of the UIDAI project due to its lack of mechanisms for informed and granular consent, and for seeking recourse in the case of denial of service. The article quotes Sumandro Chattapadhyay and mentions Hans Varghese Mathew's work on the biometric basis of UIDAI. It was written before the Aadhaar bill was passed in Lok Sabha.
Located in Internet Governance / News & Media
Blog Entry Press Release, March 11, 2016: The Law cannot Fix what Technology has Broken!
by Japreet Grewal and Sunil Abraham published Mar 16, 2016 last modified Mar 16, 2016 10:10 AM — filed under: , , , , , ,
We published and circulated the following press release on March 11, 2016, as the Lok Sabha passed the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Bill, 2016. This Bill was proposed by finance minister, Mr. Arun Jaitley to give legislative backing to Aadhaar, being implemented by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
Located in Internet Governance / Blog
Blog Entry Press Release, March 15, 2016: The New Bill Makes Aadhaar Compulsory!
by Amber Sinha published Mar 16, 2016 — filed under: , , , , , ,
We published and circulated the following press release on March 15, 2016, to highlight the fact that the Section 7 of the Aadhaar Bill, 2016 states that authentication of the person using her/his Aadhaar number can be made mandatory for the purpose of disbursement of government subsidies, benefits, and services; and in case the person does not have an Aadhaar number, s/he will have to apply for Aadhaar enrolment.
Located in Internet Governance / Blog