AADHAAR
– POLITY
News:
Aadhaar unreliable in
‘hot, humid’ India: Moody’s
What's
in the news?
●
Global rating major Moody’s Investors
Service has flagged concerns about security and privacy vulnerabilities in
centralised identification systems like India’s Aadhaar programme. The unique
ID system often results in “service denials”, and using biometric technologies
in humid conditions is unreliable, it noted.
Key
takeaways:
●
Amid India’s digital infra push, Moody’s
says the world’s largest digital ID programme often denies service to users; it
questions reliability of biometric technology, warns of privacy and security
risks.
Aadhaar:
●
A 12-digit
unique identity for every Indian individual, including children and
infants.
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Available to all the resident Indians.
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It contains all details of demographic and biometric information.
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It is a voluntary service that every resident can avail irrespective of
present documentation.
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Each individual will be given a single
unique Aadhaar ID number.
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Aadhaar will provide a universal identity
infrastructure which can be used by any identity-based application (like ration
card, passport, etc.)
●
Issuing
authority: Unique Identification Authority of India.
About
UIDAI:
Statutory
Authority:
●
The UIDAI is a statutory authority
established on 12th July 2016 by the Government of India under the jurisdiction
of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, following the
provisions of the Aadhaar Act 2016.
●
The UIDAI was initially set up by the
Government of India in January 2009, as an attached office under the aegis of
the Planning Commission.
Mandate:
●
The UIDAI is mandated to assign a 12-digit
unique identification (UID) number (Aadhaar) to all the residents of India.
●
As of 31st October 2021, UIDAI had issued
131.68 crore Aadhaar numbers.
Aadhar
Act 2016:
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The Act provides for an efficient, transparent, and targeted
delivery of subsidies, benefits, and services to citizens through the
assignment of Unique Identity Numbers.
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Under the act, biometric and demographic
information of the resident would be verified post which the Aadhaar number
would be issued. The Aadhaar number would be a twelve-digit number issued by
the authority (UIDAI).
●
The act provides the offences and
penalties for offences under the Act. It also provides which information can be
submitted, on request by the entity, by the Authority.
New
Amendment under Aadhar (enrollment and update) Regulation, 2019:
1.
Updating the documents:
●
As per the regulations earlier, residents
who were older than 15 years at the time of enrollment were recommended to
update their biometric data every 10 years.
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The process of updating documents is not mandatory.
2.
Ensuring accuracy:
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This process will help in ensuring the
accuracy of information in the Central Identities Data Repository (CIDR).
3.
Demographic information:
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The amendment of the Aadhaar regulation is
limited to updating demographic
information and does not involve biometric data such as fingerprints.
Supreme
Court Judgement:
●
In 2018, the Supreme Court had struck down
Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act.
●
Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act essentially
allowed private entities to collect citizens’ Aadhaar details. While reading
down the provision, the top court had called it “unconstitutional”.
●
Later, the Aadhaar and Other Laws
(Amendment) Ordinance, 2019 was issued which allowed banks and telecom
operators to collect Aadhaar details as a proof of identity.
Advantages
of Aadhar:
1.
Eliminate the leakages: Increasing the accuracy of Aadhaar
information is likely to help the government eliminate the leakage of benefit
transfers from various schemes.
2.
Promoting Transparency and Good Governance: Aadhaar number is verifiable in an
online, cost-effective way.
3.
Direct Benefit Transfer: Aadhar Card linked bank accounts
will get their set of LPG Subsidy directly accredited in the bank account.
4.
People-Centric Governance: Aadhaar is a strategic policy tool
for social and financial inclusion, public sector delivery reforms, managing
fiscal budgets, increasing convenience and promoting hassle-free people-centric
governance.