AADHAAR SCHEME

SUCCESS OR FAILURE ?

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

SHADAB KHANEX-MBAB-59

Aadhaar is a 12 digit individual identification number

issued by the UIDAI on behalf of the Government of India.

This serves as a proof of identity and address, anywhere in India.

Collects demographic and biometric information to establish uniqueness of individuals.

For every resident, irrespective of existing documentation.

WHAT IS AADHAAR SCHEME [CARD]?

SUCCESS OR FAILURE ?

In general Indians are suspicious of and reluctant to adopt new practices.

India is very hesitant to break away from the past.

Aadhaar had the biometric technology to connect each human being to a unique number, and it would have been successful if it had restricted itself to that role. However a "scope creep" made Aadhaar to record the residential address of each person and this is where UIDAI fell into a trap.

WHY A FAILURE ?

UIDAI had no way to verify addresses and had to fall back on the traditional, "address proofs" like Bank passbook, Utility Bills or Passport.

So the legitimacy, or accuracy, of the Aadhaar card was brought down to the same level as so many other cards -- PAN, Voter Card, Drivers Licence -- that are floating around the country.

Getting equated to cards like PAN and Voter Card opened up turf issues. In particular, the security establishment, led by the Ministry of Home Affairs, got particularly anxious because the equation of the Voter Card with Aadhaar card made it particularly vulnerable to abuse by illegal immigrants in communally sensitive election constituencies.

The final nail in the coffin of Aadhaar was the extreme mismanagement of the Aadhaar issuance process.

Other than the showcase rollout in Delhi and the major metros, the implementation at the district level towns was a total nightmare.

Ineffective communication, incomplete planning, ill-trained staff, badly designed software and inadequate computing and communication infrastructure.

The arrogance displayed by the UIDAI in denying the reality, using its proximity to the PMO to arm-twist the population to fall in line by threatening to withhold critical government services like subsidized gas cylinders without which the citizen cannot cook his daily meal !

The right to privacy that was being blatantly violated.

The immorality of data collected with government funds being handed over to a foreign private body.

The three private entities contracted by the UIDAI for biometric solutions for Aadhaar, have strong ties with the US and the French intelligence or defence establishments.

Few people had a clear idea about this, therefore it became red-hot issue that the nation started talking about.

So obviously that very uniqueness of the card was nowhere to be exist.

The data collected can be misused, of course not easily.

It was proved that a fake ID can be created. For e.g.

Public opinion against Aadhaar was something that

roiled around the country and when it reached the doors of the Supreme Court in the form of a PIL, there was little that the judges could do but agree with the petitioners and remove all the compulsory features of Aadhaar and reduced it to the level of another petty loyalty card from retail chain!

Thus, Supreme court order dated on September 23, 2013.

That ‘the states to "adhere to" its order that no person should be denied any benefits or "suffer" for not having Aadhaar cards, issued by UIDAI.’

FINAL VERDICT

UIDAI - Unique Identification Authority of

India PMO – Prime Minister’s Office PIL – Public Interest Litigation.

Sources: uidai.gov.in dnaindia.com wikipedia.com newindianexpress.com quora.com

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT