To Link or not to link that is the question, now that enrolment into Aadhar is almost 100% for the nation of 1.2 Billion people, I am being hounded from all corners and all financial institutions to link my aadhar number with them.
The charter for the Aadhar Card goes like this from the UIDAI Strategy document
A clear identity number would also transform the delivery of social welfare programs by making them more inclusive of communities now cut off from such benefits due to their lack of identification. It would enable the government to shift from indirect to direct benefits, and help verify whether the intended beneficiaries actually receive funds/subsidies.
While if this is how it has started as an initiative for the poor and the downtrodden, there is no reason for me to be hounded with emails, at least to the best of my knowledge I have not received any government subsidies so far, other than paying hefty taxes, I must say I would have been a good revenue source to the Govt.
Popular media reports that the scope has been expanded to over 50+ services and will soon include booking online railway tickets as well.
So, my question and angst are what is the need to expand the scope of the Aadhar, given that it has the Biometric details of everyone, it obviously poses a big security & privacy threat to the individual.
Do I want to share my finger prints so that I can buy a train ticket? Heck no.
- Aadhar has to be linked with PAN Card to file your taxes- if so why do I need PAN Card?
- Aadhar has to be linked with already issued Credit Card- Why?
- Aadhar has to be linked to your demat and brokerage account- why?
- Aadhar has to be linked with your PF account-Why?
- Aadhar to be linked with Insurance Policies & MF – why?
Given the stress going on in the banking sector, the introduction of “Bail in Clause” in the FRDI bill, the element of trust which is the key factor in the banking sector is slowly eroding.
you can read more about the FRDI here
http://www.livemint.com/Opinion/sUThI1tG8gY0LRaokkf0RI/Bail-in-two-options-for-the-government.html
This anyway does not seem to tie in with the original objectives for which Aadhar was instituted.
As an individual, I really don’t see any reason why I must reveal my Aadhar number for services I had always used? What is the value addition? Or risk trade off.
Now let me point out the implications for events like Identify thefts
It is not unheard of that IT databases can be hacked into expertly and confidential data stolen right from under the noses of Financial Services giants and then misused, sold in the Dark Internet for nefarious purposes.
There is 100% damage to the victim, whose every access can be blocked with the press of a button with no accountability from the government. What will happen to the Victim and his family?
- Will the banks provide reimbursement for disputed amounts?
- Will the Insurance company be willing to insure for this event?
- Will govmt provide a new fresh identity? Not sure how they can give you new finger prints and Iris Scans
Come an issue/incident everyone will point fingers at someone else/department with no re-course.
Given the above scenario, Aadhar linking to any service or institution should await final legislation via “New laws on Privacy” being proposed and under review with the judiciary.
Without understanding the impact of the legislation and re-course in the case of an event, Citizens / residents should not rush into updating the Aadhar numbers everywhere.
The new twist to this from most banks is that they are quoting PMLA rules for linking your card with Aadhar numbers. Here is an example from an email to me from a reputed bank:
“As per the amended Prevention of Money Laundering Act (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005, it is now mandatory to link your Aadhaar Number with your IndusInd Bank Credit Card by March 31, 2018.”
Now if you go and search the above-mentioned rule from the govmt’s Financial Intelligence Unit,
http://fiuindia.gov.in/files/AML_Legislation/notifications/rule_9.html
You will not find it mentioned anywhere explicitly that Aadhar is the identity required.
Here is the excerpt below:
What is an Officially Valid Document?
Officially valid document includes a passport, a driving licence, Permanent Account Number (PAN) Card, Voter’s Identity Card issued by the Election Commission of India, job card issued by NREGA, Aadhaar Card/ letter or any other document notified by the Central Government.
Just In, updating this blog with message from another reputed bank
Have you linked your Aadhaar number with your Bank Account? If not, please do so before 31st March 2018 to avoid blocking of your bank account. This is a mandatory requirement as per the directive from RBI. To know how to link,Click Here
Best Regards,
Customer Support
Axis Bank
Well, quite recently, Suvidhaa Infoserve, Axis Bank Ltd and eMudhra had breached the privacy of Aadhaar card and hacked it, later leading to a cyber crime complaint against them. They were charged with impersonation and unauthorized authentication, but the fact that this data was easily available to them does raise doubts. So, how will the government prevent the misuse of our critical information is still ambiguous. From <http://www.thecitizen.in/index.php/en/NewsDetail/index/8/10206/Why-The-Aadhaar-Card-Is-Not-Safe>
Bharti Airtel has admitted to lapses in governance in its customer authentication process which led to the suspension of both the telco’s as well as its payments bank arm’s e-KYC licence by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) for alleged misuse.
Read more at:
To Conclude
Until this matter is cleared up in full, I don’t think linking Aadhar to each and every service is mandatory, it should be left to the individual to Opt- in or not for Aadhar based services and not pushed through.
Sriram, Balaraman
Journey of Learning 
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