In an effort to prevent leakage of millions of rupees paid in
subsidies, The Government of India came up with a grand project to collect the
biometric and demographic data of residents and in exchange issue a 12-digit
unique identity number aksa Aadhar for leak-free disbursement. Worried about privacy concerns and data
security, some civil liberty groups like Citizens Forum for Civil Liberties and Indian Social Action Forum (INSAF)
opposed the project.
On 23 September 2013, the Supreme Court of India issued an interim order saying that "no person should suffer for not getting Aadhaar" as the government cannot deny a service to a resident if s/he does not possess Aadhaar, as it is voluntary and not mandatory. Following this order, on 11 August 2015, the Supreme Court of India ruled that "Aadhaar will not be used for any other purposes except PDS, kerosene and LPG distribution system" and made it clear that even for availing these facilities Aadhaar card will not be mandatory.
Given this background information about Aadhar and its purpose, let me take you through a blatant violation by Reliance Industries Limited and also Government of India seeking your Aadhar details on PF and Indian Railway Booking sites, which are yet to be approved by Supreme Court of India.
This week, I noticed an unusually long line at the rear end of our cafeteria at work. I was not sure if they brought in additional vendors to manage the peak-hour traffic. But when I finished my lunch and went towards the wash area I enquired with one of them on the purpose of this long queue. He flashed a bright smile announcing it was the queue to get a Reliance Jio 4G sim-card. Before I could ask him on the documentation required He pointed at the white-board which carried additional information. To my surprise, I found Reliance demanding your Aadhar to get a 4G connection. Isn’t that a blatant violation of SC ruling on Aadhar?
I came back to the queue to ask my colleagues if they were submitting their Aadhar to get a connection. A few who I asked nodded their head vigorously and when I explained the SC of India ruling on Aadhar none of them seem to be aware and didn’t care. I went back to my desk and went on Reliance Jio website to check if they were demanding Aadhar. I found no mention of Aadhar , but an address-proof document provided by GoI. Who is violating the norms? Is it the provider or their agents? I felt concerned about educated millennials turning blind-eye to data privacy and security. While in a rush to get on 4G and showcase their pride, but they seem completely forget their rights to privacy.
If you are one of those making indiscriminate copies of your documents and handing it over to providers and vendors, you need to stop doing it right away and think about your documents reaching the wrong hands. When SC questions the GoI’s ability to handle citizen’s data, why do you think private players will be cautious and liable to protecting your privacy?
A few years ago, I received a call from a collection agent on my mobile. He began the conversation by asking me to verify my name address, date of birth and before proceeding further. Before revealing my details, I asked him to share his name, designation and employer. I told him that I was not comfortable revealing any of my data over a phone conversation and I was willing to on his screen if he can read it out to me. Taken aback by my response, he tried convincing me to trust him, but I didn't. My name and mobile number matched, but my address did not. He asked me if I had changed my residence recently to which my answer was no, but what he revealed after that got me sweating.
On 23 September 2013, the Supreme Court of India issued an interim order saying that "no person should suffer for not getting Aadhaar" as the government cannot deny a service to a resident if s/he does not possess Aadhaar, as it is voluntary and not mandatory. Following this order, on 11 August 2015, the Supreme Court of India ruled that "Aadhaar will not be used for any other purposes except PDS, kerosene and LPG distribution system" and made it clear that even for availing these facilities Aadhaar card will not be mandatory.
Given this background information about Aadhar and its purpose, let me take you through a blatant violation by Reliance Industries Limited and also Government of India seeking your Aadhar details on PF and Indian Railway Booking sites, which are yet to be approved by Supreme Court of India.
This week, I noticed an unusually long line at the rear end of our cafeteria at work. I was not sure if they brought in additional vendors to manage the peak-hour traffic. But when I finished my lunch and went towards the wash area I enquired with one of them on the purpose of this long queue. He flashed a bright smile announcing it was the queue to get a Reliance Jio 4G sim-card. Before I could ask him on the documentation required He pointed at the white-board which carried additional information. To my surprise, I found Reliance demanding your Aadhar to get a 4G connection. Isn’t that a blatant violation of SC ruling on Aadhar?
I came back to the queue to ask my colleagues if they were submitting their Aadhar to get a connection. A few who I asked nodded their head vigorously and when I explained the SC of India ruling on Aadhar none of them seem to be aware and didn’t care. I went back to my desk and went on Reliance Jio website to check if they were demanding Aadhar. I found no mention of Aadhar , but an address-proof document provided by GoI. Who is violating the norms? Is it the provider or their agents? I felt concerned about educated millennials turning blind-eye to data privacy and security. While in a rush to get on 4G and showcase their pride, but they seem completely forget their rights to privacy.
If you are one of those making indiscriminate copies of your documents and handing it over to providers and vendors, you need to stop doing it right away and think about your documents reaching the wrong hands. When SC questions the GoI’s ability to handle citizen’s data, why do you think private players will be cautious and liable to protecting your privacy?
Stop! Think and Act.
If you are still no convinced, here is a personal experience
on data theft.A few years ago, I received a call from a collection agent on my mobile. He began the conversation by asking me to verify my name address, date of birth and before proceeding further. Before revealing my details, I asked him to share his name, designation and employer. I told him that I was not comfortable revealing any of my data over a phone conversation and I was willing to on his screen if he can read it out to me. Taken aback by my response, he tried convincing me to trust him, but I didn't. My name and mobile number matched, but my address did not. He asked me if I had changed my residence recently to which my answer was no, but what he revealed after that got me sweating.
He said I owed the bank 1 Lakh rupees on my credit card and
he will send someone over to have it collected in the next few days. I told him
that I never carried this card and I had never defaulted on my payments. He refused
to believe me and we hung up after a heated argument. For next year, he
repeatedly harassed to make payments for a card that I didn’t carry or use. Had I shared my address when he demanded, I would have had him outside my door.
His
calls got me thinking… could there be someone with my name, date of birth and
mobile number or was it a case of identity theft? Ever since,
I’ve been paranoid about my data and privacy.
Hope you will learn from my horrific experience….
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