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When Aadhaar was about to make me 'Niradhaar'
Shailesh Gandhi 15 July 2016
Public Interest
I have been hearing about problems of identifying a person through the Aadhaar number system. However, my touching faith in the integrity and capability of India's information technology (IT) professionals made me believe that the technological solution must be very sound and the errors if any would be negligible. 
 
My friends Aruna Roy and Nikhil Dey had told me that workers who work with their hands have their thumbs getting worn out and hence being deprived of their legitimate rations, pensions and other entitlements. I had again believed that these might be rare occurrences, which were being anecdotally described. I have been aware that Sucheta Dalal and Debashis Basu at Moneylife have also been highlighting serious concerns on Aadhaar. I trust and have great faith in all these friends but felt that they were perhaps picking holes in one of the greatest technological feat of India for small discrepancies.
 
However, a few days ago, my personal experience altered my perception, and I think there may be serious flaws, which are being wished away. I have taken my Aadhaar number in the last three years, and have only shown it or quoted the number sometimes. I do not wash clothes or do manual work, which could lead to my fingerprints changing. 
 
My bank,-HDFC Bank- said I must get my know-your-customer (KYC) documentation re-done. They said my Aadhaar number would serve the purpose. I gave them my Aadhaar number and they asked me to put my thumb on a small device. I could see my thumb impression on a screen. However, the system refused to validate me! 
 
The bank employee asked me to try again and we did this over six times with the same result. The bank employee told me that this happens very frequently with many customers. Most of these customers would not be working with their hands, and yet the system of Aadhaar verification was not working. 
 
I could do my KYC by giving other documents, but the horror of this hit me. If the system cannot recognise people from its database with the thumb impression, what would happen to those whose foodgrains, pension or employment guarantee scheme (EGS) wages depend on it?  
 
I think there is an urgent need to check over a large sample of maybe 10,000 people in different places to validate whether the system does what is claimed. Otherwise, we will only have a pretension of having a system to identify every individual in the country. It is necessary that the truth be revealed by actual verification of a large sample across different parts of the nation. 
 
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Comments
Ramakishore Boindala
7 years ago
My mother aged 89 yrs drawing pension from AP subtreasury Kurnool since 5 yrs. Every year we have been submitting her Annual Verification Certificate attested by a Gazzetted officer . This year AP Govt. insisted upon sending Digital Annual Verification Certificate through AP Treasury portal matching the finger prints with Aadhaar . Since my mother is bedridden we cannot take her to any nearby agency that captures the finger prints and generate AVC . As there is an option to do the same at home with specified finger print scanners we have purchased one such device and tried to capture her middle finger print since all other fingers have worn out to obtain consecutive finger prints . But whatever finger print we captured when tried to match with Aadhaar it gives a message MISMATCH . Now we have no other option left . With no Digital Verification we cannot submit AVC which means my mother will not get her pension from Next month . Since I am also retired I don't know how I will have to manage her Medical expenses and other consumables for my aged mother . What responsibility the AP Govt. is going to take for all those old people who cannot submit the Digital Certificate due to old age or mismatch of Biometrics. I sent letters to Sub-treasury Kurnool as well as Directorate of treasuries AP at Ibrahimpatnam Vijayawada and also an email to [email protected] but no response so far . While they allow swindlers like VijayMallya to go scot-free they take extra precautions to give a meager pensions to old people who are not in a position to move about. Who can stand for them .
Reply
Sucheta Dalal
Replied to Ramakishore Boindala comment 7 years ago
Sir . Aadhar is not yet mandatory and daily hearings are on in the supreme court. If you insist forcefully and check formats for written objection, they will certainly accept it this year for sure. We dont know what will happen after the SC judgement.
Reply
M Haridas
Replied to Sucheta Dalal comment 7 years ago
My Q has remained unanswered. First has all the bank accounts , Fix Deposits, Bank Lockers, Policies, Shares, Bonds and Debentures starting from President , PM, Cabinet Ministers, MPs, MLAs, CMs, Guvs, Lt Guvs, Ambanis, Adanis, Godrej, Tata , CMD downward of all PSU/ Pvt banks, CVC, CEC, CIC, RBI guv and their own staff have been linked with Aadhar? Have Big Bee, King Khan, Bharat Ratna Sachin and such others have their Aadhar linked to their bank accounts, policies incl their Foreign Accounts in the National Interests? We know now that 1% of Ambanis, Adanis, Tata, Neera, Big Bees etc holding 78% of the national wealth. And they are the ones having govt at the centre and even in the states buy election bond Benami IN THE NATIONAL INTERESTS and give those bonds benami to their loyal kutte kawe tote myne political parties. They only get contract killers to kill Judge Loya or Gauri Lankesh and hence are exempted from any such pitli Aadhar Linking. There is no National Interest. It has a hidden agenda or else how could RJio could have been so confident that they got PM 's photo for advt and gave Free SIM against Aadhar Card. If SC ( i do not think SC judges are anything better than our corrupt spineless politicians, bureaucrats, Tota, Myna, Kutte, Kawe , gives an adverse order on Aadhar what will happen to more than crore RJio SIM which are issued against Aadhar only. This Modi Govt, not for National Security blah blah blah is fighting for Ambani's interest and ready to buy Judges for giving them lucrative post retirement jobs. We must get united against Nexus between Ambanis, Political Executives and even our LordSheeeeeps..they are the Enemies Within.
Reply
M Haridas
7 years ago
What exactly Aadhar link to my bank ac wll do? I have 4 savings bank ac, one current bank ac and 12 Term Deposit ac. If i go by the Govt order and the SMS being sent by my banks and my Mobile / Landline operators i am bound to link each one with Aadhar. Pause. A few years down the line when my LPG connection was shifted from Army Supply Depot LPG Agency to one Ms Anuradha at Karkhana Secbad and subsidy was directly linked to my saving ac i gave this very mob no and my Pension savings ac no for direct transfer. It was wkg fine. But since this hungama was created my subsidy is being paid atleast two of my savings ac alternatively or in the most adhoc manner. Who is manning this? How my subsidy is getting paid in one ac which is not listed with LPG company / govt. It is already messed up. For bank it is the PAN which matters. If PAN cards were issued more than one to one indv it can be rectified if the intention is not politicking.
Reply
Anupam Naik
8 years ago
I have similar experience twice when in my case Aadhar biometrics failed. While renting my place the leave & license agreement could not be signed by me as the machine refused to accept my signature and I had to manage with the power of attorney. Also when we wanted to take a flat on rent, this happened again.

What is to be done? Are we supposed to give hand print periodically and if it is so, where?

At present for me it is just like PAN, nothing less or nothing more. Wherever and whenever biometrics tests for Aadhar will be done, I am sure to fail.

I do not have to work with the hand like manual labour but they say with the advancing age this can happen. For the time being until a solution emerges, God only knows.
Reply
Param
9 years ago
i have been asked multiple times why i don't have aadhar card. my reply is very simple - it was meant to track subsidies & i'm not availing any subsidy, then why is it mandated for me? every time i stuck to my stand, they came up with some other workaround to get the job done. i wonder how long i can sustain!!!
Reply
Sudhir Singh
9 years ago
Every new technology or system has its own challenges. If there are weakness in Adhaar system they need to be removed and system made stronger. However, the application and is is in our national interest. Biometric is not limited to finger print only. Giants like Apple and Google will be using their technology soon to authenticate users by biometric. The choice soon will be whose system we use, our own home grown or become a colony of US companies. The globe is going to be digital soon. We do not have a choice to be left out of it. We have only one choice, to make our systems stronger and protect our people using technology.
Reply
Suresh Joshi
9 years ago
In the year 2011 i was enrolled however thru an oversight instead of male gender they have enrolled me as a Female.On return i found this mistake and rushed to the centre to correct this anomoly and accordingly the rectification was done and given the copy of the same.In the year 2013 i received the Aadhaar card without any correction.Then I contacted the UID by e-m and the correction sheet was filled and sent Hyderabad centre for correction but till today i have yet to receive the card.My Aadhaar no is no more valid.Their phone lines are not operating.What a person under the cicumstances can DO!!
Reply
Suresh Joshi
9 years ago
In the year 2011 i was enrolled however thru an oversight instead of male gender they have enrolled me as a Female.On return i found this mistake and rushed to the centre to correct this anomoly and accordingly the rectification was done and given the copy of the same.In the year 2013 i received the Aadhaar card without any correction.Then I contacted the UID by e-m and the correction sheet was filled and sent Hyderabad centre for correction but till today i have yet to receive the card.My Aadhaar no is no more valid.Their phone lines are not operating.What a person under the cicumstances can DO!!
Reply
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