UIDAI extends the deadline to deploy Virtual ID system to July 1

UIDAI has extended by one month to July 1 the deadline for service providers and agencies like banks and telecom companies to fully deploy Virtual ID system and accept these IDs in lieu of Aadhaar number.

The Virtual ID (VID) feature is aimed at giving users the option of not sharing their Aadhaar number at the time of authentication.

UIDAI - which had earlier said it will be compulsory for all agencies that undertake authentication to accept VID from their users from June 1, 2018 - has decided to give one more month after the user agencies said they needed more time to switch to the new system.

"We are ready but the agencies wanted some more time to switch to the VID system. We have, therefore, given one more month till July 1," UIDAI CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey told PTI.

The extension was given considering the "difficulty and amount of internal work" involved for the agencies including telcos, banks, state governments, among others, he added.

UIDAI blacklists agency that leaked M S Dhoni's Aadhaar details for 10 yrs

Taking a serious view of public sharing of Aadhaar details of M S Dhoni, the Unique Identification Authority of India has blacklisted for 10 years the entity that had enrolled the ace cricketer.

The UIDAI has also ordered an inquiry to determine any possible involvement of others and take action as per the Aadhaar Act.

"We have blacklisted VLE (Village Level Entrepreneur) who enrolled M S Dhoni for leaking Aadhaar receipt which carried his personal information. At UIDAI, we are very strict on the privacy issue. We have ordered further inquiry on the matter and action will be taken against all those involved in the leak," UIDAI CEO Ajay Bhushan Pandey said.

He also said action will be taken even against those involved in tweeting the picture of the receipt through the official Twitter account (CSCeGov) of the state-run CSC e-Governance Services.

The UIDAI crackdown came after Dhoni's wife Sakshi flagged the matter and complained about it to Law and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who promised swift action.

The agency's Common Services Centre (CSC) through its handle @CSCegov posted a tweet on Tuesday saying "ace cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his family get their Aadhaar updated at VLE Mariya Farooqui's CSE at Ranchi, Jharkhand".

Prasad was tagged in the tweet. It included a photograph of the cricketer with a CSC representative and another of his personal details on what appeared to be the Aadhaar website.

The tweet with the information was later removed.

"Is there any privacy left? Information of Aadhaar card, including application, is made public property," Sakshi had tweeted.

While thanking Sakshi for bringing up the issue to his notice, Prasad said, "Sharing personal information is illegal. Serious action will be taken against this." (READ MORE)

Aadhaar linking to everything poses serious national security challenges

The widespread adoption of Aadhaar numbers and linkages to Unique Identification (UID) programme databases for the purpose of authenticating sensitive transactions should give pause to India’s foreign policy and military planners. That Aadhaar is a centralised database, and therefore susceptible to cyber attacks, is already known. But pervasive “Aadhaar-isation” brings together systems and platforms in a digital ecosystem without interoperable standards for security.

The UID is device-agnostic. Whether an Indian enters her Aadhaar number into a virus-infested desktop at a local cyber cafe or a highly secure iPhone, her device is linked to and authenticated by the Aadhaar database. In almost all cases, there is a two-step authentication process, involving a one-time password from the user. The UID Authority of India claims such authentication (at its most basic level) is a simply “Yes/No” interaction of the Aadhaar database with the machine, and that no biometric or personal information is sent back. Biometric or demographic records of Indians are available today in multiple databases, and hardly an invitation to target Aadhaar servers. Based on the specific transaction involved – filing tax returns, transferring money or purchasing health insurance – Aadhaar, however, creates a “map of maps” of Indians identifying, the platform, device, location and successful/failed attempts at authentication. Coupled with the demographic data that can anyway be extracted from an insecure mobile phone or app, this Aadhaar authentication data is of strategic value to a foreign adversary. (READ MORE)

Rs 2 lakh is the cash transaction limit, Aadhaar mandatory for I-T returns

 

cash transaction limit - The Rs 3-lakh limit proposed for cash payments in the Budget for 2017-18 would be brought down to Rs 2 lakh as part of an unprecedented 40 amendments to the Finance Bill.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley moved the amendments in the lower House on Tuesday. This is aimed at tightening the noose on those dealing in cash.

Most other amendments — making Aadhaar mandatory for filing tax returns, applying for permanent account numbers (PAN) and allowing payments by only non-cash modes such as cheques, bank drafts or electronic transfers for electoral trusts — are also aimed at curbing black money.

A few are aimed at rationalising tribunals by merging these to reduce the number to 12 from 40.

The amendment related to reducing the cap on cash transactions comes amidst reports that digital transactions had declined after a spurt after demonetisation.

“In the amendment to the Finance Bill, the government has proposed the limit of Rs 3 lakh for cash transactions be reduced to Rs 2 lakh,” Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia tweeted. He added the penalty for violation would be a fine equivalent to the amount of the transaction. The penalty would be paid by individuals or establishments receiving the payment.

The Rs 2-lakh limit applies to single transactions, those in aggregate from a person in a day, and to those relating to one event or occasion from a person. The provision does not apply to the government, banks and post offices. (READ MORE)