The pace at which Aadhaar and related mandates are mushrooming is alarming. In our August newsletter we round up recent developments, analytical articles and interviews, and ground reporting. We hope you share these updates with your networks —  spreading awareness is the first step towards building public consciousness and strengthening our fight against the madness. 

Note to readers: We are able to compile these updates because readers send us relevant information. If you think something is worth sharing widely, please send it to us and we will try to include it in the updates. Email: contact@rethinkaadhaar.in | Twitter: @no2UID 

Voting rights and Aadhaar come closer together:

• Read an interview with Dr. Usha Ramanathan on the privacy impact of linking Aadhaar with voter IDs. 

• The Bihar SIR exercise has led to millions being struck off the voter list in a hasty, unlawful exercise. The Supreme Court directed the ECI to accept Aadhaar in claims against de-listing. 

• The SIR exercise has shown that there are likely no non-citizens on the voter list in Bihar, but the fears stoked have led to announcements of a nation-wide SIR.

• In Manipur, informal proceedings to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) along the lines of Bihar have begun, with people being told to produce Aadhaar. 

Aadhaar continues to be arbitrarily inaccessible and unworkable: 

• A detailed investigation into the working of an Aadhaar Seva Kendra in Ranchi illustrates the bureaucratic ordeals imposed on people trying to update or enrol in Aadhaar. 

• Assam’s government announced it will stop issuing Aadhaar numbers to adults to prevent non-Indian citizens from obtaining them, despite the fact that Aadhaar can be legally provided to non-citizens, and this move will likely disenfranchise people seeking access to benefits. 

• The endless cycle of KYC continues as DBT beneficiaries are set to be audited again. 

• Aadhaar is the new “weak link” in insurance processes, allowing an opening for identity-based fraud through insurance claims. 

Digitisation fails to serve the people’s interests, but continues to expand:

• A look at the impact of corporate-driven tech initiatives in agriculture. 

• Mandating Aadhaar linkage, digital data entry, and unreliable tech has led to exclusion of 89 lakh potential scholarship beneficiaries from the most vulnerable groups including SC, ST, and OBC beneficiaries. 

• Unique IDs and digitisation do nothing to stop corruption or false claims: thousands of fake teacher IDs were created in Maharashtra in a Rs.3000 crore scam. 

• The Rajasthan Government’s attempt to build digital “golden data” records on every citizen has led to the most vulnerable being denied pensions, wrongly declared “dead” or absent. 

• In Maharashtra, tribal children are turned away from school because of lack of Aadhaar. 

• The UP government plans to introduce AI tools in MGNREGA operations without consideration for the impact on beneficiaries. 

• The Delhi government is expanding mandatory ID requirements for public schemes, to exclusionary effect. The pink ticket free bus scheme for women is being replaced with a “smart card” which requires Delhi residency, excluding vulnerable women who work in the NCR or have other difficulty getting address proof. Simultaneously, Aadhaar enrolment is set to get more onerous in Delhi. 

• Odisha’s mass ration card deletion is yet to be revoked despite clear problems in the KYC process and people’s reliance on ration to correct the high burden of malnutrition.

• More than 23% of Jan Dhan bank accounts are inactive, reflecting the lack of actual access and ease of digitisation and banking. 

• Telangana plans digitisation of health systems in partnership with Estonia.

Aadhaar, data, and surveillance: 

• The MHA wants prison authorities to conduct Aadhaar authentication for persons imprisoned and their visitors, a move that has no link to welfare benefits, and could only serve to further surveillance of imprisoned people and affect their legal defences and the privacy and dignity of their families. Family members without Aadhaar are being turned away in a violation of human rights. 

• In Mizoram, refugees are being forced to give up biometric data, making them even more vulnerable to targeting persecution. 

• Parents and experts urge the Karnataka Government to not introduce facial recognition systems for school attendance, warning of misuse. 

Watch Justice (Retd.) Gautam Patel’s address at the Internet Freedom Foundation’s Privacy Supreme event on the anniversary of the Puttaswamy judgment. Justice Patel traces the evolution of privacy in India, reflecting on its past foundations, present challenges, and the future trajectory of this essential right in an era of rapid technological change. 

Interesting related readings: 

• A concise reminder of how Aadhaar came to be and its failures.

• The India-UK FTA and the impact on India’s digital sovereignty.

• How India’s new wave of tech billionaires are changing CSR and philanthropy.

Until next time!

In solidarity,

Rethink Aadhaar.