Aadhaar is without security support
In one of his campaign speeches, Prime Minister Modi has said though his party is all set to digitize India through technology-empowerment the opposition parties are opposing to that tooth and nail. As usual, the Prime Minister has only spoken the half-truth in this matter. Yes, some of the most technically-informed and sound minds are opposing across-the-board implementation of Aadhar without adequate preparation. And while they are at it, what they are opposing is not the Aadhaar itself, but the misuse of Aadhaar and related data by the agencies which may implement it without full preparation. People are definitely concerned about those forces which are bound to misuse the data from the nation that can be accessed through Aadhaar, to destabilize the democracy that holds it together.
Aadhaar has been in news in the recent times owing to data breach on various fronts through many agencies. Even the Supreme Court has not been able to come to a definite decision on implementation of Aadhar since the court also has apprehensions about the full impact of this. And the central government has been unable to provide satisfactory answer to the concerns raised by the Supreme Court. When the issue is still being debated, how can the Prime Minister harp about Aadhaar being his government’s ambitious step towards implementation of technology?
The 12 digit biometric identity tool Aadhaar has been mired in some controversy or the other ever since it was started in 2009 by the central government. Social activists and digital experts have been raising the security and privacy concerns the system possesses since the very beginning. Agencies of the central government have now made mentioning of Aadhar number compulsory for the beneficiaries of social welfare schemes and filing of tax returns.
Though this has been done despite the issues that remain unresolved, the apprehensions of data relating to Aadhar being collected by third party which can misused, is not without any concrete basis. In the last two years, the Aadhar data has been leaked twice on a massive scale. And some reports have even proved Aadhar data can be bought by third party vendors for a price. Central government itself has admitted that it had provided wrong direction to people about the government’s insistence of attaching Aadhar number to the mobile number.
In his report, independent researcher Kodalli Srinivas had documented about the Aadhar numbers being revealed by Andhra government in 2015-18 of 20,71,913 mothers including those who had their first child. As a response to this, Andhra government has initiated an enquiry jointly with the central government agencies, and verification of various state government websites pertaining to the security features.
The Business Standard magazine had reported last week that the EPFO website was being hacked and data theft had taken place. As a result of this, many websites that help attach Aadhar number to this welfare scheme have been shut down since the last month and half. In Telangana, the website that had details of the State Government Treasuries was being hacked and data relating to account number and Aadhar numbers of the 2.5 lakh beneficiaries were stolen. On earlier occasions, the details of senior beneficiaries that were stolen had created a lot of problems. About 300 Hyderabadis had their data breached owing to weak security systems. In the recent times, the central government in an interview to an English daily had mentioned that the central government had provided wrong information about linking mobile sim with Aadhar to continue with the services as per the Supreme Court rules.
Justice D Y Chandrachud, who is on the bench that’s hearing the Aadhaar security case, had criticized the central government over this stating the central government had ‘used’ SC as a tool to the mobile users to part with their Aadhar number. Before crying victim on Aadhar implementation, the Prime Minister and his team have to answer the genuine concerns raised by experts and citizens on the data safety and security. Any hasty implementation of this most significant tool can be a massive misuse of technology and this would lead to worst results.
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Karnataka cop who used to teach children of migrant labourers clear UPSC exams
VB had carried special video story featuring Shantappa's initiative in 2020
Bengaluru: Karnataka Police sub-inspector Shantappa Kurubara, also known as Shantappa Jademmanavar, has achieved a remarkable feat by cracking the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination, securing an all India rank of 644.
Shantappa gained attention for his efforts to mentor children residing in a migrant labor settlement in Bengaluru, as highlighted in a video story by Vartha Bharati. He dedicated his time to teaching several children from migrant laborer families, aiming to empower them through education.
Currently serving at the Sriramapura police station, Shantappa had previously initiated a campaign advocating for public toilets along the Bengaluru-Tumakuru highway. Despite receiving no response from authorities, he took matters into his own hands and established a mobile toilet at the Goraguntepalya junction. Notably, he invited a transgender person to inaugurate the facility.
Shantappa's motivation for this campaign stemmed from his mother's struggle to find a public toilet at the Goraguntepalya junction.
The UPSC results revealed Aditya Srivastava as the top-ranked candidate nationally, followed by Animesh Pradhan and Donuru Ananya Reddy in the second and third positions, respectively.
In total, 1,016 candidates have been recommended for appointment by the UPSC, marking a significant milestone in their respective careers.
