Panaji, July 15 : The biometric data of Aadhaar cannot be hacked even if someone tried a billion times, Union Minister for Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad said on Sunday, while calling the data storage system "completely safe and secure".
"... the system contains my fingerprints and my iris scan, kept in a safe and secure condition which cannot be broken into even with billion efforts," Prasad said at a public function organised here.
The Minister said that Aadhaar authorities conduct nearly one crore authentications every second.
"Do you know how many authentications we do every three seconds? Three crore. Do you know how many bank accounts are linked to Aadhaar? 80 crore accounts. And Aadhaar is your homegrown technology (at) one dollar each and completely safe and secure with proper parliamentary approval."
"(It is) so tough that even if I disclose information regarding a fingerprint and iris scan to an unknown person, except in case of national security, I can be prosecuted. That is the inclusive part we have done," Prasad said, lauding the Modi government for "taking rapid steps in making India more digital".
"What is the digital profile of India? For a population of 130 crore, India is home to 121 crore mobile phones, 450 million smartphones, 50 crore plus Internet (connections) and 122 crore Aadhaar cards," Prasad said.
Calling 'Digital India' as a transformative programme designed to empower the ordinary Indians with the power of technology, Prasad said that India looked to be a leader in digital revolution.
"We missed the industrial revolution, we missed the entrepreneurial revolution, which happened in the world in the 60s, 70s, and 80s because of licence-quota raj. We do not want to miss the digital revolution. We want to become leaders. That is the philosophy of Digital India," he said.
prasad said that one of the key objectives of Digital India is to bridge the gulf between 'digital haves' and 'digital have nots' and usher in digital inclusion based on technology which is developmental, inclusive and low cost.
"That is the transformative nature of Digital India, Skill India, Startup India, Smart Cities. It is all technology-based prgramming designed to empower ordinary Indians to reform, perform and transform," Prasad said.
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New Delhi (PTI): Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday expressed regret over his controversial statement calling the people of Gujarat "illiterate", and said he has always had and will continue to have the highest of respect for the people of the state.
In a post on X, the Congress president said, "Some remarks of mine in a recent election speech in Kerala are being deliberately misinterpreted. Even so, I express my sincere regret.
"It was never my intention to hurt the sentiments of the people of Gujarat for whom I have always had and will continue to have the highest of respect."
Kharge on Sunday had sparked a row during his Assembly poll campaign in Kerala, calling the people of Gujarat "illiterate" and claiming they were being "fooled" by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
At the same time, Kharge said neither Modi nor Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan could fool the people of Kerala, describing them as "very clever and educated".
"Don’t misguide the people of Kerala. They are very clever and educated. Modiji, Vijayan, you both can fool people who are illiterate in Gujarat or other places, but you cannot fool the people of Kerala," the Congress chief had said.
He made the remark while alleging that both Modi and Vijayan were following the same path, with no difference between them except the parties they lead.
The BJP on Tuesday had demanded an apology from Kharge for his remarks, saying that the comment was "shameless, demeaning and utterly despicable."
Addressing a press conference here, senior BJP leader and former Union minister Ravi Shankar Prasad asked Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to clarify whether they agreed with Kharge's statement.
