Aadhaar helped save Rs 90,000 cr, says UIDAI chairman
Hyderabad, July 11: India has so far saved over Rs.90,000 crore with the use of Aadhaar, UIDAI Chairman J. Satyanarayana said on Wednesday.
On an average, around three crore people are using Aadhaar every day and it is primarily used for ration, pension, rural employment, and scholarships, he said at in his address at an international conference on digital identity, with a special focus on Aadhaar.
The three-day conference being organised by the Indian School of Business (ISB) began on Wednesday.
Satyanarayana, in his keynote address, said that more than Rs 90,000 crore are estimated as reported savings or gains by the Departments of Petroleum & Natural Gas, Food & Public Distribution, Rural Development and others.
Emphasising that the governance system has constantly been changing with the growth of technology and that the country was moving towards a scenario of "invisible governance", he underlined the need for research in some areas.
"We will need further research in creating more efficient biometric identification systems; security of Aadhaar eco-system; improvement in processes of enrolment, updating, and authentication; operation in areas with challenged networks and use of artificial intelligence and machine learning for fraud detection and prevention."
The objective of the conference is to showcase the research work done by the Digital Identity Research Initiative (DIRI)at the ISB. DIRI's research especially focuses on Aadhaar and explores the pros and cons of the ecosystem.
Ashwini Chhatre, Executive Director, DIRI, set the context for the international conference, in which around 150 researchers on digital identity from India and abroad are participating.
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Two FIRs lodged against Mithun Chakraborty for 'provocative' speech
Kolkata, Nov 6: Two FIRs have been lodged against actor-turned-politician Mithun Chakraborty for allegedly making provocative statements during a BJP event in Salt Lake area near Kolkata last month, police said on Wednesday.
The complaints pertain to Chakraborty's speech on October 27 at the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre (EZCC) in Salt Lake, during a BJP programme attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was in Kolkata to launch the party's West Bengal membership drive.
The first FIR was filed at the Bidhannagar South police station based on a complaint by an individual, while the second was lodged at Bowbazar police station.
"We have started an investigation into the case," a senior officer of Bidhannagar police said.
Shah was also present at the programme, which was organised to kick off the West Bengal leg of the BJP's membership drive. Shah had also felicitated Chakraborty for being honoured with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award this year.
Although Chakraborty was unavailable for comment, BJP state president and Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar described the FIRs a result of "vendetta politics.".
Majumdar alleged that the TMC government "has once again used the police to unfairly target well-known actor and senior BJP leader Mithun Chakraborty".
He accused the chief minister of employing such tactics "to serve political interests" and claimed that the state government's actions were part of an ongoing attempt to discredit political opponents.
"There is nothing provocative in his speech. These are nothing but attempts to intimidate him by using police as a political tool," he said.
TMC leader Kunal Ghosh dubbed the BJP's allegations as baseless.
"The allegations of political vendetta are baseless. He shouldn't have made such provocative remarks. The law will take its own course," he said.
Chakraborty, who received India's highest film honour, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, earlier this year, had asserted on October 27 that the 'masnad' (throne) of West Bengal would belong to the BJP after the 2026 assembly elections, promising to do whatever it takes to achieve the goal.
While speaking at the programme, Chakraborty, a BJP leader, said, "In 2026, the 'masnad' will be ours, and we will do everything to achieve the goal."
In an apparent reference to TMC MLA Humayun Kabir's communal remarks aimed at BJP workers during the Lok Sabha elections, Chakraborty had allegedly made provocative remarks.
Chakraborty cautioned that no one should attempt to intimidate saffron party voters into abstaining from voting in the next assembly elections.
He called upon the booth-level workers of his party to resist any such attempts.
