K'taka: Delay in authentication of Aadhaar with SATS deprives 26 lakh students of many govt schemes
Bengaluru: Around 26 lakh primary and high school students from government, aided, and private schools across Karnataka are reportedly being deprived of midday meals, scholarships, and other schemes due to failure of Aadhaar authentication with the Student Achievement Tracking System (SATS).
The Department of School Education and Literacy (DSEL) has expressed dissatisfaction over the delay in completing Aadhaar authentication, despite the process being underway for the past two years, as reported by The Hindu on Tuesday.
The Commissioner of Public Instruction has decided to take disciplinary action against the officials responsible for the delay. A seven-day deadline has been set to complete the Aadhaar authentication process.
The DSEL has been working on the Aadhaar authentication process alongside SATS for the past two years to ensure the proper implementation of the midday meal programme, scholarships, and other initiatives, while also gathering accurate data on the number of students.
Out of a total of 1.04 crore students in the state from classes 1 to 10, only 78 lakh have successfully completed the Aadhaar authentication process, the report stated. Around 18 lakh students’ Aadhaar records remain unauthenticated in the system. Additionally, about 8 lakh students had their Aadhaar authenticated, but it was deemed unsuccessful due to mismatches between the student's details and the information in Aadhaar and SATS.
A senior official of DSEL stated that if Aadhaar authentication with SATS fails, it will impact the implementation of the midday meal and other programmes for school students. Inaccurate student numbers may lead to the Union Government objecting to the release of funds. “In addition, other departments, including the Social Welfare Department, Backward Classes Welfare Department and Minority Welfare Department, will not be able to reach the students with other schemes, including scholarships. Aadhaar authentication with SATS is the only solution for all these problems,” the official was quoted as saying by the news outlet.
K.V. Trilokchandra, Commissioner of DPI, has issued a circular to all Deputy Directors of Public Instruction (DDPIs), Block Education Officers (BEOs) and other department officials, instructing them to complete the Aadhaar authentication process within the given time frame.
He mentioned that Aadhaar authentication is mandatory with SATS to deliver various government schemes to children. "The Aadhaar authentication process has been simplified recently and all students Aadhaar authentication with SATS process will be completed soon," he added.
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TMC backs 'tukde-tukde' gang that threatened to snap Siliguri Corridor for appeasement politics: PM
Siliguri (PTI): Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday alleged the "tukde-tukde" gang had threatened to snap the strategic Siliguri Corridor to cut off the Northeast from the rest of the country, and the TMC gave them support from "the streets to Parliament" to serve its "appeasement politics".
Addressing an election rally at the Kawakhali ground in the northern West Bengal city of Siliguri, he described the TMC as an "anti-tribal, anti-women and anti-youth party".
Its appeasement politics have caused untold misery to the state, Modi alleged.
"The country has a 'tukde-tukde' gang, and it threatened to cut off the Siliguri Corridor. They wanted to separate the Northeast from the country.
"The TMC, which indulges in appeasement politics, supports such people from the streets to Parliament. That is the real face of TMC," he alleged, addressing his eighth rally in the state since assembly elections were declared.
The Siliguri Corridor, also known as the 'Chicken's Neck', is a narrow stretch of land in the northern part of Bengal, not more than 20-22 km wide, acting as the only land link between mainland India and its eight northeastern states.
It is a critical and highly vulnerable geopolitical bottleneck bordered by Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, and is barely 130 km from the China border.
Terming it "the nation's corridor of defence as well as prosperity", Modi said the Centre was working round the clock to strengthen and develop the region on a massive scale, citing the under-construction Sevoke-Rangpo railway line, connecting Sikkim with Siliguri.
"The project will strengthen trade and tourism in the region, directly benefiting the youth of Darjeeling," he said.
Urging people to vote for a 'double-engine' government, Modi said Bengal will witness development at double the speed once the BJP assumes power in the state.
Harping on the TMC's "appeasement politics", the PM alleged that while the Mamata Banerjee government has earmarked Rs 6,000 crore in the state budget for the development of Madrassas, the fund allotted for the entire north Bengal region is "nowhere sufficient".
"The people of Bengal are now seeking answers from the TMC for every moment it spent in power over the last 15 years," Modi said, asserting that when the BJP comes to power, it will make the Mamata Banerjee-led party "pay for its misdeeds".
He alleged that the TMC has destroyed the state during its 15-year tenure and halted the implementation of Central schemes like the one for providing piped drinking water to remote tribal areas.
As a result, less than 25 per cent of the work could be completed so far, the prime minister claimed.
Terming the Mamata Banerjee government 'nirmam' (cruel), an obvious antonym to the chief minister's name, the PM said the people of the state have had enough of the TMC's "reign of fear", accusing its dispensation of bringing sufferings to the fledgling tea gardens of north Bengal.
Modi called the TMC an "anti-north Bengal and anti-tea garden party", and alleged that unbridled illegal entries caused by its "appeasement policies" are causing major demographic changes in the region, disrupting social balance and fostering unwanted changes in language and culture.
"Infiltrators are eating into local jobs. It will be too late if the menace is not stopped right away. That's why mantra is 'Kamal khilao, ghuspetia bhagao' (vote for lotus and drive infiltrators away)," he said, referring to the BJP's election symbol.
The PM highlighted the Centre's infrastructure and connectivity development initiatives for north Bengal, while alleging that the TMC government is putting up hurdles before those projects.
"A crucial stretch of the Porbandar to Silchar East-West corridor passing through Bengal is yet to be completed," he said,
Modi also underlined the BJP's promises of a special development package for north Bengal, which comprises modern engineering and medical colleges, a cancer treatment hospital and a fashion design institute.
While stating that Bengal has already given the Congress, the Left and the TMC chances to rule the state, Modi urged the people to give the BJP an opportunity to "revive its development trajectory".
"Give Modi a chance to ensure the security of the daughters, to save Bengal from infiltrators and to provide jobs to youth within the state.
"Give Modi a chance to resurrect investment, establish the rule of law, to ensure free healthcare and homes for the poor, to elevate the state from a rule of fear to a climate of trust and rescue Bengal's culture from the TMC's appeasement politics," the PM said.
Modi said the energy he had been witnessing among the people of Bengal has convinced him that the TMC's defeat is certain in the upcoming elections.
"My short travel from the Badgodra airport to the hotel on Saturday ended up becoming a 15-km roadshow as thousands of people, including children and senior citizens, lined up. It blew my mind and humbled me," he said.
"As a return gift to the blessings you have showered on me, I promise to dedicate my life to you and will keep fighting for you till my last breath," he said.
The PM was campaigning for BJP candidates in Jalpaiguri, Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts, where polling will be held in the first phase on April 23. The second phase of polling is on April 29, and the votes will be counted on May 4.
