Aadhar- Curse or Blessing

In the last two years the dormant Aadhar system somehow got some new muscle in the name of anti-money laundering system. With this system the govt wanted to create something like a social security scheme in USA where citizens would enjoy hassle free govt services with their aadhar number. This system will also allow the watchdogs to check on fraudulent transactions and take India on a path of rapid development without any corruption. I hope this could be true as portrayed.

So where is the issue? Why we don’t want to link the aadhar number to our banks, LIC, Medical insurance or anything we use where there is a monetary transaction?

The problem is the system how the whole database of aadhar will be use and the risk involved.

1.       Even after 70 years of independence we did not eradicate the reservation system. Due to this system govt is bound to give a good percentage of jobs to a special category of people irrespective their qualification. Now imagine how many of these unqualified people working in UIDAI and have access to the database?

2.       Govt purchasing system is based on tenders and the contract is awarded to the lowest bidder. For example, there is a need for a firewall or may be for servers with specific specifications. Different companies would send their quotations but instead of buying the best one, the tender goes to the lowest bidder no matter whether the product is durable or not but YES it meets their specs. This system has rotten all the purchasing departments. Starting from our street lights to road quality, nothing lasts for more than 6 months because inferior quality products are pushed.

3.       Data breach is one of the topmost points in discussion. With the above-mentioned points, my idea is to show that the system itself is rotten from the core. We have seen and observed in the past that no system is full proof. Even Google and Sony were hacked. As per security experts most of the security breach is a result of some wrong doing from an employee knowingly or unknowingly. With inferior quality of products in use, how long does it take for someone to hack into the system? Now the question is what will happen if some has access to the aadhar database? Well to answer that question you must be aware of something called as target profiling. With database in access, hackers can profile anyone. For examples Mr. Kapoor has account in 3 banks, 2 LIC, 3 mutual funds and one private health insurance.  Along with this, he is also paying the loan of his new car and 10-year-old property. With Aadhar database, the hacker will be aware of the balance in all 3 banks, what’s going out and what’s coming in, the premium of his LIC and the loan amount. With this kind of access how long does it takes to hack Mr. Kapoor? OK forget about hacking, what if the hacker profiles 100’s of Mr. Kapoor from the same locality and pass on to criminals?

4.        Fraudulent transactions or bribes comes in hard cash and kind. There is an underground network where money flows from one pocket to another and the people who are accounted for are sitting in parliament.

5.       Now let’s talk about hassle free services with the use of aadhar. SBI is a huge bank but for every small problem one must visit the branch. Their customer care department is not trained, same is the case with electricity and water department. Yes, now they have a website with your billing records but what in case of wrong billing? Can it be fixed over a single phone call? NO. You must visit their office and meet the “Babus” to get the billing rectified. The best part is you cannot hold anyone accountable for their mistakes unless you have too much free time to lodge a complaint and wait for it to resolve. But remember “These” guys will send you the new bill (I hope you understand).

Privacy is my fundamental right and with this kind of system I am compromising my rights. If the government is serious on eradicating corruption from the root- Then please go and check the lifestyle of politicians and match them with their take home. There is no need to maintain this kind of sensitive database with so many loopholes. When the culprits are enjoying tax payers money with ease. Bank frauds happened with the help of political connections. Any one who has basic banking knowledge will understand that 11,000 crores  could not vanish in a matter of time.

Some people argue that social network like FB and whatsapp has loads of data. YES they DO but I do not share my bank balance on my status.