Gujarat's two top ex-IAS babus join four others, denounce Aadhaar's "unauthorized" use by touts, write to Modi

By A Representative
Six top ex-IAS bureaucrats, including two belonging to the Gujarat cadre, CK Koshy and , Dr VV Rama Subba Rao, both of whom served as additional chief secretaries, industry and home, respectively, in the Gujarat government, have taken strong exception to making Aadhaar compulsory, insisting that step by step, it is encroaching upon and disrupting the lives ordinary people, denying entitlements, particularly to the poor.
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the six former IAS officials have particularly objected to the government adopting what they call "a laissez-faire approach" to Aadhaar, adding, there is complete "absence of effective regulation and control", leading to "unauthorised trading of personal data, rent seeking by intermediaries and touts, issuance of fake cards, targeting of Aadhaar number holders, and such like abuses."
Pointing out that the CEO of the Unique Identity of India (UIDAI), which is supposed to own Aadhaar, "has registered about 40,000 cases for various malpractices", the ex-officials say, "The penal provisions in the Act have not proved to be a serious deterrent."
The four other IAS officials who have signed the letter are -- MK Bezboruah, former Chairman, 3rd Delhi Finance Commission; Surjit Kishore Das, former Chief Secretary, Government of Uttarakhand; Kamal Kant Jaswal, former Secretary, Government of India; and Lalit Mathur, formerly Director General, NIRD, Union Ministry of Rural Development.
"The recent hacking of Aadhaar data by an IIT alumnus has demonstrated how fragile the system is", the ex-officials say, adding, "The unabated seeding of Aadhaar in different databases has introduced new vulnerabilities into the system by providing access to hitherto isolated silos through a common platform."
Pointing out how private entities are allowed to get away with their wrong doing, the ex-officials cite a "campaign of the team led by Sharad Sharma of iSpirit and IndiaStack, entities that are deeply involved with the Aadhaar enterprise". They add, "When these individuals were exposed on social media, instead of being chastised for spreading falsehoods, they were actually congratulated by Nandan Nilekani and other luminaries of the industry for being ‘brave’ enough to apologise!"
"With vested interests of such stature in support, Aadhaar seems to have descended into the realm of post-truth", they say, adding, "It is incredible that no one really knows how Aadhaar has been performing. This is because the UIDAI, which is the sole repository of all information on Aadhaar, has resolved not to disclose any data; it has even refused information under the RTI, on grounds of national security."
Pointing towards how unreliable Aadhaar dependence on fingerprint biometrics, based on "an intrinsically unreliable technology", is, the ex-officials , "The UIDAI’s own proof of concept (POC) trials for fingerprint recognition showed an error of up to 15 percent with the best finger", adding, "The implications are serious and worrisome... With a population of 80 crore under PDS, rejections can be as high as 12 crore", as evident "from reports and surveys in Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand."
"According to the State of Aadhaar Report 2016 -17 by IDinsight, in the case of pensions in Andhra Pradesh, the rate of fingerprint authentication failure after three attempts was as high as 17.4 percent. In Telangana, the failure rate under MGNREGA averaged 7.8 percent", the ex-IAS bureaucrats note.
---
Click HERE for complete letter

Comments

GreenTech Summit claims NCR as key green building hub, without pan-India comparison

By A Representative The Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), under the Confederation of Indian Industry, held its GreenTech Summit 2026 in New Delhi, where industry representatives, policymakers and sustainability professionals discussed the adoption of climate technologies in India’s built environment.

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Beyond the election manifesto: Why climate is now a kitchen table issue

By Vikas Meshram* March has long been a month of gentle transition, the period when winter softly retreats and a mild warmth signals nature’s renewal. Yet, in recent years, this dependable rhythm has been disrupted. This year, since the beginning of March, temperatures across vast swathes of the country have shattered previous records, soaring to between 35 and 40 degrees Celsius in some regions. This is not a mere fluctuation in the weather; it is a serious and alarming indicator of climate change .

As India logs historic emissions drop, expert warns govt against 'policy blunders'

By A Representative In a significant development that underscores the rapid transformation of India's energy landscape, new data reveals the country recorded its largest drop in power sector emissions in 2025. However, a top power sector analyst has urged the Union Government to view this "silver lining" as a stark warning against continuing to invest in new coal, large hydro, and nuclear projects, which he argues could become "redundant" stranded assets.

Jerusalem's Al Aqsa mosque under siege: A test of Muslim solidarity and Palestine’s future

By Syed Ali Mujtaba* In the cacophony of Israel’s and the United States’ attack on Iran, one piece of news has been buried under the debris of war: Israel has closed the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem to Palestinian worshippers during the holy month of Ramadan. The closure, announced as indefinite, affects the third most revered mosque in the Islamic world.

Fresh citizenship framework suggested amidst electoral roll concerns

By Kathyayini Chamaraj The ongoing exercise of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls has raised serious concerns about the potential disenfranchisement of large numbers of citizens. In many instances, people are being asked to produce retrospective documents to establish their citizenship—documents that many genuine citizens are unable to provide. The challenge before policymakers is to identify prospective amendments to the Citizenship Act that would ensure that no legitimate citizen is excluded either from citizenship or from the electoral roll.

NGO Arunoday’s journey of support and struggle: Standing firm with the distressed

By Bharat Dogra It was a situation of acute distress. Nearly ten thousand people returning to their villages during the COVID-19 pandemic had gathered at the border of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh near Kanha. Exhausted after walking long distances with little or no food, they were desperate for relief. Yet entry could not be granted without completing essential records and complying with pandemic rules.

How wars are undermining climate promises even as accelerating global warming

By N.S. Venkataraman* Since 1995, global climate conferences have convened annually, with the 29th Conference of Parties (COP29) held in November 2024. These gatherings attract world leaders and generate extensive media coverage, raising hopes of decisive strategies to address the climate emergency. Yet, despite lofty promises and ambitious targets, the crisis remains unabated.

Search This Blog