Aadhaar is Constitutional but conditions apply: Here's the citizen's verdict

Aadhaar is Constitutional but conditions apply: Here's the citizen's verdict

Multimedia News: The Supreme Court on September 26 ruled Aadhaar Constitutional, but did away with the requirement to have Aadhaar for opening bank accounts and getting a mobile connections.

However, the unique identity number would still be a must for filing I-T returns.

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News Source: BS & Business Standard

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How the the verdict change things for the common man?

Business Standard spoke to people in New Delhi to get their views on the judgment. After Supreme Court struck down Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act, which deals with private entities, and read down a few others, stating that they were unconstitutional.

↓↓↓ Here is the Video Link ↓↓↓

Aadhaar Verdict

From cheating banks to faking identity, Aadhaar frauds peak in 2018

At a recent court hearing, UIDAI admitted that 6% of Aadhaar authentication requests using fingerprints transactions are known to fail.

Finance News India : In January 2018, eight persons were arrested in Chandigarh for purchasing expensive mobile phones with fraudulent loans secured using fake Aadhaar cards. The accused, among whom were former bankers and employees of a finance company, had placed their own photographs on others’ Aadhaar cards to secure bank loans, and were booked for cheating, fraud, forgery and criminal conspiracy under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

This is just one among the 73 incidents of misuse of the Unique Identity Authority of India’s (UIDAI) Aadhaar programme that have been reported in the English-language media so far this year (up to May 7, 2018). This averages nearly four incidents each week, as per a new database created by independent researchers Anmol Somanchi and Vipul Paikra.

Of these, 52 cases involved fake or forged Aadhaar numbers–coming up with entirely new Aadhaar enrolment based on fake details, or forging existing cards by replacing certain details like photographs–and 21 involved Aadhaar-related banking frauds.

In the six years since the launch of the Aadhaar programme in September 2011, 164 cases of forged or fake Aadhaar numbers and Aadhaar-related banking frauds have been reported in the English-language media, the database noted. These include 123 cases of fake or forged Aadhaar numbers or cards and 41 cases of Aadhaar-related banking fraud.

“This database does not include the whole gamut of reported incidents of Aadhaar-related fraud and forgery,” Somanchi told IndiaSpend. “We had initially included Hindi reports and found more such incidents. However, since we couldn’t include all other regional languages we restricted the database to English news reports.”

Several attempts to reach out to the UIDAI for comment on the findings of the database met with no response. On April 30, 2018, IndiaSpend reached out to the office of the chief executive officer of UIDAI via email. On May 2, 2018, we reached out again and were told by the communications team that UIDAI would get back to us. On May 3, 2018, IndiaSpend reached out a third time, telephonically. On May 8, 2018, we sent out a third email.

The story will be updated with the Authority’s response when we receive one.

Read More on → Aadhaar Frauds

Aadhaar-PAN linking deadline extended to June 30; all you need to know

Earlier deadlines for linking Aadhaar with PAN were July 31, August 31 and Dec 31, 2017, with the last being March 31 this year.

Latest News : The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Tuesday extended the last date for linking of Aadhaar with Permanent Account Number (PAN) from March 31, 2018, to June 30, 2018.

The order said the deadline for PAN-Aadhaar linking for filing I-T returns is being extended after “consideration of the matter”.

It is understood that the latest order by CBDT has come in the backdrop of the Supreme Court, earlier this month, directing extension of the March 31 deadline for linking Aadhaar with various other services.

The apex court ordered for the extension of the deadline till the five-judge constitution bench delivers its judgment on petitions challenging the validity of the biometric scheme and the enabling law.

This is a fourth extension given by the government for individuals to link their PAN with their biometric ID.

The government has now made quoting of Aadhaar mandatory for filing income tax returns (ITRs) as well as obtaining a new PAN.

Section 139 AA (2) of the Income Tax Act says that every person having PAN as on July 1, 2017, and eligible to obtain Aadhaar, must intimate his Aadhaar number to the tax authorities.

As per updated data till March 5, over 166.5 million (16.65 crore) PANs, out of the total about 330 million (33 crore), have been linked with Aadhaar.

The earlier deadlines for linking the two databases were July 31, August 31 and December 31, 2017, with the last being March 31 this year.

→ Aadhaar Deadline ←

Supreme Court on Aadhaar linking deadline, Aadhaar mandatory for bank accounts, phone and subsidies

For now, you can safely ignore persistent messages from telecom service providers and banks to link your Aadhaar to your phone number and account.

Business News India : Haven’t linked your Aadhaar number with your mobile phone yet? Breathe easy. The Supreme Court on Tuesday indefinitely extended the March 31 deadline for linking Aadhaar with existing bank accounts, PAN, mobile phone numbers, and various other services. However, according to the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), your Aadhaar would still be required for opening new bank accounts or applying for Tatkal passports.

For now, you could safely ignore persistent messages from telecom service providers and banks to link your Aadhaar to your phone number and account.

The apex court also ruled that the government could continue to seek beneficiaries’ Aadhaar, the 12-digit national biometric identifier number, for the transfer of benefits under schemes funded from the consolidated fund of India. “We direct that the interim order passed on December 15, 2017, shall stand extended till the matter is finally heard and the judgment is pronounced,” a five-judge Constitution bench, headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, said. The judgment provided relief to hundreds or thousands of people who have not yet linked their bank accounts or mobile phones with Aadhaar.

The Aadhaar linking deadline has been extended till the apex court delivers its judgment on a batch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the biometric identification scheme. The current deadline for linking Aadhaar with bank accounts, mobile phone numbers, and other services was March 31, after it had been extended by the apex court on December 15 last year.

As Chief Justice Deepak Misra said their interim order stood extended, the Attorney General told the court that the government was prepared to extend the deadline in the last week of March because arguments in the matter would have concluded by then. “We were prepared for extension in last week of March,” he told the court in a bid to stall the extension.

The Constitution Bench, which also includes Justice A K Sikri, Justice A M Khanwilkar, Justice D Y Chandrachud, and Justice Ashok Bhushan, had on March 7 ruled that the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) would not insist on Aadhaar-only identification for NEET and other all-India examinations.

Read More On  → Aadhaar Linking Deadline ←

Aadhaar Breach: Rs 500 is all it takes to get details of a billion Indians

A report claims to have bought access to a cheap software, which can be used to print the Aadhaar card of any individual

 

Aadhaar Breach : Anonymous sellers on Whatsapp are said to be providing ‘unrestricted’ access to the Aadhaar details of more than a billion Indians for just Rs 500, according to an investigation by The Tribune on Wednesday. The paper also claims to have bought access to a software for Rs 300, which can be used to print the Aadhaar card of any individual by entering their Aadhaar number.

Aadhaar is a 12-digit unique identification number that is issued by the UIDAI( Unique Identity Development Authority of India) to every resident Indian citizen, after recording biometric and demographic information about an individual.

The report says that the racket may have started when over 300,000 Village Level Operators(VLEs), earlier mandated to make Aadhaar cards across India were rendered jobless when post offices and banks were given the job instead, in November 2017. Over 100,000 VLEs, sensing an opportunity to make easy money, might have gained illegal access to UIDAI data and provided “Aadhaar services” to common people for a charge, including the printing of Aadhaar cards.

If true, this would spell a serious breach of national security as the UIDAI has linked Aadhaar to individuals’ fingerprints and iris scans. The government’s unfettered access to citizens biometric details has already been in the centre of much debate in the civil society.

Earlier, in August, a Supreme Court judgement had deemed ‘privacy’ as a fundamental right, while dealing with a batch of petitions that claimed the illegality of Aadhaar based on the fundamental right to life and liberty. Most importantly, the government’s argument that Aadhaar will be a useful instrument to aid national security be questioned. Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, in his judgement on the case, had noted that that big data-fuelled “profiling can also be used to further the public interest and for the benefit of national security”.

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Willing to extend all Aadhaar linking deadlines to March 31

Supreme Court has said it will hear Aadhaar pleas after concluding the Delhi-Centre matter

Business News : The Supreme Court on Monday said it would hear a batch of petitions challenging mandatory linking of Aadhaar for granting various services to citizen after its constitution bench concludes hearing the Delhi-Centre dispute.

The Centre, meanwhile, informed the bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra that it was willing to extend up to March 31 next year the deadline fixed for mandatory linking of Aadhaar with various schemes.

The bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, said only the Constitution bench will pass an interim order in the matter.

The petitioners challenging the Aadhaar scheme have been pressing for an interim stay order on the government’s decision to make Aadhaar mandatory for welfare schemes.

The apex court is hearing a batch of pleas filed by the Delhi government against the Delhi high court verdict which had held that Delhi is not a state and the Lieutenant Governor (LG) is its administrative head.

On October 30, a bench headed by the CJI had said that a constitution bench would be constituted and Aadhaar-related matters would come up for hearing before it.

The apex court had on November 13 refused to entertain a plea challenging the linking of mobile numbers with Aadhaar, saying several similar petitions were already pending before it.

Click to Read → Aadhaar Linking Deadline

Don’t have Aadhaar? You can still verify your mobile number. Here’s how

500 mn mobile numbers registered in Aadhaar database, OTP can be used for verification in all these cases

 

 

The government will soon put in place a mechanism for authentication of cellphone subscribers who do not have Aadhaar numbers.

It may also explore another method for people unwilling to share their Aadhaar numbers with telecom companies. Such a method will conform with the Supreme Court’s mandate on re-verification of mobile subscribers.

People who did not have Aadhaar number might be provided the option of furnishing their passport, driving licence or ration card as proof of address and identity, sources said.

The department of telecommunications (DoT) has announced a series of measures for simplifying the re-verification process using Aadhaar numbers by offering the facility at the subscriber’s doorstep and using one-time passwords (OTPs).

Telecom companies have been directed to offer the doorstep facility for the convenience of the old or those with disability and illness. They have also been asked to initiate OTP-based verification using SMS or IVRS on mobile apps.

“It is the government’s endeavour to improve convenience and reduce time and energy spent by consumers in accessing government information,” Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha said.
Nearly 500 million mobile numbers are registered in the Aadhaar database and the OTP can be used for verification in all these cases.

For agent-assisted biometric authentication, telecom companies have been asked to ensure all the details of subscribers are not visible to the agent. This facility is meant for people who face problems with poor fingerprint quality, disability or old age. The re-verification exercise is scheduled to be completed by early 2018.

Click here to read more → Aadhaar Mobile Verification

Deadline to link Aadhaar with schemes extended till March 31

No action has been taken against those who do not want to link their Aadhaar with either bank accounts or mobile numbers

 

 

 

The deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar to avail benefits of various government schemes would be extended till March 31 next year, the Centre told the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

It told a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra that the deadline for Aadhaar linking to avail benefits of the schemes was to end in December and it has now been decided to extend it until March 31, 2018.

"We have decided to extend it until March 31, 2018," Attorney General K K Venugopal told the bench, which also comprised Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud.

The counsel appearing for petitioners, who have challenged the government's move to make Aadhaar mandatory for these schemes, raised the issue of the mandatory linking of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) number with bank accounts and mobile numbers.

Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for petitioners, said the main Aadhaar matter should be heard soon, as though the government has decided to extend the deadline until March 31 next year, it has also not said that no action would be taken against those who do not want to link their Aadhaar with either bank accounts or mobile numbers.

"Final hearing of the matter is necessary. They can make a statement that they will not take a course of action against those who don't want to link Aadhaar," Divan said.

Click here to read more → Aadhaar Deadline

1,000 bank branches open Aadhaar updation centres as Sept 30 deadline nears

UIDAI has directed them to open these Bank Aadhaar Kendras by September 30, 2017 for the convenience of the people

 

The UIDAI has said over 1,000 bank branches of 42 private and public sector banks have opened Aadhaar enrollment and updation centres within their premises.

The Aadhaar issuing body further said it has received commitments for opening of such centres in 15,000 bank branches "at the earliest".

"Bank Aadhaar Kendras are being established with a view to make the Aadhaar verification process of bank accounts convenient for the people as it has become mandatory under amended Prevention of Money Laundering Rules to verify bank accounts with Aadhaar by December 31, 2017," Ajay Bhushan Pandey, CEO of UIDAI said in a statement.

→ Income Tax ←  → Efiling Of Income Tax ←  → Tax ←

In July, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) had asked private as well as public banks to open Aadhaar enrollment and updation facilities in one out of 10 branches, and the initial deadline for doing so was August- end.

Earlier this month, the UIDAI gave banks one more month to open Aadhaar enrollment centres in a stipulated 10 per cent of branches, but said it will impose Rs 20,000 as fine per uncovered branch after September 30.

The reprieve was granted as many banks had sought additional time from UIDAI for setting up such facility on their..... Read Full Article

Govt extends deadline for linking PAN and Aadhaar to December 31

The deadline for linking PAN with Aadhaar previously was August 31

 

 

The government has extended the deadline for linking income tax PAN with Aadhaar by four months to December 31.

The previous deadline was August 31.  → Efiling Of Income Tax ←

Recently, the deadline for Aadhaar linking to avail oneself of social sector schemes had been extended till December-end.

Section 139 AA (2) of the Income Tax Act says every person with PAN as on July 1, 2017, and is eligible to obtain Aadhaar must intimate his Aadhaar number to tax authorities.

→ Tax Filing ←       → Income Tax Efiling ←

However, those categorised as non-resident Indians as per income tax laws, people who are not citizens of India, those above 80 years of age and residents of Assam, Meghalaya and Jammu and Kashmir had been exempt from the requirement.

The deadline for linking PAN with Aadhaar previously was July 31, but was extended to August 31.... Read Full Article

Aadhaar deadline for social benefits to be extended till Dec 31

Supreme Court will hear batch of petitions in Aadhaar-related matters in the first week of November

 

 

The Centre on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that they would extend till December 31, the deadline to furnish Aadhaar for availing the benefits of various social welfare schemes.

Attorney General K K Venugopal made the submission that the current deadline of September 30 has been shifted to December-end after some of the petitioners, who have challenged the government’s move to make Aadhaar mandatory for availing the benefits of these schemes, mentioned the matter before the court.

Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for petitioners, told the apex court that a nine-judge constitution bench had recently declared right to privacy a fundamental right and now a batch of Aadhaar related petitions should be taken up for hearing by an appropriate bench.

When he referred to the September 30 deadline to give Aadhaar for availing these benefits, the Attorney General said the government would extend it to December 31.

“We (Centre) have said we will extend it to December 31,” Venugopal told the bench which also comprised Justices Amitava Roy and A M Khanwilkar.

The bench thereafter said that the batch of petitions on the Aadhaar issue would be taken up for hearing in the first week of November.

“Urgency is not there. The Attorney General is saying that it will be extended. It (petitions) will be listed in the first week of November,” the bench said.... Read Full Article

Last day to link PAN-Aadhaar? Decision on extending deadline today

The Aadhaar matter is before the Supreme Court with next date of hearing posted for November

 

 

The finance ministry is likely to decide tomorrow on whether to extend till year-end the deadline for linking PAN with biometric identifier Aadhaar, a source said on Wednesday.
The cut-off ends tomorrow. → Efiling Of Income Tax ←

The Aadhaar matter is before the Supreme Court with next date of hearing posted for November, and the deadline for Aadhaar linking for availing of social sector schemes has been extended till December-end.

"The government will decide tomorrow if the deadline for PAN-Aadhaar linking will be extended," the source said.

Section 139 AA (2) of the Income Tax Filing Act says every person with PAN as on July 1, 2017, and is eligible to obtain Aadhaar must intimate his Aadhaar number to tax authorities.

However, those categorised as non-resident Indians as per income tax laws, people who are not citizens of India, those above 80 years of age and residents of Assam, Meghalaya and Jammu and Kashmir had been exempt from the requirement.

The tax department had on July 31 stated that "unless a finding is made that Aadhaar is constitutionally not valid, tax return filers will need to link their PAN with Aadhaar by August 31, 2017".

Incidentally, December 31is also the deadline for people to link their bank accounts with Aadhaar. Tax filers however were allowed to file their annual income returns by August 5 without linking their Aadhaar with PAN. They were to just quote Aadhaar or acknowledgement number for ..... Read Full Article

How the GST launch impacts you: All your questions about the tax reform answered

Do registered dealers have to record Aadhaar/PAN while selling goods to unregistered dealers?

 As the nation prepares for the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from 1st July 2017 midnight, the government has prepared a FAQ sheet based on several questions it received on Twitter.

Here is a summary of some the most frequently asked questions and their answers:

What is Goods and Services Tax?
It is a destination based tax on consumption of goods and services. It is proposed to be levied at all stages right from manufacture up to final consumption with credit of taxes paid at previous stages available as set off. In a nutshell, only value addition will be taxed and burden of tax is to be borne by the final consumer.

The GST would replace the following taxes:

(i) taxes currently levied and collected by the Centre:
a. Central Excise duty
b. Duties of Excise (Medicinal and Toilet Preparations)
c. Additional Duties of Excise (Goods of Special Importance)
d. Additional Duties of Excise (Textiles and Textile Products)
e. Additional Duties of Customs (commonly known as CVD)
f. Special Additional Duty of Customs (SAD)
g. Service Tax
h. Central Surcharges and Cesses so far as they relate to supply of goods and services

(ii) State taxes that would be subsumed under the GST are:
a. State VAT
b. Central Sales Tax
c. Luxury Tax
d. Entry Tax (all forms)
e. Entertainment and Amusement Tax (except when levied by the local bodies)
f. Taxes on advertisements
g. Purchase Tax
h. Taxes on lotteries, betting and gambling
i. State Surcharges and Cesses so far as they relate to supply of goods and services

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Aadhaar-PAN linking: Here is how to do it in easy steps

It's mandatory to link Aadhaar with PAN. Here's why

 

Come July 1, the Modi-government's measures to track tax evasion through multiple PAN cards will come into effect. It is now mandatory for you to link your existing Aadhaar numbers with PAN to be able to file your income-tax (I-T) returns.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, through an amendment to tax proposals in the Finance Bill for 2017-18, had made linking Aadhaar mandatory for filing I-T returns.

 

How to link your Aadhaar to PAN online

The tax department has said "every person who has been allotted PAN as on July 1, 2017, and who in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (2) of section 139AA is required to intimate his Aadhaar number, shall intimate his Aadhaar number to the principal director-general of income tax (systems), or DGIT (systems)".

 

Here is how you can use the SMS facility to link Aadhaar with PAN

While Aadhaar is issued by the UIDAI to a resident of India, PAN is a ten-digit alphanumeric number issued in the form of a laminated card by the I-T department to any person, firm or entity.

 

As many as 2.07 crore taxpayers have already linked their Aadhaar with PAN. There are over 25 crore PAN card holders in the country while Aadhaar has been issued to 115 crore people.

7th Pay Commission allowances finally get government nod: Key highlights

Here are the details of the 7th Pay Commission recommendations as approved by the Union Cabinet

 

 

Following are highlights of the approval given by the Cabinet to the recommendations of the 7th Pay Commission (CPC) on allowances with some modifications.

* House Rent Allowance will be paid at 24, 16 and eight per cent for X, Y and Z categories of cities, respectively.

* HRA will not be less than Rs 5,400, Rs 3,600 and Rs 1,800 for X, Y, and Z categories of cities, respectively, calculated at 30, 20 and 10 per cent of minimum pay of Rs 18,000.

* The CPC recommended revision of HRA when DA reaches 50 per cent and 100 per cent. The government decided to revise rates when DA crosses 25 per cent and 50 per cent, respectively.

* Siachen Hardship Allowance increased to Rs 42,500 per month.

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* For JCOs and Other Ranks, the hardship allowance for Siachen will be Rs 30,000 compared to the 7th Pay Commission's recommendation of Rs 21,000. The JCOs and ORs were getting Rs 14,000 per month as hardship allowance for Siachen at present.

* For the defence personnel in peace areas, Ration Money Allowance will now be given in "cash" and it will be directly transferred to their bank accounts.

* Allowances like washing, uniform, kit maintenance, outfit have been rationalised and subsumed in the newly-proposed dress allowance to be paid annually in four slabs Rs 5000, Rs 10,000, Rs 15,000 and Rs 20,000 per annum for various categories of employees.

* Rate of Children Education Allowance has been increased from Rs 1,500 per month per child (maximum 2) to Rs 2,250. Hostel Subsidy will also go up from Rs 4,500 to Rs 6,750 per month.

*READ MORE...

From cleaner energy to more internet users: 4 things India will see in 2017

Green energy, rural electrification, Aadhaar for the North East and internet penetration in focus

Latest News - In 2016, Business Standard looked at several indicators to show India’s progress in terms of clean energy, technological progress and electricity access. We analyse our progress since and predict an increased focus on renewables, more reliable power supply to villages, growing spread of Aadhaar–the national identification system–and greater use and spread of the Internet in 2017.

So, here are four things India can look forward to:

1. Increasing energy capacity and the push for renewables

2. Rural electrification moving ahead but power supply suspect

3. Aadhaar focus to shift to North East

4. India’s Internet user community 2nd largest in the world

From cleaner energy to more internet users: 4 things India will see in 2017. Green energy, rural electrification, Aadhaar for the North East and internet penetration in focus

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BHIM: Aadhaar-based app launched to simplify digital payments (What is BHIM App & How does it work)

BHIM is biometric version of UPI, USSD and expected to minimise role of plastic cards, PoS machines

Breaking News -  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday launched an Aadhaar-based mobile payment application called BHIM (Bharat Interface for Money).

On day 50 of the window provided by the government to citizens to exchange or deposit old currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 denominations, the Prime Minister at a 'Digi Dhan Mela' event in the capital, asked citizens to make at least five digital transactions, so as to understand the concept behind e-payments, and then use it extensively.

What is BHIM App & How does it work

 

"Download it on a smartphone or on a feature phone. It is not necessary to have the internet for this app. In the next two weeks, one more work is being done, which will increase the power of BHIM so much that you would be able to withdraw money even with your fingerprints," he said.

BHIM is a biometric and rebranded version of UPI (Unified Payment Interface) and USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data). It is expected to minimise the role of plastic cards and point-of-sale machines, once believed essential for a less-cash society.

"In two weeks, we will make one more accomplishment; its security is being worked on. It will empower BHIM; you'll only require your thumb to pay," said Modi. He added this app would empower the poorest of the poor, with the thumb becoming the new identity.

 

Read Full Story>>>

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Google, Apple lock horns with govt over Aadhaar

India's relationship with the global technology industry has become increasingly fraught. This year alone, the government has banned Facebook's free web service and declined to exempt Apple from local sourcing rules and open its own stores. Now, the government could force companies to use technology cooked up in a government-funded lab.

The initiative is part of Aadhaar, the national biometric identity programme.

Millions of people use fingerprint and iris-scan authentication to access a range of public and private services which includes banking, too.

Failure to join the effort could limit the tech industry's access to a vast and growing market, but companies like Apple and Google are expected to resist opening up their phones and operating systems to the country's registration, encryption and security technology.

"There will be a lot of pushing and shoving by the technology companies," says Neeraj Aggarwal, managing director, Boston Consulting Group, India. "It will be a battle of ecosystems, and companies would do their best to hold on to their own."

A few weeks ago, government officials invited executives from Apple, Microsoft, Samsung Electronics and Google to discuss embedding Aadhaar encryption into their technology. None of the companies would comment on  read more..