<p>Jammu and Kashmir government has decided to provide UID (Unique Identification Number) to over 200,000 Srinagar households. The government said that this will help them store the data of every household including their address, number of family members, their electricity and water bills along with other necessary information.</p>

<p>According to the government, it's being done under the Digital India programme where all the details of the residents including the details of the property, like the nature of the property, dimensions of the property, and location will be saved.</p>

<p>However, the locals of Srinagar city are apprehensive that it is the first step towards implementation of the property tax in the valley.&nbsp;</p>

<p>''Earlier, when you used to visit a government office you needed to give all your details and it would take hours. In digital time, there should be no need for that, we don't want any queues in offices, everything can be done online. We are number one in the number of online services provided in the Union territory. People need to be aware that they don't need to visit offices, but all services will be provided online. This will benefit the locals a lot. The idea is that locals need not come to us for work, while the government will go to them, '' said Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary, JK.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/g20-chair-india-to-engage-in-discussions-for-global-crypto-regulatory-framework-632495">G20 chair India to engage in discussions for global crypto regulatory framework</a></p>

<p>The Unique ID will be provided not only to the houses but also to commercial buildings, streets, and heritage sites. Srinagar Municipality Commissioner Ather Aamir said that every house in the city that falls under the jurisdiction of Srinagar will be given a unique ID number which will help to locate the address of any person easily while clearing that it has nothing to do with the property tax as that is a separate issue.&nbsp;</p>

<p>''We have done surveys of over 230,000 premises. We have checked whether the properties are residential or commercial. The drainage, water, and electricity system has been checked. We have numbered the streets. It's a digital planning of the city. Now we will put a metal board outside every house, and it will have a QR code, this will create a better system of planning. Tax is a separate part, irrespective of that. This is a modern way of improving services," said Athar Aamir, Commissioner, of Srinagar Municipality.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Also Read | <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/republic-of-bharat-chorus-grows-for-india-to-be-renamed-as-bharat-632507">'Republic of Bharat': Chorus grows to rename India after its ancient name</a></p>

<p>Last year, when the UT government of Jammu and Kashmir announced the imposition of property tax in urban areas, the majority of the political parties, civil societies, and other trade unions opposed it.</p>

<p>Sensing that the situation may turn ugly the UT administration then put the decision on hold.</p>

<p><strong>Watch | Food we eat responsible for 1/3rd of human-made emissions</strong></p>

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<p>Now that the government has started the process of providing UID and is registering all the details of Srinagar households, the property tax issues have been raised again. The move to issue a "Unique Identification Number" (UID) to the Srinagar residents has been criticised by the regional political parties as well.&nbsp;</p>

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Jammu and Kashmir government has decided to provide UID (Unique Identification Number) to over 200,000 Srinagar households. The government said that this will help them store the data of every household including their address, number of family members, their electricity and water bills along with other necessary information.

Jammu and Kashmir government has decided to provide UID (Unique Identification Number) to over 200,000 Srinagar households. The government said that this will help them store the data of every household including their address, number of family members, their electricity and water bills along with other necessary information. According to the government, it's being done under the Digital India programme where all the details of the residents including the details of the property, like the nature of the property, dimensions of the property, and location will be saved. However, the locals of Srinagar city are apprehensive that it is the first step towards implementation of the property tax in the valley. ''Earlier, when you used to visit a government office you needed to give all your details and it would take hours. In digital time, there should be no need for that, we don't want any queues in offices, everything can be done online. We are number one in the number of online services provided in the Union territory. People need to be aware that they don't need to visit offices, but all services will be provided online. This will benefit the locals a lot. The idea is that locals need not come to us for work, while the government will go to them, '' said Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary, JK. Also Read | G20 chair India to engage in discussions for global crypto regulatory framework The Unique ID will be provided not only to the houses but also to commercial buildings, streets, and heritage sites. Srinagar Municipality Commissioner Ather Aamir said that every house in the city that falls under the jurisdiction of Srinagar will be given a unique ID number which will help to locate the address of any person easily while clearing that it has nothing to do with the property tax as that is a separate issue. ''We have done surveys of over 230,000 premises. We have checked whether the properties are residential or commercial. The drainage, water, and electricity system has been checked. We have numbered the streets. It's a digital planning of the city. Now we will put a metal board outside every house, and it will have a QR code, this will create a better system of planning. Tax is a separate part, irrespective of that. This is a modern way of improving services," said Athar Aamir, Commissioner, of Srinagar Municipality. Also Read | 'Republic of Bharat': Chorus grows to rename India after its ancient name Last year, when the UT government of Jammu and Kashmir announced the imposition of property tax in urban areas, the majority of the political parties, civil societies, and other trade unions opposed it. Sensing that the situation may turn ugly the UT administration then put the decision on hold. Watch | Food we eat responsible for 1/3rd of human-made emissions × Now that the government has started the process of providing UID and is registering all the details of Srinagar households, the property tax issues have been raised again. The move to issue a "Unique Identification Number" (UID) to the Srinagar residents has been criticised by the regional political parties as well. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here. ×

India: J&K govt to provide unique identification for over 200,000 Srinagar households

<p>The deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar to avail the benefits of various government schemes has been extended till March 31 next year for those who do not have the 12-digit biometric identification number, the Centre today told the Supreme Court.</p>

<p>It told a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra that extension of the deadline from December end this year till March 31, 2018, would apply only to those persons who do not have Aadhaar and are willing to enrol for it.</p>

<p>&quot;We (Centre) have decided to extend it till March 31, 2018,&quot; Attorney General K K Venugopal told the bench, which also comprised Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud.</p>

<p>The petitioners challenging the Centre&#39;s move to make Aadhaar mandatory for welfare schemes termed the linking of the identity number with bank accounts and mobile numbers as illegal and unconstitutional, while one of their lawyers strongly objected to the CBSE&#39;s move to make it mandatory for students to appear for exams.</p>

<p>Venugopal told the court that no coercive action would be taken against those who do not have Aadhaar but were willing to enrol for it and added that they would not be denied the benefits of social welfare schemes till March 31 next.</p>

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<h5>This case is crying for final hearing since long,&#39; senior advocate Shyam Divan said, adding that now even CBSE has asked students for their Aadhaar cards before appearing for the Board examinations</h5>
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<p>In a note given to the court, the government has said that &quot;those who have Aadhaar are required to seed/link their Aadhaar with SIM card, with bank account, PAN card and other schemes where section 7 notifications have been issued&quot;.</p>

<p>&quot;The government will be open for the deadline for linking Aadhaar to various programmes being extended for another three months till March 31, 2018 for those who do not have Aadhaar,&quot; the note said.</p>

<p>It said that persons, who do not have Aadhaar and are willing to enrol for it, &quot;will be facilitated to enroll for Aadhaar and will be provided benefits and services through alternate means of identification untill such enrollment.&quot;</p>

<p>The counsel for the petitioners, who have challenged the Centre&#39;s move to make Aadhaar mandatory for these schemes, raised the issue of the mandatory linking of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) number with bank accounts and mobile numbers.</p>

<p>Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for some of the petitioners, contended that final hearing in the main Aadhaar matter which is pending before the apex court was necessary as the government &quot;cannot compel&quot; citizens to link their Aadhaar with either bank accounts or mobile numbers.</p>

<p>&quot;This case is crying for final hearing since long,&quot; he said, adding that now even Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has asked students to give their Aadhaar for appearing in board examinations.</p>

<p>&quot;What are they (government) doing? A school children can not go to school and give his exams without giving his Aadhaar. Is this the civil liberty we are talking about in the country,&quot; Divan said while repeatedly urging the bench that a full-fledged hearing was necessary in the main matter.</p>

<p>Senior advocate Anand Grover, appearing for some other petitioners, argued that the move to link Aadhaar with bank accounts and mobile numbers was illegal and unconstitutional.</p>

<p>Divan told the bench that complaints have started coming in that after linking bank accounts with Aadhaar, the accounts were being &quot;wiped out&quot; and there were people who have UIDAI number, but do not want to link it.</p>

<p>&quot;They say extension till March next year will be only for those who do not have Aadhaar and are willing to enrol for it. They cannot compel us to link Aadhaar,&quot; he said, adding &quot;they can make a statement that they will not take coercive action against those who don&#39;t want to link Aadhaar&quot;.</p>

<p>Senior advocate Arvind Datar, appearing for petitioners, claimed that not linking Aadhaar with bank accounts would make citizens liable to be prosecuted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.</p>

<p>When the petitioners said earlier the court had said that the main Aadhaar matter would be heard in the first week of November, the Attorney General said &quot;we are ready for hearing&quot;.</p>

<p>However, Venugopal told the bench that he would take instructions on certain issues related to Aadhaar and come back to the court.</p>

<p>The court asked him to mention the matter on October 30.</p>

<p>During the hearing, the Attorney General referred to the apex court&#39;s judgement declaring right to privacy as a fundamental right and said in that verdict, Justice Chandrachud had emphasised that a robust regime for protection of data should be put in place.</p>

<p>Regarding the issue of data protection regulation, the bench observed, &quot;there are large number of working rules and if they will rush, we might have a poor data protection regulation. Countries across the world are struggling to have a data protection mechanism&quot;.</p>

<p>Venugopal said the Justice Sri Krishna committee which has initiated the process of reviewing the entire issue of data protection, had in its October 16 meeting recommended certain issues after detailed deliberations.</p>

<p>In a note handed over to the bench, the Centre has said the committee has recommended that &quot;each working group shall provide specific comments/amendements on clauses of the draft data protection bill circulated by MeitY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology).</p>

<p>&quot;They should also suggest changes that may be required, if any, to other allied legislation such as the Aadhaar Act 2016 or the Information Technology Act 2000,&quot; the note said, adding that the next meeting of this expert committee would be held on November 7. PTI&nbsp;</p>


The new deadline applies only to people who do not have Aadhar cards

The deadline for mandatory linking of Aadhaar to avail the benefits of various government schemes has been extended till March 31 next year for those who do not have the 12-digit biometric identification number, the Centre today told the Supreme Court. It told a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra that extension of the deadline from December end this year till March 31, 2018, would apply only to those persons who do not have Aadhaar and are willing to enrol for it. "We (Centre) have decided to extend it till March 31, 2018," Attorney General K K Venugopal told the bench, which also comprised Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud. The petitioners challenging the Centre's move to make Aadhaar mandatory for welfare schemes termed the linking of the identity number with bank accounts and mobile numbers as illegal and unconstitutional, while one of their lawyers strongly objected to the CBSE's move to make it mandatory for students to appear for exams. Venugopal told the court that no coercive action would be taken against those who do not have Aadhaar but were willing to enrol for it and added that they would not be denied the benefits of social welfare schemes till March 31 next. This case is crying for final hearing since long,' senior advocate Shyam Divan said, adding that now even CBSE has asked students for their Aadhaar cards before appearing for the Board examinations × In a note given to the court, the government has said that "those who have Aadhaar are required to seed/link their Aadhaar with SIM card, with bank account, PAN card and other schemes where section 7 notifications have been issued". "The government will be open for the deadline for linking Aadhaar to various programmes being extended for another three months till March 31, 2018 for those who do not have Aadhaar," the note said. It said that persons, who do not have Aadhaar and are willing to enrol for it, "will be facilitated to enroll for Aadhaar and will be provided benefits and services through alternate means of identification untill such enrollment." The counsel for the petitioners, who have challenged the Centre's move to make Aadhaar mandatory for these schemes, raised the issue of the mandatory linking of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) number with bank accounts and mobile numbers. Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for some of the petitioners, contended that final hearing in the main Aadhaar matter which is pending before the apex court was necessary as the government "cannot compel" citizens to link their Aadhaar with either bank accounts or mobile numbers. "This case is crying for final hearing since long," he said, adding that now even Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) has asked students to give their Aadhaar for appearing in board examinations. "What are they (government) doing? A school children can not go to school and give his exams without giving his Aadhaar. Is this the civil liberty we are talking about in the country," Divan said while repeatedly urging the bench that a full-fledged hearing was necessary in the main matter. Senior advocate Anand Grover, appearing for some other petitioners, argued that the move to link Aadhaar with bank accounts and mobile numbers was illegal and unconstitutional. Divan told the bench that complaints have started coming in that after linking bank accounts with Aadhaar, the accounts were being "wiped out" and there were people who have UIDAI number, but do not want to link it. "They say extension till March next year will be only for those who do not have Aadhaar and are willing to enrol for it. They cannot compel us to link Aadhaar," he said, adding "they can make a statement that they will not take coercive action against those who don't want to link Aadhaar". Senior advocate Arvind Datar, appearing for petitioners, claimed that not linking Aadhaar with bank accounts would make citizens liable to be prosecuted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. When the petitioners said earlier the court had said that the main Aadhaar matter would be heard in the first week of November, the Attorney General said "we are ready for hearing". However, Venugopal told the bench that he would take instructions on certain issues related to Aadhaar and come back to the court. The court asked him to mention the matter on October 30. During the hearing, the Attorney General referred to the apex court's judgement declaring right to privacy as a fundamental right and said in that verdict, Justice Chandrachud had emphasised that a robust regime for protection of data should be put in place. Regarding the issue of data protection regulation, the bench observed, "there are large number of working rules and if they will rush, we might have a poor data protection regulation. Countries across the world are struggling to have a data protection mechanism". Venugopal said the Justice Sri Krishna committee which has initiated the process of reviewing the entire issue of data protection, had in its October 16 meeting recommended certain issues after detailed deliberations. In a note handed over to the bench, the Centre has said the committee has recommended that "each working group shall provide specific comments/amendements on clauses of the draft data protection bill circulated by MeitY (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology). "They should also suggest changes that may be required, if any, to other allied legislation such as the Aadhaar Act 2016 or the Information Technology Act 2000," the note said, adding that the next meeting of this expert committee would be held on November 7. PTI

New deadline to link Aadhaar with govt schemes is March 31, Centre tells SC

<p>District banks in the state of Punjab&nbsp;have begun the procedure to link Aadhaar cards with customers&#39;&nbsp;accounts.</p>

<p>Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has designated more than 55 branches in Jalandhar and 32 branches in Kapurthala as authorised UID centres, according to a report in <em>The Tribune</em>.</p>

<p>As the Supreme Court recently announced the ruling on privacy being a fundamental right, many speculated that the Union Government will expel the project.</p>

<p>The Supreme Court, in its judgement on&nbsp;August 24, declared that&nbsp;privacy is a fundamental right as it is intrinsic to the right to&nbsp;life and liberty enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution.</p>

<p>The petitioners had claimed that Aadhaar is a violation of privacy as it requires citizens to give samples of their fingerprints and iris scans, therefore, breaching bodily integrity.</p>

<p>Notwithstanding to the expectations, the district administration is preparing to begin the UID enrollment by September 1.</p>

<p>According to sources, the specified branches, along with allotting UID numbers to their customers, will also assign UIDs to clients of other banks.&nbsp;</p>

<p>UID machines have been installed at the centres. Customers can get their UID card made and get it linked to their corresponding bank.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Linking Aadhaar to PAN will ensure that multiple filing&nbsp;of tax returns by a single individual&nbsp;under different identities&nbsp;will not occur.</p>

<p>As Aadhaar is based on biometrics, the possibility of duplication gets hugely reduced. PAN is not based on biometrics.</p>

<p>The government has issued a mandate to compulsorily link bank accounts with Aadhaar by December 31, 2017.</p>


The district administration in Punjab is preparing to begin the UID enrollment by September 1

District banks in the state of Punjab have begun the procedure to link Aadhaar cards with customers' accounts. Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has designated more than 55 branches in Jalandhar and 32 branches in Kapurthala as authorised UID centres, according to a report in The Tribune. As the Supreme Court recently announced the ruling on privacy being a fundamental right, many speculated that the Union Government will expel the project. The Supreme Court, in its judgement on August 24, declared that privacy is a fundamental right as it is intrinsic to the right to life and liberty enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution. The petitioners had claimed that Aadhaar is a violation of privacy as it requires citizens to give samples of their fingerprints and iris scans, therefore, breaching bodily integrity. Notwithstanding to the expectations, the district administration is preparing to begin the UID enrollment by September 1. According to sources, the specified branches, along with allotting UID numbers to their customers, will also assign UIDs to clients of other banks. UID machines have been installed at the centres. Customers can get their UID card made and get it linked to their corresponding bank. Linking Aadhaar to PAN will ensure that multiple filing of tax returns by a single individual under different identities will not occur. As Aadhaar is based on biometrics, the possibility of duplication gets hugely reduced. PAN is not based on biometrics. The government has issued a mandate to compulsorily link bank accounts with Aadhaar by December 31, 2017.

Right to Privacy? Aadhaar cards to be linked with PAN in Punjab

<p>Since 2009, the Aadhaar project has been aiming to give each resident of India a unique twelve-digit identification number, called the Aadhaar/UID number. The Aadhaar project uses biometric technology for de-duplication i.e. the process of ensuring that no one person receives more than one UID number and for authentication of individuals against a central database.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The UID number was envisioned to be an identification mechanism to be used for multiple purposes and is envisioned to be the universal, ubiquitous and unique identifier. The stated purpose of this exercise was to plug leakages and to make subsidy and service delivery systems of the governments, both of the Centre as well as of the states, to be more efficient. This project, initially, operated under an executive notification dated 2009 and was recently given statutory status following the passage of Aadhaar Act, 2016 as a money bill, by-passing the Rajyasabha.</p>

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<p>The project is the first of its kind in India. It establishes and operates a central database of personal profiles, including residents&rsquo; biometrics and uses the same for authenticating and identifying individuals for transactions that require identification, such as receiving subsidised food under the public distribution system, receiving subsidised LPG cylinders, to cast vote during elections, and filing income tax returns as well as receiving state scholarship. Until the advent of Aadhaar, identity was established by individuals by producing identity documents such as voters&rsquo; id, driving license, PAN card etc.</p>

<p>When such a central identification system operates and controls a central database of personal profiles as well as capture and store transaction logs for each transaction, it naturally raises questions, inter alia, on the potential infringement individual privacy. Moreover, the system carries the danger of being used as a tool of mass surveillance by the State. The unreliability of the underlying technology also makes it an inappropriate tool to deliver life essentials, subsidised or otherwise, such as food, maternity benefits etc. Reportedly, the authentication and de-duplication errors lead to widespread exclusion of people from access to such essentials. Such questions were raised in writ petitions filed in the Supreme Court and High Courts.</p>

<p>During the hearings of this case, in August 2015, the then Attorney-General for India, Mukul Rohatgi told the Supreme Court that it is a settled legal position and there is no fundamental right to privacy under Indian Constitution. Such a stand by the government&rsquo;s highest law officer justifiably received much criticism both from the general public as well as the legal fraternity. Particularly because there has been an unbroken line of nearly forty years of jurisprudence on the basis that privacy is a guaranteed fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.</p>

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<h5>There has been an unbroken line of nearly forty years of jurisprudence on the basis that privacy is a guaranteed fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.</h5>
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<p>After a lapse of more than two years and after multiple attempts by the petitioners to get the cases heard, the Supreme Court was able to constitute a 9-judge bench to hear arguments on this important constitutional question in July and August this year. This nine-judge bench delivered what would go down in the history of the Supreme Court as one of its most celebrated decisions in the history of Indian constitutional law. The decision was a unanimous one, reaffirming the status of privacy as a fundamental right that is guaranteed to all Indian citizens. Apart from its immediate effect on the Aadhaar litigation, this decision is going to have far reaching implications on many other laws and state actions such as Section 377 that criminalises consensual same-sex acts, beef ban laws, and opaque intelligence gathering operations that that government undertakes routinely with impunity.</p>

<p>For Aadhaar, however, this judgment raises existential questions. It&#39;s very idea is under attack following this judgment. An unlimited general purpose identification database, which is the essence of Aadhaar, is now constitutionally impermissible after this judgment that has drawn the conditions under which the right to privacy may be restricted in very narrow terms. Under the circumstance, Aadhaar may have to go.</p>


The SC's decision is going to have far reaching implications on consensual same-sex acts, beef ban laws, and opaque intelligence gathering operations run by the state.

Since 2009, the Aadhaar project has been aiming to give each resident of India a unique twelve-digit identification number, called the Aadhaar/UID number. The Aadhaar project uses biometric technology for de-duplication i.e. the process of ensuring that no one person receives more than one UID number and for authentication of individuals against a central database. The UID number was envisioned to be an identification mechanism to be used for multiple purposes and is envisioned to be the universal, ubiquitous and unique identifier. The stated purpose of this exercise was to plug leakages and to make subsidy and service delivery systems of the governments, both of the Centre as well as of the states, to be more efficient. This project, initially, operated under an executive notification dated 2009 and was recently given statutory status following the passage of Aadhaar Act, 2016 as a money bill, by-passing the Rajyasabha. The authentication and de-duplication errors lead to widespread exclusion of people from access to such essentials. × The project is the first of its kind in India. It establishes and operates a central database of personal profiles, including residents’ biometrics and uses the same for authenticating and identifying individuals for transactions that require identification, such as receiving subsidised food under the public distribution system, receiving subsidised LPG cylinders, to cast vote during elections, and filing income tax returns as well as receiving state scholarship. Until the advent of Aadhaar, identity was established by individuals by producing identity documents such as voters’ id, driving license, PAN card etc. When such a central identification system operates and controls a central database of personal profiles as well as capture and store transaction logs for each transaction, it naturally raises questions, inter alia, on the potential infringement individual privacy. Moreover, the system carries the danger of being used as a tool of mass surveillance by the State. The unreliability of the underlying technology also makes it an inappropriate tool to deliver life essentials, subsidised or otherwise, such as food, maternity benefits etc. Reportedly, the authentication and de-duplication errors lead to widespread exclusion of people from access to such essentials. Such questions were raised in writ petitions filed in the Supreme Court and High Courts. During the hearings of this case, in August 2015, the then Attorney-General for India, Mukul Rohatgi told the Supreme Court that it is a settled legal position and there is no fundamental right to privacy under Indian Constitution. Such a stand by the government’s highest law officer justifiably received much criticism both from the general public as well as the legal fraternity. Particularly because there has been an unbroken line of nearly forty years of jurisprudence on the basis that privacy is a guaranteed fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. There has been an unbroken line of nearly forty years of jurisprudence on the basis that privacy is a guaranteed fundamental right under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. × After a lapse of more than two years and after multiple attempts by the petitioners to get the cases heard, the Supreme Court was able to constitute a 9-judge bench to hear arguments on this important constitutional question in July and August this year. This nine-judge bench delivered what would go down in the history of the Supreme Court as one of its most celebrated decisions in the history of Indian constitutional law. The decision was a unanimous one, reaffirming the status of privacy as a fundamental right that is guaranteed to all Indian citizens. Apart from its immediate effect on the Aadhaar litigation, this decision is going to have far reaching implications on many other laws and state actions such as Section 377 that criminalises consensual same-sex acts, beef ban laws, and opaque intelligence gathering operations that that government undertakes routinely with impunity. For Aadhaar, however, this judgment raises existential questions. It's very idea is under attack following this judgment. An unlimited general purpose identification database, which is the essence of Aadhaar, is now constitutionally impermissible after this judgment that has drawn the conditions under which the right to privacy may be restricted in very narrow terms. Under the circumstance, Aadhaar may have to go.

Why the Supreme Court's verdict on Right to Privacy is a historic judgment

Uid, News on Uid, stories on Uid, articles on Uid, Uid stories at Wion, Uid news, Uid latest news

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India: J&K govt to provide unique identification for over 200,000 Srinagar households

New deadline to link Aadhaar with govt schemes is March 31, Centre tells SC

Right to Privacy? Aadhaar cards to be linked with PAN in Punjab

Why the Supreme Court's verdict on Right to Privacy is a historic judgment