Saptak Sanyal
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1) One of the crucial aspects that the bill tries to address is related to the protection of an individual’s privacy. Section 9 of the proposed bill specifies that the Authority would not require any individual to disclose information pertaining to his race, religion, caste, tribe, ethnicity, language, income or health which indeed reduces the apprehension of individual profiling raised by the members of the Civil Society groups.
2) The bill establishes Central Identity Depository Receipt centralized databases in one or more location containing all Aadhar Numbers issued to Aadhar number holders along with the corresponding demographic information and biometric information of such individual. But it also specifies other information of an individual apart from biometric and demographic and can also be stored at CIDR. The bill relatively lacks clarity about the nature of other information.
3) The bill prescribes stringent penalties in Chapter VII like impersonation using Aadhaar data can lead to a three-year jail term and a fine of Rs10,000. Also any unauthorized person collecting data can invite three-year jail term and a fine of Rs10,000. Unauthorized collection or dissemination of identity information will also receive a three-year jail term and a fine of Rs10,000. In case a company commits these offences the fine will raise upto Rs1 lakh. In case of unauthorized access to the Central Identity Depository Receipt penalty prescribed is three years of imprisonment and at least Rs 1 crore as fine.
4) The bill establishes National Identification Authority as a statutory body having the power to draft regulations with the approval from Parliament. The Authority will comprise of a Chairperson and two part-time members to be appointed by the Central Government. It would also have a CEO (not below the rank of the Additional Secretary to the Government), who will be the member secretary of the authority. Section 28 of the bill also specifies about the three members Identity Review Committee, which will ascertain the extent and pattern of usage of Aadhar numbers across the country and prepare a report annually to be submitted to the Central Government.
5) The bill also proposes that special measures should be adopted by the authority to issue Aadhar number to women, children, senior citizens, person with disability, migrant unskilled and unorganized workers, nomadic tribes or to such other persons who do not have permanent dwelling house.
