Did you link your Aadhaar to your passport and/or your voter ID? (Neither of which are mandatory, as per the Sep'2018 judgement of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India). Then know this: There is a massive data breach, where the PII (Personally Identifiable Information) is up for sale on the darkweb - including your Aadhaar, Passport and Voter ID

October 31st, 2023

1. [Back Back

Aadhaar data leak: Massive data breach exposes about 81 crore Indians' personal information on dark web. Details here](https://www.livemint.com/news/india/aadhaar-data-leak-massive-data-breach-exposes-815-million-indians-personal-information-on-dark-web-details-here-11698712793223.html) 2. Data Breach: Aadhaar And Passport Details Of 815 Million Indians Listed For Sale 3. Massive dark web data leak exposes India to digital identity theft and financial scams, warns Resecurity

It is very likely that you are one among the 81.5 crore Indians, who linked your Aadhaar with your Passport and/or your Voter ID, whose personal data is on sale on the dark web. This breach exposes 81.5 crore Indians to IDENTITY THEFT, which is irreversible

Related links to old news articles from credible sources of news

September 26, 2018

What Supreme Court’s Aadhaar verdict means for you: 10 points

• A 5-member constitution bench of the Supreme Court led by Chief Justice Dipak Misra ruled that Aadhaar is mandatory for filing of income tax returns (ITR) and allotment of Permanent Account Number (PAN). So if you are a tax payer or want a PAN card then you cannot run away from Aadhaar.
• Aadhaar authentication for bank accounts is now a thing of the past.
• To buy a new SIM card, your telecom service provider cannot seek Aadhaar details from you.
• Students of CBSE, NEET, UGC also do not require Aadhaar number to appear in exams. Even schools cannot seek Aadhaar card for admissions.
• The Supreme Court has made exception for children saying that no child can be denied benefits of any scheme if he or she doesn’t have Aadhaar card."
• The apex court has struck down Section 57 of the Aadhaar Act as “unconstitutional". This means that no company or private entity can seek Aadhaar identification from you.
• The constitution bench of the top court has also struck down the national security exception under the Aadhaar Act. This will indirectly ensure greater privacy of individual’s Aadhaar data while restricting the government accessibility to it.

The push to link Aadhaar with Voter ID came from the Law Ministry of the Union Government.

March 5, 2020

@the_hindu The Law Ministry has informed the Lok Sabha that it has a proposal from the Election Commission (EC) to link the Aadhaar card with the Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC) to prepare an error free electoral roll. Aadhar LokSabha

• EC moots linking Aadhaar with voter ID, Law ministry tells LS
• Link to above tweet

Source:

#India Today ##Sep 14, 2023 ###Birth certificate can soon be used to apply for Aadhaar, driving license, more

A new amended law will facilitate the use of a birth certificate as a single document for a host of works and services like admission to educational institutes, issuance of driving licences, applying for an Aadhaar Card or a passport and registration of marriage and will come into effect from October 1.

The law will provide for use of the birth certificate as a single document to prove the date and place of birth of a person born on or after the date of commencement of the Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Act, 2023, for admission to an educational institution, issuance of driving licence, preparation of voter list, marriage registration, appointment to a post in central or state government or a local body or public sector undertaking or in any statutory or autonomous body under the central or state government.

It will help create a national and state-level database of registered births and deaths which eventually would ensure efficient and transparent delivery of public services and social benefits, and digital registration.

To get more context and to folllow the chronology of policy direction, you can see the below news stories

#Indian Express ##August 8, 2023 ###Registration of Births & Deaths (Amendment) Bill passed in RS

Rajya Sabha on Monday passed a Bill that allows the use of a birth certificate as a single document for admission to an educational institution, issuance of a driving licence, preparation of voter list, Aadhaar number, registration of marriage or appointment to a government job.

#Indian Express ##August 1, 2023 ###Lok Sabha passes Registration of Births and Deaths Bill by voice vote amid Oppn din

The Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill makes provisions for digital registration and electronic delivery of certificates of births and deaths for the benefit of public at large.

It also aims to create a national and state-level database of registered births and deaths, which would help in updating other databases resulting in efficient and transparent delivery of public services and social benefits. It also makes provisions for collection of Aadhaar numbers of parents and informants, if available, in case of birth registration.

#PRS Legislative Research

July 26, 2023

###Bill Summary - The Registration of Births and Deaths Amendment Bill, 2023

Connecting database: The Bill states that the

national database may be made available to other authorities preparing or maintaining other databases. Such databases include: (i) population register, (ii) electoral rolls, (iii) ration card, and (iv) any other national databases as notified. The use of the national database must be approved by the central government. Similarly, the state database may be made available to authorities dealing with other state databases, subject to. state government’s approval.

Use of birth certificate: The Bill requires the use

of birth and death certificates to prove the date and place of birth for persons born on or after this Bill comes into effect. The information will be used for purposes including: (i) admission to an educational institution, (ii) preparation of voter list, (iii) appointment to a government post, and (iv) any other purpose determined by the central government.

#Economic Times ##Apr 26, 2023 ###Aadhaar vetting by private entities against Supreme Court ruling: Experts

Former Supreme Court judge BN Srikrishna told ET: “The Supreme Court has already examined this aspect. It says it should not be done (allowing private entities to perform Aadhaar authentication). Now the government cannot issue a rule and overcome the Supreme Court judgement. Supreme Court judgement can only be overcome in a proper parliamentary enactment, if passed.”

The government cannot overcome the Supreme Court judgement by amending the IT rules, said Srikrishna, who headed a ten-member committee that released the first draft of the Personal Data Protection Bill in 2018.

“The SC has said private entities cannot perform Aadhaar authentication. No number of amendments to the IT Rules will help it. They will have to pass a special Act or amend the IT Act itself. That is the only way it can be done, otherwise it cannot be done,” he explained.

###Older news stories

#Indian Express ##September 26, 2018 ###Supreme Court rules Aadhaar not mandatory for bank accounts, mobile numbers, school admissions

While the majority judgment, written by Justice AK Sikri in concurrence with CJI Dipak Misra and Justice AM Khanwilkar, upheld seeding of PAN with Aadhaar, it set aside linking Aadhaar to bank accounts and mobile phone numbers. In his concurring decision, Justice Bhushan said the Central government had given sufficient reasons to uphold Section 7 of Aadhaar Act, which deals with grant of subsidies and welfare benefits.

Ruling that Aadhaar was not compulsory for school admissions, the SC said no child could be denied benefits of any scheme for not having Aadhaar number. “CBSE, NEET, UGC cannot make Aadhaar mandatory, also it is not compulsory for school admissions,” Justice AK Sikri, who is part of the five-judge bench that heard a clutch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar Act, said.

#Indian Express ##September 26, 2018 ###Full text: Supreme Court Aadhaar judgment

Read full judgement on Scribd

139AA. (1) Every person who is eligible to obtain Aadhaar number shall, on or after the 1st day of July, 2017, quote Aadhaar number—

(i) in the application form for allotment of permanent account number;

(ii) in the return of income:

Provided that where the person does not possess the Aadhaar Number, the Enrolment ID of Aadhaar application form issued to him at the time of enrolment shall be quoted in the application for permanent account number or, as the case may be, in the return of income furnished by him.

(2) Every person who has been allotted permanent account number as on the 1st day of July, 2017, and who is eligible to obtain Aadhaar number, shall intimate his Aadhaar number to such authority in such form and manner as may be prescribed, on or before a date to be notified by the Central Government in the Official Gazette:

Provided that in case of failure to intimate the Aadhaar number, the permanent account number allotted to the person shall be deemed to be invalid and the other provisions of this Act shall apply, as if the person had not applied for allotment of permanent account number.

(3) The provisions of this section shall not apply to such person or class or classes of persons or any State or part of any State, as may be notified by the Central Government in this behalf, in the Official Gazette.

Explanation.—For the purposes of this section, the expressions—

(i) "Aadhaar number", "Enrolment" and "resident" shall have the same meanings respectively assigned to them in clauses (a), (m) and (v) of section 2 of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016 (18 of 2016);

(ii) "Enrolment ID" means a 28 digit Enrolment Identification Number issued to a resident at the time of enrolment.]