The Lok Sabha passed the Aadhaar Bill on Friday by a voice vote but not without some members seeking clarity about the data’s privacy and confidentiality, while one member expressed fear of the potential misuse of the Aadhaar data for “mass surveillance”.
Welcoming the move, Nandan Nilekani, architect of Aadhaar and former chairman of Unique Identity Authority of India said, “ Aadhaar has got bipartisan support. It started in the UPA and the government used Aadhaar for direct benefit transfer for 30 million LPG connections. This ( NDA) government has the wisdom to take it forward and make it the central pillar of its subsidy regime. With the legal issue settled, it could be used for transforming government, as well as transforming business.” While moving the Bill for discussion and passage, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the primary focus was usage of money belonging to the Consolidated Fund of India to deliver targeted subsidies to only the deserving, which will help plug leakages and save thousands of crores of rupees.
Jaitley said 990 million people, which include 97 per cent of adult India and 67 per cent of minors, now have the unique identity number provided by Aadhaar. Jaitley said the results of using Aadhaar were evident with the government having saved Rs.15,000 crore in LPG subsidy. He said four states — Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Puducherry and Delhi — have introduced Aadhaar in public distribution system and have already saved Rs.2,346 crore.
Tharoor’s Bill to scrap Section 377 defeated
For the second time in three months, the Lok Sabha on Friday voted against the introduction of a private member’s Bill brought by Congress member Shashi Tharoor to decriminalise homosexuality. Tharoor’s Bill sought to amend the “colonial era” Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code ( IPC) that criminalises homosexuality. Of 73 members present, 58 voted against introduction of the Bill, while 14 were in favour. One member abstained from voting.
Business Standard, New Delhi, 14th March 2016
Comments
Post a Comment