Blog: Who will bell the Cat ?

Friday 5 October 2018

Who will bell the Cat ?

When it comes to implementing recent order of the Supreme Court concerning e-KYC verification of mobile users , one is tempted to ask ,

“ Who will bell the cat ? “

Opinions may differ as to who is the cat !

Is it the Supreme Court , the DoT ( representing Central Government Ministry of Telecom ) , UIDAI or the TELCOs ?

In the meantime,

UIDAI has issued directive to TELCOS to come up with an ACTION PLAN ( by 15 Oct ) for,

· Deleting from their databases , all records of existing e-KYC based on Aadhar ID

· Procedure for users to re-create their e-KYC using alternate methods

TELCOs are saying ,

· We have no directive from DoT . In absence of any Government directive , we can do nothing

DoT,

· Is keeping quiet , saying nothing ( - and watching the slugfest between TELCOs and UIDAI ? )

Mobile Users,

· Are petrified at the thought of using the following alternative options ;

( As quoted by Shri Ajay Pandeyji / https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/info-tech/uidai-chief-telcos-must-gear-up-for-non-aadhaar-kyc-by-oct-15/article25137694.ece )

# E-Aadhaar ( Download electronic version of their Aadhar card )

# Masking their Aadhar Number ( for offline verification )

# QR code ( which does not carry their Aadhar number )

# Voter ID / Passport / Ration Card / PAN card ( ? )

This would mean that the industry will have to revert to alternatives like legacy paper-based technique ( collect physical paper forms with signature, photographs, ship to verification centre and call up the customer to cross-verify submitted details ).

Our babus ( - and Supreme Court ? ) seem to have no clue as to the NIGHTMARE that ONE BILLION mobile users will have to go through !

In my earlier blog , I had warned the users :

“ Bring along your lunch and bedding since the queues could be long ! “

Has anyone bothered to calculate the BILLIONS of MAN-DAYS of productive time that a BILLION mobile users will need to waste just because some 21 petitioners have an “ exalted “ sense of privacy ?

Does anyone know how to navigate UIDAI web site to download “ E – Aadhar “ ?

[ It had taken me 3 months and 10 logins , just to change my residence address ! ]

Here is what I found on UIDAI web site :

" E - aadhar " ( search bar )

Total: 0 results found.

Search for:

All words Any words Exact Phrase

( source : https://uidai.gov.in/component/search/?searchword=%20E-aadhar%20&ordering=newest&searchphrase=exact&limit=20 )

Why is no one asking those ONE BILLION mobile users :

“ Are you so much worried about privacy of your finger-print that you want to go through repeat KYC as suggested above ? “

Of course , we cannot expect those ONE BILLION mobile users to file a PIL in Supreme Court [ although Prashant Bhushan may ] , saying :

“ Please issue clarification that I ( the mobile user ) can VOLUNTARILY permit the TELCOs to continue using my current , Aadhar based e-KYC “

That leaves the option ( of “ belling “ the proverbial cat ) with the TELCOs since, it is their business and revenue that is threatened by the UIDAI directive

I suggest that the TELCOs read my suggestions in this regard at :