Roundtable Discussion on Aadhaar

<strong>Centre for the Study of Law and Governance Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU)</strong> <strong>Roundtable Discussion on Aadhaar</strong> <strong>on Tuesday, April 26th, 2016 </strong> <strong>Discussion Note: </strong> The Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016, was enacted by the Parliament on March 16. Thereafter it has been notified on March 26. The Act empowers the UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) to collect biometric and demographic information of residents to provide them with a unique number. This unique number is to be used for enumeration, identification and targeting of beneficiaries of government subsidies and services. Since the creation of the UIDAI as an executive authority in 2009, this process of enumeration has been ongoing. Recently, it was announced that more than 100 crore residents have been given their aadhaar cards. Alongside, however, legal challenges have continued in the Supreme Court. Given this context, this Roundatable Discussion will focus on the following set of questions (among others): - Can the Aadhaar Number enable better delivery of government subsidies and services? - How does the Act ensure data protection? - Is there a right to privacy in India? What are the implications in the context of Aadhaar? - Does the Act ensure public access to statutory remedies in case of violations? - Did the Aadhaar Bill fulfil the requirements of a money bill?