Aadhaar – Mobile Linkage
Why in news?
- The Supreme Court recently declared that privacy is a fundamental right.
- But most telecom operators continue to pressure their users for mandatory Aadhar linkage - thereby violating individual privacy.
What is the linking process?
- Re-verification requires a user to visit a telecom service centre and undergo a biometric (fingerprint) authentication.
- The fingerprints are then matched with the Aadhaar database to establish authenticity.
- The messages and calls for Aadhaar linking have only increased in frequency with time.
- Some operators have even issues threats of disconnection if linkage doesn’t happen with a specified time.
What are the legal issues?
- The Framework - The Centre is the custodian of the airwaves.
- It issues licences to private companies for providing mobile voice and data services.
- Telecom operators are governed by regulations by the Department of Telecommunications (DOT).
- This includes clauses for subscriber verification.
- Aadhaar Issue - A series of circulars issued by the DOT from March 2017 onwards.
- These directed the telecom operators to re-verify their existing subscribers through Aadhaar authentication by February 2018.
- Court orders – Courts have limited the Aadhaar programme to a voluntary program restricted to specific services.
- The government instead is pushing for its use in mandatory re-verification.
- Even when viewed independent of court orders, the DOT circulars stands no grounding in law.
What lies ahead?
- Irrespective of legality, the aggressive push for Aadhaar linking continues to instil fear in people that their mobile phone connections will be disconnected.
- This is especially problematic, as the Supreme Court has indicated that the pending Aadhaar litigations will be heard in November.
India’s Afghanistan Strategy
Why in news?
- The government has plans to train Afghani police officers in India.
- This expanded security assistance to Kabul also sends a strong geopolitical message to various stakeholders.
What is Afghanistan’s position?
- The country saw the highest civilian casualties last year since the 2001 U.S.-led invasion.
- Increasingly, these casualties are coming not from Afghanistan’s border areas but its cities and villages.
- Only a professionally trained police force can maintain peace in such situations.
- India has also announced 116 smaller “new development projects” across Afghanistan.
- Hence, a Police force with strong fundamentals also becomes mandatory for protecting such projects in irrigation, housing and schools from the terror groups.
What geo-political message does India convey?
- For Afghan - India plans to expand its security assistance to Afghanistan by training police officers, as part of a UNDP project.
- This indicates a continued commitment for Afghan’s security & stability by active capacity building.
- For Pakistan - and other countries in the region that deal with the Taliban, India’s action conveys that it will not be deterred.
- This is reinforced by New Delhi’s decision to send engineers to refurbish several non-functional Soviet-era planes and to repair the helicopters that India donated to Afghanistan last year.
- For U.S - and its NATO allies, India makes it clear that will play a part in putting Afghanistan back on its feet in its own way.
What message does Trade convey?
- The decision to enhance security training comes on the heels of an India-Afghanistan trade fair in Delhi.
- Regardless of actual transactions made, it will demonstrate a determination in exploring business possibilities.
- Overcoming transit obstacles posed by Pakistan will be discussed.
- The India-Afghan-Iran trilateral arrangement to circumvent geographical hurdles and the commitment to complete the ‘Chabahar port’ development project soon is another reassurance.
- A sustainable trade route from South Asia to Central Asia is therefore clearly in the making.
Author : Shankar IAS Academy, Chennai.
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