Usha Ramanathan works on the jurisprudence of law, poverty and rights. She writes and speaks on issues that include the nature of law, the Bhopal Gas Disaster, mass displacement, eminent domain, civil liberties including the death penalty, beggary, criminal law, custodial institutions, the environment, and the judicial process. She has been tracking and engaging with the UID project and has written and debated extensively on the subject. In July-September 2013, she wrote a 19-part series on the UID project that was published in The Statesman, a national daily.

Her work draws heavily upon non-governmental experience in its encounters with the state; a 6 year stint with a law journal (Supreme Court Cases) as reporter from the Supreme Court; and engagement with matters of law and public policy.

She was a member of: the Expert Group on Privacy set up by the Planning Commission of India which gave in its report in October 2012; a committee (2013-14) set up in the Department of Biotechnology to review the Draft Human DNA Profiling Bill 2012; and the Committee set up by the Prime Minister's Office (2013-14) to study the socio-economic status of tribal communities which gave its report to the government in 2014.

Tuesday, April 5, 2016

29 - Activist Usha Ramanathan criticises direct cash transfer scheme - IBN Live


Activist UshaRamanathan criticises direct cash transfer scheme


Posted on: 08:21 PM IST Dec 14, 2012

The line between the Congress party and the Congress led UPA government seems to blur as the party and the government go all out to sell their ambitious direct cash transfer scheme. 'Aap ka paise, aap ke haath' is the new slogan for 2014 elections. The government claims that the entitlement/cash would reach the beneficiaries' bank account directly and, hence, reduce corruption. But, the claims of the government have been already been questioned both by people who never got the promised cash and, activists who point out to the high risks involved in such a fundamental shift. CNN-IBN's Rupashree Nanda spoke to Dr Usha Ramanathan, who has worked extensively on the issue at the ongoing Right to Food campaign in Jantar Mantar. Ramanathan is scathing in her criticism of the direct cash transfer scheme which would rely heavily on Aadhaar/UID. Ramanathan says, 'biometrics is both changing and undependable', 'banking correspondent system will be the new cause of corruption', and 'it is only about reducing cost to the State, people be damned'.

CNN-IBN: Right to Food campaign is strongly opposed to cash transfers schemes. What are your objections?
Ramanathan said banking correspondent system will be the new cause of corruption.
CNN IBN: The government is claiming that this will help to step corruption and that cash will be delivered to beneficiaries at their doorstep?
Usha Ramanathan: When they are saying that cash will be delivered, they are relying on banking correspondents. Reserve bank of India started this in 2006 and,in 2009 they issued a report admitting that the system of banking correspondents was a failure. And, they have given five reasons why it has happened. None of these issues have been addressed.So it is very plain that they are using this to dismantle the service structure. What I wonder is when sometimes there is evidence in writing on record publicly why is that being ignored? The banking correspondent system failed a long time ago and the banking correspondent system will be the new cause for corruption. They are creating agents, middlemen, agents on whom you have to depend. And who do you have to depend on? On kirana store people. Do they any have any idea of what a power structure is in a village? Do they have any idea about who should not control the monies of the poor in that village? They don't. Self Help Group, Kirana Store...it does not matter ... we will put it wherever the micro ATM can travel and see where it goes. This is really gross experimentation on a whole population and it is not taking responsibility for the consequences.
CNN IBN: The UID was supposed to be voluntary. But now with many schemes linked to that, many don't have the choice to opt out?
Dr Usha Ramanathan: Actually when you read their strategic vision document which was there right from the beginning. They said we will not make it compulsory, somebody else might make it compulsory. So, Mr Chidambarm says we are making it compulsory for these 29 schemes, the state governments will make it compulsory for many more things. This is one reason they don't have a law because the law will govern what they do. For instance, they say the poor have no interest in privacy. Says who? What do they know about the interests of the poor in privacy? Dr Ahluwalia will say if you want services, you have to allow us to converge all your data. Every report that has come which says you have to shift to cash transfers - if you have to make any change in the system you have to privatise information and data - all these are Mr Nilakeni's reports. So there is a collusive force at work here and innocence attributed to Mr Nilakeni is capitalised on. I don't see that innocence, I don't know where other people are seeing it.
CNN IBN: How would you view Mr Nandan Nilakeni's role?
Dr Usha Ramanathan: Mr Nilakeni's ambitions are different from the ambitions of the others. He is bringing these ambitions to match - that's his job. He has been asked to market the matching of these ambitions. His ambition is to create a data base where everybody will be there. The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) itself went from place to place pushing for the adoption of this system. It is not innocent that this collusion has happened. I am not going to here consider whether Mr Nilakeni wants the consequences that are going to ensue from this but, I am certainly going to say that Mr Nilakeni does not care very much. And, he is not taking responsibility. So this idea that - I create open architecture - I push everyone to come on to it but - I take no responsibility for it, that seems to be the frame of mind that allows for this push which will get the poor into a very bad situation. In the Notre Dame study, they said within one and half to three years the confidence level in biometrics will come down by 20 per cent. What is the value of this? And, you are changing whole systems knowing thus. How can that ever be inncocent?