Jottings of the week: Coming clean on Aadhaar and more

Coming clean on Aadhaar
In an interesting disclosure before the Supreme Court of India, the Union government has now revealed that citizens do have the option of blocking their biometric data that has been shared with the government for getting the Aadhaar unique identification number. The information is of particular significance because till date the public has been kept in the dark on the privacy issue — notwithstanding that it is privacy concerns that have put the Aadhaar project under the Supreme Court’s scanner. It appears that the Centre was forced to make the revelation to assure the court that the Aadhaar card is voluntary in nature. According to Attorney-General Mukul Rohatgi, once the biometric information is blocked by the donor, it would remain blocked until the user wants to reactivate it. The Aadhaar project has generated fears of profiling of political rivals and that it could be deployed for purposes other than welfare schemes. The government must answer why it hid the blocking facility from the public till date and at the same time widely publicise this flexibility so that those uncomfortable with the Aadhaar’s biometric data collection can block it at the earliest.

Reasons for child marriage
In a country where vast swathes of the countryside are steeped in poverty and illiteracy, child marriage, despite the strict laws, is a common phenomenon. A latest research paper brought out by the Center of Excellence on Adolescents and Youth, a joint initiative by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and the United Nations Population Fund, has delved into the causes for the popularity child marriage still enjoys among certain sections across the country. For one, it is seemingly a punishment delivered to girls who are perceived to be “bad” (who have male friends and are deemed sexually active), and are married off at an earlier age. Also, educating girls is seen as a futile investment, hence girls who have been forced to drop out of schools, too, are forced into early marriage. This information was gathered from the personal accounts narrated by 42 girls or women and 15 boys or men, who were married off before their legal age and are now in the age group of 15-29 years. The Prime Minister’s beti bachao, beti padhao campaign, it seems, is yet to gain traction at the grass roots and in small towns as the ground reality of child marriage continues to exploit the girl child.

Lab-grown meat
A team of Dutch scientists has recently confirmed that its lab-grown meat will hit the shelves in about five years. Does that mean that slaughter of animals would be a thing of the past in a few years from now? That’s unlikely if meat-lovers are reluctant to compromise on the taste of the meat. The first prototype had come with a steep price — a whopping £215,000 ($333,000) — and when finally cooked and consumed in London, the meat fell short of expectations. “It was close to meat, but not that juicy,” said one food writer who had sampled the artificial wonder. The scientists believe that as technology improves, the price of lab-grown meat will come down, but can innovation beat or even be at par with an authentic juicy steak? Not all man-made things are delicious, but this innovation will most surely be hailed by animal-rights activists who rail against the slaughter of animals? It might even bring beef back to Indian kitchens without raising the hackles of cow-protection groups.