VIJAYAWADA: Information Technology Advisor to the State government, J Satyanarayana, who is also the chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), has called upon officials of the State government to ensure removal of any Aadhaar data from the official websites.
Apparently referring to the reports of ‘leakage’ of Aadhaar details of civilians in Andhra Pradesh in the last two weeks at the Collectors’ Conference on Wednesday, Satyanarayana said, “Publication of Aadhaar and related information on any website is prohibited under the Aadhaar Act, 2016. In some State government websites, remnant data is available. I request all the departments to check their websites and remove the data and ensure that it is not available even in the future.” Under Section 29 of the Aadhaar Act, 2016, the disclosure of details is also a criminal liability, he added.
It may be recalled that several cybersecurity researchers proved that Aadhaar details of beneficiaries of various social welfare initiatives were freely available on the State government’s websites. Information pertaining to 89 lakh NREGS workers, 4.8 lakh pregnant women and 1.5 lakh housing scheme beneficiaries were available on the State government websites.
Principal Secretary (IT) K Vijayanand also told all the District Collectors and officials to take assistance from the recently-launched Andhra Pradesh Cyber Security Operations Centre (APCSOC) for cybersecurity.
“With incidents of hacking and defacing of websites being reported, I request you to take the help of APCSOC established in Vijayawada,” he added.
World’s largest hybrid power plant by Feb
Principal Secretary (Investments, Infrastructure and Energy) Ajay Jain said the unique renewable energy plant proposed in Anantapur will be ready by February 2019
2,900 acres for ‘Bengaluru Plus’
The State government has proposed a concept called ‘Bengaluru Plus’ to encourage IT and Electronics and Communication firms to set up industries. Principal Secretary (IT) K Vijayanand informed Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, “You have told us to procure 4,000-5,000 acres of land close to Bengaluru in Anantapur district for ‘Bengaluru Plus’ concept. We have identified close to 2,900 acres. A team will visit the identified land to finalise it.” He also said that 130 acres of land have been identified for Reliance Industries in Chittoor district. “The APIIC has also filed requisition for the same, and soon we will hand over the land to Reliance,” he added.
e-vehicle policy in State soon
Ajay Jain said that a policy to promote e-vehicles will be introduced in the next Cabinet meeting. He said that even though 1,500 electric vehicles are ready for despatch, the high tax during registration is posing a problem. “Tax concession and other norms are a part of the policy that would be announced soon.
The Industries department will place the proposal before the Cabinet for approval. Once, it is done, we will get 1,500 electric vehicles,” he said. The Chief Minister asked the officials not to wait till the announcement of the policy and issue a GO to facilitate the immediate use of electric vehicles.