"If I cannot use data for services, what will I do with security?"

“There are two issues which I will raise, not on security and protection but on the governance of data. There are two issues in the use of data, first is rendering services. I have a name which is B V L Narayana and I have a huge problem in telling it to people that I am B V L Narayana and not somebody else. My PAN Card has some other name my mistake, the income tax people have told me a lot of times that you are not the same person but because I pay tax they accept it. I had a tough time to convince them that I am the same person and it’s the mistake of the PAN Card department. It became worst because as per Prime Minister now the PAN number is connected with AADHAR. In AADHAR they asked my full name. My surname is the first part of my name, B is my surname. As per AADHAR I am not the same person though everything else matches and therefore they could not link my PAN Card with AADHAR. Therefore the issue that comes in is when I am putting the data as my identity and it is put in by someone else then who has the right to decide what is correct, what should the rule say. The law may say anything but it has to apply. In railways the rule which we have given to our staff is to trust the customers. So my first request is if data is used as identity and that becomes a mandate for services then who should have the right to decide, should the individual have the right or the person who wants to take the services have the right? It is a very common issue. Security comes much later. If I cannot use data for services so what will I do with security? The more I allow usage the better it is.”

Dr B V L Narayana
Director – CRIS