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Aadhaar Linkages case: Sibal points out the many ways data can be compromised

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The hearings on Aadhaar and its various linkages and privacy and security issued attached to them continued before the Supreme Court constitution bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A K Sikri, A M Khanwilkar, D Y Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan on Wednesday (February 7).

The following deliberations took place:

11:34am: Senior advocate Kapil Sibal continued his submissions. He talked about identity information which requires authentication as per section 2(c) of the Aadhaar Act. This means Aadhaar number along with biometric or demographic information. He argued that this part has been wrongly drafted. It means that only

these two pieces of data can be submitted for the purposes of authentication.

He said that while photograph is included in biometric, it has been excluded in code biometric. He said that no alternative information can be given. Aadhaar Act is only for Aadhaar information and nothing else, Sibal said.

“Hence, for every Aadhaar card, the individual’s photograph will also be present,” he said. “There is a definition of identity information in the Act itself.”

At that Justice Ashok Bhushan pointed out:  “The alternatives are for double-checking.”

Sobal said: “It’s a legal argument and not political argument that you’re reducing me to one identity. Section 2(m) is not inclusive, it is exhaustive as pointed out by justice Chandrachud.”

Justice Sikri said: “If I don’t have the Aadhaar number, I still exist…” to which Sibal agrees, saying “we are more than just an Aadhaar number.”

Sibal says: “Section 8(3)(c) proposes that only three methods of identity information should be available. Secondly, there is no centralised database. Regulation 4 refers to modes of information. It gives you an idea what of authentication is. There is no other mode. Regulation 5 has to be read with 8(3)(c).”

He said: “If you have your authentication on your smart cards, your biometrics cannot go anywhere, hence no one can steal anything. That’s what most jurisdictions do, especially in the UK.”

Justice Bhushan said: “That regulation 5 has an overriding affect.”

Ibal said: “The act says that the number qualifies for the identity information. That means I can establish my identity via Aadhaar. Once I establish my identity information with the help of Aadhaar, no one can question me.”

“Read the Act in consonance with the provisions of the constitution,” says Sibal.

“If we accept your submissions, the constitutional validity of this becomes substantive,” says justice Chandrachud. “Under this statute, you have to collect information, which is not a state activity. Use of Aadhaar number to establish identity by the state or a body corporate under the law… that answers all of the ‘who’ and ‘how’ questions.”

Sibal says: “It must be assured that my property is protected. It is licensed out to agencies, etc. Now, because it is my property, i.e. my information, hence it must be protected and I must be assured that it is done.

“In a digital world my property cannot be retrieved, unlike in the physical world. If I have lost my property, in the physical world, it can be retrieved. If not, compensation would be provided. In the digital world, nothing can be protected. We’re not dealing with the physical world,” submitted Sibal.

“The digital world will know more about you than you would know; that’s where the world is heading towards,” he said. “In the USA, it is said that the digital world is like a Jurassic Park.”

“Data can arguably be divided into two types, Meta data and messages. Aadhaar is linked to every journey. Meta data is the information minus the messages. You’re making me vulnerable,” said Sibal.

“Unnecessary information is being stored because of Aadhaar and the vulnerability is the violation of my rights. The point is, an individual’s data who is not a criminal, should not be in the public domain.”

Justice Sikri gave a counter situation where a member of a particular airline travels even the airline retains the data about your traveling trend. What is so different about Aadhaar being linked to your railway ticket?”

Sibal continued: “CDR becomes a single target for cyber criminals for external and internal attacks according to an RBI report. A recent RBI report has explained that CDR has been targeted. According to this, because of Aadhaar there is a readily available platform for cyber criminals. It’s a staff paper/report. We need to have safeguards.”

“There’s a need for care. It does not straightaway talk about vulnerability,” Justice Chandrachud commented. “Every centralised depository can be hacked and using Fevicol and wax, by making a mould, anyone without even any technical knowledge can derive your fingerprint.”

At that Sibal said: “Once the national based information is compromised, we cannot do anything. Any criminal can take a defence that my fingerprints were stolen during every criminal trial,” Sibal said.

“By creating a 3D image of a fingerprint, once infringed through using a fingerprint app as in Android phones, the infringer can use it anywhere he wants, Sibal said.

“Airtel was benefitted by using latest Aadhaar, where new bank accounts were opened and the bonus/benefits the people earned were transferred into that Airtel bank. Hence, Aadhaar wouldn’t be a reliable source of information for the benefits to them,” Sibal said.

“And most benefits are received by aged people. Biometrics of children and the aged cannot be relied upon, as they don’t come to be very accurate. Further, it’s not reliable in cases of disabled people. The statute contemplates breaches.”

12.47 pm: “It will encourage bribery as big corporate competitors will pay money to get information, Sibal said. “The larger the data base, greater the chance of rejection of Aadhaar enrolment.

1.03pm: Adhaar matter adjourned to February 8.

– India Legal Bureau

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India News

Mother Dairy raises milk prices by Rs 2-4 per litre from November 12

Mother Dairy has increased milk prices by Rs 2-4 per litre from November 12. Full cream milk will now cost Rs 76 per litre, while toned milk will be priced at Rs 62.

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Mother Dairy has increased the prices of its liquid milk variants by Rs 2 to Rs 4 per litre, with the revised rates coming into effect from Thursday, November 12. The price revision will affect consumers in the Delhi-NCR market, where the dairy company is a major milk supplier.

The increase comes amid rising input costs, particularly higher procurement prices paid to farmers. According to sources, the company has decided to pass on part of the additional cost to consumers.

A spokesperson for Mother Dairy declined to comment on the latest price revision.

Check new Mother Dairy milk prices

The revised rates cover several liquid milk variants sold in the NCR market. Full cream milk has seen the highest increase of Rs 4 per litre.

Here are the revised prices:

Milk variantOld priceNew price
Toned milk (bulk vended)Rs 58Rs 60
Full cream milk (pouched)Rs 72Rs 76
Toned milk (pouched)Rs 60Rs 62
Double toned milkRs 54Rs 56
Cow milkRs 62Rs 65

The new prices will be applicable from November 12.

Why Mother Dairy has increased milk prices

The latest revision follows an increase in the procurement prices of milk from farmers. Sources said the higher procurement costs have prompted Mother Dairy to partly transfer the additional input expenses to consumers.

The company passes on around 75-80 per cent of its milk sales realisation to farmers.

Mother Dairy had last increased milk prices on May 14, 2026. Before that, its previous price revision took place in April 2025.

Mother Dairy’s daily milk sales

Mother Dairy sells approximately 35 lakh litres of milk every day in the Delhi-NCR market through its own outlets, general trade channels and e-commerce platforms.

Its overall daily milk sales exceed 50 lakh litres.

The company recorded a 17 per cent increase in turnover to Rs 20,300 crore in the last financial year. The growth was supported by improved demand for its milk products and cooking oils.

About Mother Dairy

Commissioned in 1974, Mother Dairy is a wholly owned subsidiary of the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).

The company sells milk and milk products under the Mother Dairy brand. It markets edible oils under the Dhara brand, while fresh fruits and vegetables, frozen vegetables, snacks, pulps and concentrates are sold under the Safal brand.

Mother Dairy operates nine milk processing plants and four horticulture processing plants. Its edible oil operations are supported by 16 associated plants.

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India News

Air pollution as big a health emergency as COVID, says former WHO chief Soumya Swaminathan

Former WHO Chief Scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan said air pollution should be treated with the same urgency as COVID, highlighting its effects on children, pregnancy and multiple organs.

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Air pollution should be treated as a major public health emergency requiring an urgent and coordinated response, former World Health Organisation (WHO) Chief Scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan has said.

In an exclusive interview, Dr Swaminathan compared the scale of the air pollution health crisis with COVID and said its effects can extend across the body, including the brain, lungs and cardiovascular system. She also highlighted links between pollution exposure and conditions such as asthma and diabetes.

Why air pollution needs a COVID-like response

Dr Swaminathan said COVID triggered an immediate public response because it was sudden, visible and associated with an unknown virus. Air pollution, by contrast, is often less visible and its effects accumulate over time.

She said people may become accustomed to pollution because it is not always visible, particularly outside the winter months. But she stressed that prolonged exposure can still cause serious health damage.

She called for the issue to receive an “equal, urgent, coordinated and scientific” response, similar to the approach taken during the COVID crisis.

PM2.5 poses risks from pregnancy to childhood

Dr Swaminathan also highlighted concerns about exposure to fine particulate matter, particularly PM2.5, among pregnant women and children.

According to her, these tiny particles can enter the lungs and bloodstream and may also reach the placenta. She pointed to higher rates of premature births and low birth weight among babies born in areas where mothers are exposed to high levels of air pollution.

She also said children are particularly vulnerable because their brains and other organs are developing rapidly. Children breathe faster than adults, and those growing up in heavily polluted areas can have smaller lungs, she said.

Why AQI may not tell the full health story

Dr Swaminathan suggested moving beyond the conventional Air Quality Index (AQI) towards an Air Quality Health Index (AHQI).

The proposal would place greater emphasis on how individual pollutants affect different groups of people. She noted that the dominant pollutant can vary from one city to another, while its health impact may also differ for groups such as pregnant women and children.

The current AQI uses eight major pollutants as parameters: PM10, PM2.5, ozone, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, lead and ammonia. The overall AQI is determined by the highest pollutant sub-index.

Swaminathan does not favour shutting schools

On protecting children from polluted air, Dr Swaminathan said she was not in favour of simply closing schools.

She argued that children from poorer families may continue breathing polluted air at home, while also losing access to education, social interaction and midday meals.

Instead, she suggested making school environments cleaner. Her proposals included installing air purifiers in classrooms, providing pick-and-drop bus facilities and encouraging older children to wear masks when outdoors.

Five measures suggested to tackle pollution

Dr Swaminathan outlined five key measures for addressing the pollution crisis:

  1. Launch a national clean air programme, which she suggested could be called the “Swachh Vaayu Abhiyan”.
  2. Prepare a costed, long-term plan with sustained investment and study lessons from countries such as China.
  3. Establish empowered leadership and accountability for tackling air pollution.
  4. Create a panel of experts to develop a science-based, multi-sectoral and multi-year plan.
  5. Put health at the centre of air pollution policy.

She also supported treating the right to clean air as a basic public health entitlement, linking it to the constitutional right to life.

Dr Swaminathan’s central argument was that air pollution should no longer be treated as a slow-moving or routine environmental problem, but as a serious health crisis requiring sustained action.

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Terrorists open fire at CRPF personnel in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam, search operation underway

Terrorists opened fire on CRPF personnel at a naka in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district. The attackers fled and a search operation was launched.

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Unidentified assailants opened fire on Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kulgam district on Wednesday afternoon, according to the CRPF.

The incident took place at a security naka in the Kulgam area. The attackers, who were reportedly travelling on a motorcycle, fled after opening fire on the security personnel.

According to the CRPF statement, the firing occurred at around 2:15 pm. The injured personnel were shifted to a hospital in Anantnag district for treatment.

Search operation launched for attackers

Following the firing, security forces launched a cordon and search operation to locate the attackers.

The assailants have not been identified so far, and further details about the incident are awaited.

What happened in Kulgam

The CRPF personnel were deployed at a naka when the unidentified motorcycle-borne assailants opened fire at them. After the attack, the assailants fled from the spot.

The CRPF said the injured personnel were taken to a hospital in Anantnag for medical treatment. A search operation was subsequently launched to track down those responsible for the attack.

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