Aadhaar Card

The Supreme Court had to intervene to postpone (at least for now) the deadline for linking the Aadhaar card to several things.

There are several problems with making something mandatory for availing something as basic as a mobile phone connection. In today's world, it is almost akin to a right to have a mobile phone, if you wish to be connected with the world. Most (actually all) existing connections already were verified at the residence of the subscriber while giving it to you. So asking for a mandatory link to Aadhaar makes little sense. Old people or some other segments may see it as a harassment. Other options like passport etc. should be provided, if at all a further ID is required.

Except for one or two things -maybe providing one while filing returns- there are many other ways to find out the identity of a person. Biometric ID is not foolproof, as the introduction of Iris scans proves.

More research on the downside with different segments is needed, and a guarantee of no leaks/misuse is necessary before making everyone get one compulsorily.

The Pleasures of Inefficient Service

The title may sound oxymoronic or simply moronic, but there are occasions when slow and inefficient service is better than the quick, cut and dried version. I had an experience like this at a McDonald's a couple of days ago. With some friends, we ordered three things, one of which was promised to us soon at the table, and it never arrived for about 45 minutes. We reminded a passing body (employee), and then it did arrive. If we had not, maybe it would have been even later! The whole point of the Irani chai joints in Hyderabad and elsewhere was to have a long chat with friends with a single chai (half a cup of tea). You can of course, carry on at a Coffee Day or a Barista too, albeit at a higher out-of-pocket expense. And you may get some dirty looks if the place is full. This is guaranteed not to happen in an Irani chai place. Here is a pic of one here that does not exist any more- used to be in the Osmania University campus at Hyderabad, and a favourite with students.

Anyway, we were doing nothing in particular except (real) chatting, and so, it actually did not matter. Gave us more time to do the needful, anyways. So there are occasions like these, when slow service may be better than fast service. Elderly citizens may go to a bank to socialise if they are lonely, and turning them out in a jiffy might offend them. They don't use ATMs in some cases, because you can't talk to an ATM.