Way back in 1976, Sanjay Gandhi's compulsory sterilisation policy created ruffles across the country. Deemed to be a failure, the move did bring forward the extent to which the government can control lives of a common man, despite being the world's largest democracy. 36 years later, there is yet another controversial move making rounds; this time around the UPA government is all set to introduce a DNA Profiling Bill during the winter session of Parliament. If brought into force, the new law will enable authorities to collect DNA data from citizens, even if they are mere "suspects" in a criminal case. Once cleared by the court, the data will be returned. The bill also goes on to say that this information will also aid the "creation and maintenance" of population statistics, which can help in "identification, research, protocol development, or quality control".

Even lawmakers realise the sensitivity of information collected, as the preamble of the bill states, "DNA analysis offers sensitive information which, if misused, can cause harm to a person or society". Having said that, the bill also makes provisions for "volunteers" to provide their DNA profiles, which will be stored in the concerned authority's database. However, the situations under which people can wilfully share such sensitive information with the government, have not been worded clearly. If you are wondering as to what happens if the data is indeed misused, well, it attracts a few month of imprisonment or a fine amounting to meagre Rs 50,000.

How does this affect your privacy you wonder? It has the potential to be used for discriminating against the minorities in the country, if used unethically. Imagine if there are drug companies that get access to such critical information. People suffering from genetic issues might end up becoming their guinea pigs. Moreover, it can also result in discrimination while securing education or jobs; the possibilities are endless.

While the bill initially surfaced in 2007, and can be of good help to solve crimes, only if the data is accurately recorded. Considering that the UIDAI initiative hasn’t been as successful as it was envisioned to be, and the way in which data has been collected is appalling, to say the least.  For now, the glorious project has been reduced to just another document, which cannot be used for much right now anyway. However, considering that more than the taxpayer's money is at stake with projects such as these, will the government at the helm be more careful and prudent while not only collecting, but also handling such data?

Tags : TechTree Blog, Security, Government, Kamakshi