HYDERABAD: Did you know that the Telangana government can draw up a 360 degree profile of any citizen without having to access any unique ID like Aadhaar number or biometric data? After UIDAI stopped sharing data, Telangana has developed its own algorithm and identity resolution engine and created an Integrated People Information Hub (IPIH) that doesn’t need any unique ID like Aadhaar.Now, legal eagles say that IPIH, which does not have any legal sanctity, poses the threat of surveillance by the state. While Road Transport Authority (RTA) and the police department are already using it, GHMC , HMWS&SB and other government agencies will be able to use it soon.While experts say privacy concerns, data breach and citizen consent need to be addressed by the state, various state government agencies say revenue increase, weeding out fake beneficiaries of subsidies, profiling of people of interest by police and certificate-less governance are the top usages of IPIH.A top Telangana Information Technology and Communications (IT&C) department official told TOI: “In governance, there are several applications for each department, and there is no interaction between them to get a 360-degree view. So it was a challenge to create an integrated dataset. In 2011 Aadhaar came in and the Centre promoted SRDH. United AP was a pioneer, and other states followed us. Due to the 2016 SC order, UIDAI refused to share data. We then worked on an algorithm that can, without unique ID and biometric data, identify a person using parameters like name, father’s name, date of birth and address. For the past two years, we have been using it on an experimental basis.”In fact, RTA was the first to use IPIH to identify those possessing two vehicles but disclosing only one at the time of vehicle registration to avoid paying 5% extra tax. “The same can be applied to GHMC for property tax collection and also classifying water connections of HMWS&SB to increase revenues. It can also be used for subsidy schemes implementation and for smart law enforcement and curbing criminal activity. It is called 360 degree view. Instead of asking for certificates for proof, IPIH can be accessed for providing quick citizen services. There is no need for biometrics. There is no law. There is no breach of privacy. Each department and rank official will be given access privileges only on a need-to-know basis,” the official claimed.Disagreeing, senior advocate Shafee Rahman Mahajir said not only consent but informed consent of citizens is mandatory. “Informed consent is where the government explains to an individual the privacy risks posed to him due to data collection. Quiet collection and integration of data without informed consent is a clear breach of privacy by the state.”Objecting to the argument that only people harmful to society will be profiled, he said: “Person of Interest has many deep meanings. For the government, the person in opposition is a person of interest. It can be misused politically. It is not for policemen to decide but for courts to decide. The minimum requirement is that before accessing the integrated database, the police should have to quote bonafide reasons and take permission of a district judge or chief metropolitan magistrate.”“After the information is stored for any agency, to access it, the informed consent of the person should have to be taken. Otherwise, it will amount to an intrusive act which can lead to dangerous consequences. In the past, profiling was done on an illegitimate basis based on caste and religion,” he added.