Where is personal data of 45 lakh ex-servicemen collected for ECHS smart cards? firm booked
The Delhi Police has filed an FIR against a private company, on a complaint by the Defence Ministry, for allegedly not returning a database containing personal information of 45-lakh ex-servicemen after it completed a contract for ECHS smart cards, officials said.
The case was unearthed in RTI applications and subsequent follow ups filed by activist Commodore Lokesh Batra (retd).
He was recently informed by a Defence Ministry official through an email -- a copy of which is with PTI -- that the Delhi Police registered the FIR on December 19 against a private vendor who allegedly did not handover the personal data of the 45 lakh ex-servicemen enrolled in the Ex-Servicemen Contributory Health Scheme (ECHS).
Batra had sent an RTI query seeking file notings about the issue.
The notings received in response to the RTI application show that "in the absence of any written confirmation in form of 'Confidentiality Certificate' from the firm, the security of the database of ECHS beneficiaries cannot be confirmed."
The ministry has alleged that Score Information Technology (SITL) was given a five-year contract in 2010 for the development of smart cards for ECHS but after the expiry of contract in 2015, the company did not return the database, source code, keys and computer applications, the file notings show.
