A Unique Way of Learning Vocabulary from Leading Newspaper (Indian Express)

Mistaken Identity

By disparaging legitimate data security concerns, government could devalue Aadhaar and its promised efficiencies

Finally, the government has admitted that almost 3.5 crore Aadhaar identities have found their way into the public domain, having been inadvertently published on government websites. Nevertheless, the state counsel arguing against a clutch of PILs in the Supreme Court insists that it is currently the “most foolproof method”. He has had the humility to concede that the picture could be different 20 years later, but not the wisdom to acknowledge that it could happen tomorrow. Over the years, the Aadhaar establishment has brushed off security and privacy concerns by insisting that the system is technologically foolproof. However, humans make technology, and it can be cracked by other humans. Data can only be secured by punitive privacy law, not technology alone.
Aadhaar was presented as a very tiny pinhole, through which only the reply to a single query could emerge: Is the person interfacing with the system who he or she claims to be? Nothing else, certainly not the contents of the database on which the query runs, was supposed to come out into the public domain. However, it now appears that the pinhole is about as wide as India Gate, and open for traffic. Did the Aadhaar technology fail? Of course not, the state counsel has protested, and he was right. Yet the fact remains that the system failed. One of the first principles of hacking is that the weakest link is not in the machine. It is the human sitting at the keyboard. Hackers prefer to target people rather than systems, counting on them to give unauthorised access to systems out of ignorance or carelessness. Continue Reading (INDIAN EXPRESS)..........

IMPORTANT WORDS FROM ARTICLE & THEIR MEANING

1) Inadvertently (अनजाने में) - In-advert-ant-ly

Meaning - without intention, accidentally - Adverb
Synonyms - unintentionally, accidentally
Example - Viruses can be spread inadvertently by email users.

2) Foolproof (सरल) - Fool-proof 

Meaning - incapable of going wrong or being misused - Adjective
Synonyms - unerring, reliable
Example - The system is not 100 per cent foolproof.

3) Humility (विनम्रता) - Hu-mi-lity

Meaning - the quality of having a modest or low view of one's importance - Noun
Synonyms - modesty, humbleness
Antonyms - arrogance, pride
Example - Humility is the beginning of wisdom.

4) Punitive (दंडात्मक) - Pew-ni-sive

Meaning - inflicting or intended as punishment - Adjective
Synonyms - penal, corrective
Antonyms - beneficial, rewarding
Example - The US could impose punitive tariffs on exports.

5) Silos (साइलो) - Sai-los

Meaning - a tall tower or pit on a farm used to store grain - Noun
Synonyms - storehouse, depote
Example - Their missile silos are below ground.

6) Bogus (जाली) - Bow-gus

Meaning - not genuine or true (used in a disapproving manner when deception has been attempted) - Adjective
Synonyms - fake, false
Antonyms - actual, genuine
Example - On investigation, his claim was found to be bogus.

7) Disparaging (उपेक्षा करनेवाला) - Dis-para-ging

Meaning - expressing the opinion that something is of little worth; derogatory - Adjective
Synonyms - unfavorable, snide
Antonyms - nice, praising
Example - She made several disparaging remarks about the manager she dislikes

8) Desideratum (आवश्यकता) - Dezi-dera-tum

Meaning - something that is needed or wanted - Noun
Synonyms - requirement, essential
Antonyms - dislike, hate
Example (English) - Our products should be the best of their kind - this is the first desideratum.
Example (Hindi) - हमारे उत्पाद अपनी श्रेणी में बेहतरीन हों - यह पहली अावश्यकता है।

Now considering the article above as a Reading Comprehension question, try to answer the following -

• What is the logic behind making Aadhaar mandatory for filing I-T returns?
• What happens when a universal identity scheme like Aadhar is not universal? 

Given below are some words to check your vocabulary you can make sentences with those words in the comment section which will be reviewed by us.

• Concede
• Emerge
• Anticipated
• Dismissed