'Only SSC, Railway Recruitment Board Allowed To Use Aadhaar-Based Authentication In Exams': MoS Jitin Prasada

New Delhi: The Staff Selection Commission and Railway Recruitment Board are the only two government agencies authorised by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to use face authentication in their examinations to verify the identity of candidates and other officials, the Rajya Sabha was informed on Friday.

MoS Jitin Prasada's Statement

Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Jitin Prasada, in a written reply, said, “The real-time face authentication during examinations helps in preventing impersonation and reduces malpractices. It enhances transparency, builds trust among aspirants and strengthens administrative accountability.”

Responding to questions on Aadhaar-based face authentication for national exams, the MoS said, “The Ministry authorises Ministries/Department/Organisations, under Aadhaar Authentication for Good Governance (Social Welfare, Innovation, Knowledge) Rules, 2020, for use of Aadhaar authentication for multiple use cases, including examination services.”

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He said face authentication is a type of biometric authentication, having liveness detection features, that uses an individual’s facial features to verify their identity in real time.

“It provides anytime, anywhere authentication with any entry-level smartphone, thus removing the requirement of any additional biometric devices,” he said, responding to questions from Kiran Choudhry, Kesridevsinh Jhala, Medha Vishram Kulkarni, Maya Naroliya and Baburam Nishad.

“The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) issues Aadhaar, a 12-digit unique identification number, to residents based on their biometric and demographic data. It serves as a digital identity for accessing various services through authentication carried out by the respective organisation providing those services,” he said.

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Responding to a separate question from Bhim Singh on the use of “fake Aadhaar cards”, the MoS said, “Any instance of Aadhaar misuse is reported to law enforcement agencies for investigation and further action. Details of crimes, if any, using fake Aadhar are available with respective state governments.”

Elaborating on the steps taken to strengthen the Aadhaar verification system, Prasada said offline verification can be done by scanning of QR code printed on the Aadhaar letter, eAadhaar, or Aadhaar PVC Card using the UIDAI “Aadhaar QR Scanner” app or the “mAadhaar” app, available on both Google Play Store and iOS App Store.”

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Online authentication can be done through biometric methods such as fingerprint, iris, facial authentication, as well as One Time Password (OTP) authentication, he said.

The MoS said stakeholder advisories are also issued advising them not to accept Aadhaar numbers in physical or electronic form, without authentication.

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