A man goes through the process of eye scanning for Aadhaar at a registration centre in New Delhi. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Aadhaar face authentication would help competitive examinations enhance “transparency, build trust among aspirants and strengthen administrative accountability,” the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology told Parliament on Wednesday (August 6, 2025).In a written response to a question endorsed by eight Lok Sabha MPs, the IT Ministry pointed out that two examination bodies — the Staff Selection Commission and the Railway Recruitment Board — are already authorised to use Aadhaar facial recognition to authenticate examinees.Using the “liveness” factor with basic phone cameras, Aadhaar face authentication matches people with the photo they took when enrolling for Aadhaar, and the feature has seen increased interest among government bodies. For instance, the Employment Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) said in a circular last month that Universal Account Numbers, the main identifying number for salaried employees and retirees with PF accounts, would only be generated henceforth with this feature.The feature has also seen increased interest due to Aadhaar authentication failures due to worn out biometrics among labourers and elderly people. In a separate response on Wednesday to DMK MP A. Raja, the IT Ministry said that the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is undertaking “[p]romotion of face and iris authentication for residents with worn fingerprints” to cater to people who can’t use their fingerprints.The India Post Payments Bank, under the Ministry of Communications’ Department of Posts, also introduced Aadhaar face authentication this month. The feature “is aligned with Digital India and Financial Inclusion missions of the Government of India,” IPPB said, adding that its use empowers “values of equity, access, and empowerment”. Aadhaar authentication in general — not just facial recognition authentication — requires approval from the IT Ministry. In the Aadhaar Authentication for Good Governance (Social Welfare, Innovation, Knowledge) Amendment Rules, 2025 notified in January, the IT Ministry laid out a framework where private entities as well as government organisations could submit authentication proposals to the IT Ministry, which would have them vetted by UIDAI.The IT Ministry has set up a Social Welfare, Innovation, Knowledge (SWIK) portal where such proposals can be submitted. A review of the portal shows that up to half a dozen (or as little as one or two) proposals a month are being approved every month.On Monday (August 5, 2025), the Sports Authority of India was authorised to use Aadhaar authentication to “verify the identity of athletes, coaches, and staff during registration, attendance marking, and DBT processing under schemes like Khelo India, Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS), and National Centres of Excellence (NCOEs)”. 312 Union and State government organisations have received approvals under SWIK rules since 2020. Published - August 06, 2025 02:13 pm IST
