COMING SOON TO AADHAAR: FACIAL RECOGNITION FOR AUTHENTICATION

NEWDELHI: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) on Monday moved to enable facial recognition as an additional means of Aadhaar authentication.

It is to be used only in combination with existing options of biometric authentication such as fingerprint or iris scan.

The facility will be made available on registered devices from July 1.

The move is aimed at improving inclusion, particularly in ensuring that genuine beneficiaries are not denied benefits under various welfare programmes as their biometrics (fingerprints) no longer match with what is recorded on the central database of UIDAI.

“This facility is going to help in inclusive authentication of those who are not able to biometrically authenticate due to their worn out fingerprints, old age or hard work conditions,” a statement from UIDAI on Monday said. Arguing similarly, former UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani tweeted, “Authentication via facial photo matching builds on the principle of inclusion and delivers on the promise of evolving with the times!”

The facility will be available along with other existing means of authentication — fingerprint, iris or one-time password (OTP) on devices registered with the UIDAI.

At present, a person has the option to give his/her biometrics — either fingerprint or iris, along with their 12- digit identity number during authentication or e-KYC (know your customer) for accessing various benefits and services from service providers such as banks or telcos. Face authentication will now serve as an “additional option” for the users.

To facilitate this authentication service, UIDAI will work with biometric device providers to integrate face modality into the certified registered devices, it said.