Facial Recognition for Aadhaar Authentication

Why in news?

UIDAI has announced a phased rollout of face recognition feature as an additional mode of authentication.

What is the decision?

• The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has made facial scanning and recognition for Aadhaar-based authentication mandatory.
• This will accompany the fingerprint- and iris-based scanning procedures already in place.
• This added feature is being piloted for just telecom subscriptions at the moment.
• A minimum of 10% of each company’s monthly authentication transactions have to be achieved through facial recognition.
• The phased rollout will allow UIDAI and industry to observe and assess any possible alterations needed.
• These will be incorporated before it is available for services in other sectors.

What are the benefits?

• The feature makes Aadhaar more inclusive, with fine-tuning detection of identity-faking.
• Those who are unable to provide a clean fingerprint due to the nature of their work will get benefitted.
• Usually, a labourer is unable to provide fingerprint due to clay and micro-grit getting embedded in the lines of the fingers.
• Many kinds of work also cause an erasure of finger-prints.
• This applies to people in brick-laying to those working with corrosive chemicals such as lime, in the absence of protective gear.
• Even constant paper-handling could erase finger-prints either temporarily or permanently.
• So those who are deprived of services and government benefits because of this systemic issue will now be benefitted.
• Also, the feature will help people affected by certain disabilities and diseases.
• Facial recognition will also serve as a safeguard to prevent scams such as those involving forging finger-print records.

Source: Financial Express