After allowing the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to use Aadhaar-based authentication to verify candidates’ identity on a voluntary basis, the Centre has now given the green light to the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) to verify candidates similarly. This can be done both at the time of registration and during various stages of examinations and recruitment.

Last month, the government issued a notification allowing the UPSC to carry out similar verification exercises with applicants for different job vacancies.

In a notification, the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT) said that the SSC is “allowed to perform Aadhaar authentication, on a voluntary basis, for establishing the identity of candidates at the time of their registration on the "One Time Registration" portal and at various stages of examination/recruitment tests conducted by the commission, using a Yes/No or/and e-KYC authentication facility”.

It further said that the SSC “shall adhere to all relevant provisions of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016” and also “the rules and regulations made thereunder, and directions issued by the Unique Identification Authority of India”.

The SSC is one of the government’s largest recruitment agencies. Its mandate is to conduct examinations for the selection and recruitment of non-gazetted personnel in various central ministries and departments.

Aadhar Based Authentication

The DoPT had, on August 28, issued an identical notification, a first for any recruitment agency, to approve Aadhaar-based authentication to verify candidates by the UPSC.

Aadhaar is a 12-digit number issued by the UIDAI to all eligible residents of India based on biometric and demographic data.

These notifications are being seen as an attempt by the government to ensure that candidates do not fake their identity or use other fraudulent means to take recruitment examinations conducted both by the SSC and the UPSC beyond their eligibility, as lakhs of candidates appear in such recruitment examinations conducted across the country by the two bodies.

The Union government had on September 6, discharged Puja Khedkar from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) with immediate effect, a month after the UPSC cancelled her selection. She is facing a probe by the Delhi Police for fraudulently availing attempts in the civil services examination beyond her eligibility by allegedly faking certain certificates relating to income, caste, and disability.

Khedkar has been accused of cheating and wrongly availing Other Backward Classes (OBC) and disability quota benefits to ensure her selection in the government service. But so far, she has denied all allegations.

Facial Recognition, CCTV Surveillance

Meanwhile, in June, the UPSC also decided to use facial recognition and artificial intelligence-based CCTV surveillance systems to prevent cheating and impersonation in its various tests.

Through a tender document, it had invited bids from experienced public sector undertakings to devise two tech solutions—“Aadhaar-based fingerprint authentication (else digital fingerprint capturing) and facial recognition of candidates and QR code scanning of e-admit cards” and “Live AI-based CCTV surveillance service” — to be used during the examination process.

The UPSC conducts 14 major examinations annually, including the civil services examination to select officers of the IAS, Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS), and other all-India and central services, besides a number of recruitment tests and interviews every year for induction to Group ‘A’ and Group ‘B’ posts of the central government.