NEW DELHI – The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has piloted the use of artificial intelligence-based facial recognition to verify candidates at examination centres, in what officials described as an effort to improve security and efficiency in the recruitment process.
The trial was conducted during the NDA & NA II and CDS II examinations held on 14 September, in collaboration with the National e-Governance Division (NeGD).
According to UPSC, the technology matched candidates’ faces with photographs submitted during registration, reducing average verification time to 8–10 seconds per person.
At selected centres in Gurugram, the pilot processed about 2,700 scans for 1,129 candidates across multiple sessions. UPSC said the system streamlined entry while adding another layer of security to prevent impersonation.
UPSC chairman Dr Ajay Kumar, said the experiment reflected the Commission’s intent to modernise recruitment practices.
“The Commission is committed to adopting cutting-edge technology to uphold the highest standards of fairness and transparency. This pilot with AI-based facial recognition is a significant step in our endeavour towards a smarter, secure and efficient exam process,” he said in a statement.
The initiative comes as examination bodies across India face scrutiny over security lapses, including leaks and impersonation cases, which have undermined trust in competitive exams.
Authorities have increasingly looked at digital tools such as biometric authentication and electronic surveillance to reduce irregularities.
While the pilot was limited in scope, UPSC officials said further evaluation will determine whether the technology can be scaled up for wider use in future examinations. The Commission did not specify a timeline for possible rollout.
Privacy advocates, however, have cautioned that the use of facial recognition requires clear safeguards to prevent misuse of biometric data, especially in the absence of a dedicated data protection law governing AI-enabled surveillance in examination settings.
