UPSC introduces facial authentication at exam venues; mandatory for all recruitment tests

NEW DELHI: All candidates appearing in recruitment examinations conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) will undergo face authentication at the venues, officials said on Saturday. They said it would further strengthen the integrity of the examination process. "All candidates appearing in the UPSC examination will undergo face authentication at the venue," read a note on the Commission's website.

The commission conducts various recruitment examinations for government jobs, including the civil services exam to select officers of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS), among others. The UPSC successfully conducted a pilot program to test an artificial intelligence-enabled facial authentication technology for quick and secure candidate verification during the NDA (National Defence Academy) and NA (Naval Academy) II Examination, 2025 and CDS (Combined Defence Services) II Examination, 2025, held on September 14, 2025.

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The pilot was carried out across select centres in Gurugram, where candidates' facial images were digitally matched with the photographs submitted in their registration forms. The new system reduced verification time to an average of just 8 to 10 seconds per candidate, significantly streamlining the entry process while adding an extra layer of security, UPSC chairman Ajay Kumar had said.