New Delhi

All candidates appearing in recruitment examinations conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) will now undergo face authentication at examination centres, officials said on Saturday.

According to a note uploaded on the Commission’s website, the move is aimed at further strengthening the integrity and security of the examination process.

“All candidates appearing in the UPSC examination will undergo face authentication at the venue,” the note said.

The UPSC conducts several recruitment examinations for government services, including the Civil Services Examination for selection to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS), among others.

The decision follows the successful implementation of a pilot project using artificial intelligence-enabled facial authentication technology. The pilot was conducted during the National Defence Academy (NDA) and Naval Academy (NA) II Examination, 2025, and the Combined Defence Services (CDS) II Examination, 2025, held on September 14 last year.

The pilot programme was carried out at select centres in Gurugram, where candidates’ facial images were digitally matched with photographs submitted during the online registration process.

According to UPSC Chairman Ajay Kumar, the system reduced the verification time to an average of 8–10 seconds per candidate, significantly streamlining entry procedures while adding an additional layer of security.

ALSO READ: Mahmud Akram: the boy who knows 400 languages

Officials said the rollout of face authentication across all UPSC examinations would help prevent impersonation and ensure a fair and transparent examination process.