UPSC to tighten exam security

On Saturday, the officials disclosed that the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has decided to introduce face authentication as a mandatory requirement for all aspirants taking the recruitment exams. 

According to the Commission, this decision is to ensure that the whole examination process is more valid and secure. A notice on the UPSC website stated that all the candidates would have to go through facial authentication during the event. 

The Civil Services Examination which is meant for selecting the officers for, Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS), and a number of other government authorities, is one of the most important recruitment tests that UPSC conducts.

The decision was made following a successful pilot project that tested an AI-based facial authentication system during the NDA and NA II Examination 2025 and the CDS II Examination 2025, which were held on September 14 last year. The project was done at select testing centers. 

The system electronically matched the pictures that were uploaded during the application process with the applicants’ pictures taken at the testing center. UPSC Chairman Ajay Kumar said that the system had a huge impact on efficiency and the duration of verification for each candidate was reduced to around 8 to 10 seconds. In addition, the system provided an extra protection layer against impersonation.