After the fake certificate scandal, now UPSC will verify the Aadhaar of the candidates

UPSC News: On Wednesday (28 August), the Central Government has allowed the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) to do Aadhaar authentication of the candidates appearing for the exam. In simple words, UPSC will now verify the Aadhaar of the candidates appearing for the exam, so that it can be known that the candidate who has come to give the paper is not a fake person. The rule of Aadhaar verification will be applicable on 14 examinations including the Civil Services Examination conducted by UPSC.

In fact, last month UPSC had issued a tender, in which bids were sought from companies doing authentication through Aadhaar, using technology to recognize the face of the candidate, scanning the QR code of e-admit cards and using AI based live CCTV cameras. This step has been taken by the government when a controversy has arisen regarding IAS trainee Pooja Khedkar. She had given the 2022 Civil Service Exam through fake certificates.

How will the verification of UPSC candidates be done?

The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) on Wednesday said, “The Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Department of Personnel and Training, after approval from the Central Government, hereby notifies that the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is permitted to conduct Aadhaar verification for verifying the identity of candidates at the time of registration on the ‘One Time Registration’ portal. The verification will be done at all levels of the examination through Yes/No or e-KYC authentication facility.”

The tender issued by the government said, “In its endeavour to achieve these objectives, the UPSC aims to use the latest digital technology to match and cross-check the biometric details of the candidates and to prevent any malpractices such as cheating, fraud, wrongful substitution and providing fake persons in the examination.”

Also read: ‘UPSC has no power to take action against me’, former IAS Pooja Khedkar said in HC