To curb cheating and fraud, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) will verify the identity of candidates appearing for the civil services exam (CSE) and other exams through Aadhaar-based authentication on a voluntary. This will be done both at the time of registration and during various stages of examinations and recruitment. The Centre has also given its nod to the commission for the same.
The move comes days after the commission cancelled the provisional candidature of ex-trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar. It also debarred her from all future examinations for fraudulently availing attempts in the civil services examination beyond eligibility. Khedkar has also been accused of misusing disability and Other Backward Classes or OBC (non-creamy layer) quotas, among others.
UPSC conducts 14 major exams annually, including the civil services examination to select officers of IAS, IFS and IPS, besides a number of recruitment tests and interviews every year for induction to Group 'A' and Group 'B' posts of the central government.
In June, the UPSC also decided to use facial recognition and artificial intelligence-based CCTV surveillance systems to prevent cheating and impersonation in its various tests. Through a tender document, it invited bids from experienced public sector undertakings to devise two tech solutions -- "Aadhaar-based fingerprint authentication (else digital fingerprint capturing) and facial recognition of candidates and QR code scanning of e-admit cards" and "Live AI-based CCTV surveillance service" -- to be used during the examination process.
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In July this year, UPSC had initiated a series of actions against Khedkar, including the registration of a forgery case against her for availing attempts in the civil services exam by faking identity. Subsequently, the Delhi Police registered a case and started its probe.
(With inputs from PTI)
