New Delhi, March 26: The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is all set to enable Aadhaar authentication using face recognition from July 1 onwards. With the latest developement,  Aadhaar will include face recognition alongside iris or fingerprint scan as a means of verifying users. This move would help those who face issues in biometric authentication or have worn-out fingerprints. It must be noted that this feature will be used only in “fusion mode”, along with one more existing mode of authentication such as fingerprint, iris or one-time password (OTP).

As many as 119 crore Aadhaar have been issued so far, and it is required as an identity proof of residents by various government and non-government entities. To enable easy authentication of Aadhaar, the UIDAI has decided to introduce another landmark technology for identification- the face authentication feature to safeguard privacy.

Currently, there are in all two modes of biometric authentication, fingerprint authentication, and iris authentication.  The new feature will be enabled by July to help people facing difficulty in biometric authentication due to old age, hardwork or worn-out fingerprints, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) said in a statement.

UIDAI said in a statement that the decision has been taken so that people facing difficulty in other biometric authentication (fingerprint and Iris) could easily authenticate. The authority said that some people are not able to biometrically authenticate due to their worn-out fingerprints, old age or hard-working conditions. “The face authentication provides additional option for all residents to have inclusive authentication,” it said.

Here’s how to do it:

  1. Users can visit the official website of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) or open its app, and enter their respective Aadhaar number correctly.

  2. It must be noted that users must have a registered mobile number with UIDAI to avail this service.

  3. Once the system is enabled, it will accept a biometric request and also allow a physical lock blocking an unauthorized access

  4. The user can unlock for their choice of transactions and then lock it back again.

  5. Once the biometric locking system is enabled, it remains locked till you choose to unlock it or disable the locking system, confirmed the official.

The 12-digit identifier – Aadhaar, is being used for identity authentication across banks, telecom companies, public distribution system, income tax amongst others. The extent of Aadhaar usage can well be gauged from the fact that an average of 4 crore authentications are being done on a daily basis.

The UIDAI said that face authentication offers an additional option for all residents to have "inclusive authentication", citing the difficulties faced by some residents in using the existing biometric verification mode.  The Aadhaar issuing body said that the face authentication provides an additional option for all residents to have inclusive authentication. It shall be allowed only in fusion mode along with one more authentication factor combined with either fingerprint or iris or OTP to be able to successfully authenticate an Aadhaar number holder.

As per reports by PTI, the Aadhaar issuing body will work with biometric device providers to integrate face modality into the registered devices to facilitate the new authentication service. Reports further state that it will also line up Software Development Kits that will have the ability to capture face image, check liveness, and create digitally signed and encrypted authentication input.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Mar 26, 2018 04:28 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).