UPSC Deploys Face Authentication Across Civil Services Prelims to Curb Impersonation
In-house technology verifies candidate identity in real time at more than 2,000 examination venues nationwide
More than 7,000 invigilators used the application simultaneously during the examination, while the platform processed nearly 12,000 authentications per minute during peak entry periods.
New Delhi: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has successfully implemented a real-time face authentication system during the Civil Services and Indian Forest Service (Preliminary) Examination, 2026, marking a major step towards strengthening examination integrity and preventing impersonation.
The technology was deployed across all 2,072 examination venues nationwide and enabled live verification of candidates through a mobile-phone-based authentication process conducted by invigilators.
Developed by UPSC with technical support from the National e-Governance Division (NeGD) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the system verifies whether the candidate appearing for the examination is the same individual whose photograph was uploaded during the application process.
According to UPSC, every candidate was required to undergo face authentication before being allowed entry into the examination hall. The Commission developed a detailed business process and standard operating procedure (SOP), which was shared with state governments, district administrations and examination centres across the country.
To ensure smooth implementation, multiple rounds of training were conducted for invigilators.
A key feature of the solution is its low-cost deployment model. The application works on standard Android smartphones, allowing invigilators to use their own mobile devices without requiring specialised hardware or additional infrastructure.
The authentication process was completed within six to eight seconds per candidate, enabling smooth entry and preventing long queues at examination centres.
The system also demonstrated significant scalability. More than 7,000 invigilators used the application simultaneously during the examination, while the platform processed nearly 12,000 authentications per minute during peak entry periods.
UPSC chairman Ajay Kumar described the initiative as a significant step towards ensuring impersonation-free examinations.
“This is a new step taken by UPSC to ensure impersonation-free exams. The technology has been developed in-house with support from NeGD. The challenge was not only developing the solution but also deploying it at scale, training the existing invigilation workforce and accomplishing this within a short time frame,” he said.
Kumar said UPSC, NeGD and MeitY teams worked together to successfully implement the system for nearly 5.5 lakh candidates appearing across more than 2,000 examination venues.
The successful rollout of real-time face authentication reflects UPSC’s continuing efforts to enhance transparency, fairness and the use of technology in public examinations while safeguarding the credibility of one of India’s most competitive recruitment processes.
