The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has implemented a face authentication protocol aimed at improving the integrity of its civil services examinations and addressing the issue of impersonation. This new system was successfully employed during the Civil Services and Indian Forest Service (Preliminary) Examination held in 2026.

This protocol ensures that the candidate who appears for the exam matches the photograph submitted during the application process. By leveraging mobile technology, the UPSC conducted real-time live authentication at examination centres, thereby enhancing identification accuracy and reducing potential malpractice.

During the recent Civil Services (Preliminary) examinations, the UPSC conducted the face authentication operation across an extensive network of 2,072 examination venues throughout India. Technical support for this initiative was provided by the National e-Governance Division (NeGD) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

Process And Training of Invigilators

A comprehensive business process has been established by the UPSC, mandating that each candidate undergoes face authentication before being granted entry to the examination hall. Detailed Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) have been distributed to all states and districts to ensure consistent implementation at every venue.

To facilitate this new protocol, multiple training sessions were organised for invigilators. Notably, the solution is designed to require no costly hardware investment. The authentication system is compatible with any Android smartphone, allowing invigilators to utilise their personal devices, which significantly reduces logistical challenges and hardware expenses.

The application demonstrated impressive efficiency, with typical face authentication taking only six to eight seconds, thus ensuring a smooth examination entry process with minimal queuing. Moreover, the application was robust enough to support over 7,000 invigilators concurrently. During peak entry periods, it processed approximately 12,000 authentications every minute.

Impact on Examination Integrity

In his comments, Ajay Kumar praised the collaborative efforts of the UPSC, NeGD, and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) teams for successfully implementing this scalable solution, which was utilised by around 5.5 lakh candidates across more than 2,000 venues.

The successful rollout of real-time face authentication marks a substantial advancement in securing the integrity of the civil services examination process. This initiative underscores the UPSC’s ongoing commitment to promoting transparency, fairness, and the adoption of innovative technologies in public examinations.

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