UPSC rolls out real-time face authentication during civil services examination

In a major technological leap to enhance examination integrity, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) successfully implemented live face authentication during the Civil Services and Indian Forest Service (Preliminary) Examination 2026.

The system, developed in-house with technical support from the National e-Governance Division (NeGD) under the Ministry of Electronics and IT, verified candidates’ identities by matching them with photographs uploaded in their application forms. 

Invigilators conducted real-time authentication using their own Android smartphones at all 2,072 examination centres across the country, eliminating the need for expensive hardware.The process, which takes just 6 to 8 seconds per candidate, ensured smooth entry without queues. 

Over 7,000 invigilators handled peak loads of around 12,000 authentications per minute for nearly 5.5 lakh candidates. 

UPSC prepared a detailed Standard Operating Procedure and conducted multiple training sessions for seamless implementation.Speaking on the initiative, UPSC Chairman Dr. Ajay Kumar said, 

“This is a new step taken by UPSC to ensure impersonation-free examinations. The teams from UPSC, NeGD and MeitY have done an excellent job in successfully developing and implementing this solution on such a large scale.”