Aadhaar-Based Face Authentication Transactions Reaches All-Time High Of 10.6 Million In May

The Face authentication transactions are being utilised for various purposes, including accessing public distribution system (PDS) ration, government schemes, and verifying Aadhaar-enabled payments.

This marks the second consecutive month where the number of such transactions has surpassed 10 million, as per the ministry release. 

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Aadhaar-based face authentication transactions have touched an all-time high of 10.6 million in May since its launch in October 2021, the Ministry of Electronics and IT informed on Thursday. The Face authentication transactions are being utilised for various purposes, including accessing public distribution system (PDS) ration, government schemes, and verifying Aadhaar-enabled payments.

This marks the second consecutive month where the number of such transactions has surpassed 10 million, as per the ministry. 

"The number of face authentication transactions is on an upward trajectory and the monthly numbers clocked in May is an increase of 38 per cent, compared with such transactions reported in January 2023, indicative of its growing usage," it said. 

Developed in-house by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), the face authentication solution based on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning is currently being utilized by 47 entities, including state government departments, ministries in the central government, and some banks.

It is being used for various purposes, including registering beneficiaries for the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana, authenticating beneficiaries in the PM Kisan scheme, and enabling pensioners to generate digital life certificates from the comfort of their homes, the ministry said. 

"It’s being used for marking staff attendance at several government departments and for opening bank accounts at a few leading banks via their business correspondents," it added. 

The government of Andhra Pradesh is utilizing Aadhaar-based face authentication for the Jagananna Vidya Deevena Scheme and EBC Nestham scheme.

The ministry said that face authentication offers advantages such as ease of use, faster processing, and enhanced authentication success rates when combined with fingerprint and OTP authentication methods. It captures live images for authentication, ensuring safety against video replay attacks and fraudulent photo authentication attempts. Moreover, face authentication serves as a reliable alternative for individuals with fingerprint-related challenges, including senior citizens and those with manual work or health-related issues.

IT ministry also informed that the month of May also saw the UIDAI executing 14.86 million Aadhaar updates following requests from residents

"Aadhaar e-KYC service continues to play a key role in the banking and non-banking financial services sectors by providing transparent and improved customer experience and helping in ease of doing business. More than 254 million e-KYC transactions were carried out in May alone," the ministry said. 

By the end of May 2023, the cumulative number of Aadhaar e-KYC transactions has gone past 15.2 billion.

"Continued adoption of e-KYC is significantly reducing customer acquisition cost of entities like financial institutions, telecom service providers among others," the ministry said.