Jaipur/Ajmer: Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) is set to bolster the verification process for candidates through a biometric system, starting with interviews before extending this method to written exams.
The initiative received the green light from state govt's department of personal (DoP) on Wednesday, following approval from the Union govt. RPSC secretary Ram Niwas Mehta on Thursday said a gazette notification was issued by DoP on Nov 27, paving way for this technological advancement.
In May, RPSC requested state govt to facilitate use of biometric data under the Aadhaar Act 2016, which was subsequently approved by the Union govt in Sept. "In Sept, the ministry of electronics and information technology granted permission to RPSC to utilise Aadhaar information for biometric verification," Mehta said.
The primary objective of implementing biometric verification is to identify candidates who may be submitting multiple applications for the same exam. The system will utilise Aadhaar card information to detect any discrepancies and identify dummy candidates attempting to take exams on behalf of others.
The biometric verification will be rolled out in several phases. The first phase involves verifying online applications to ensure the applicant's identity matches their Aadhaar card details. The second phase will focus on candidate verification during interviews and counselling sessions. The third phase will require candidates to present original documents for verification. Finally, during written examinations, candidates will undergo biometric checks where their thumb impressions will be matched against those registered in their Aadhaar profiles.
The initiative comes in response to increasing concerns over the prevalence of dummy candidates in various examinations. The RPSC has recognised the need for robust measures to address this issue.