COVID-19 vaccination | Aadhaar-based facial recognition to be used soon for authentication of beneficiaries

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The Aadhaar-based facial recognition would soon be used for authentication of beneficiaries at COVID-19 vaccination centres, National Health Authority (NHA) chief RS Sharma said on April 6.

The NHA, on its official Twitter handle, quoted a portion of Sharma's interview with a publication in which he claimed that the facial recognition technology would be rolled out at "all vaccination centres" in the near future.

"UIDAI's facial recognition algorithms will soon be rolled out at all vaccination centres. A pilot was launched in Jharkhand, there we have been conducting more than 1,000 authentications via facial recognition on a daily basis, says @rssharma3 (sic)," the NHA tweeted.

Sharma, while speaking to The Print, said the entire vaccination process would become "touchless" after the facial recognition for authentication is rolled out.

At present, the beneficiaries are required to touch the scanner for iris-based authentication and also submit their fingerprints. Experts claim that a chance of spreading infections exist due to scores of beneficiaries touching the same scanning machines.

Sharma, who is also the former chief of Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) -- the nodal Aadhaar body -- lauded the robustness of the technology used to build Aadhaar.

"Imagine a person who generated their Aadhaar card in 2011. Even after a decade, the software is able to recognise the face," he told the publication, adding that the pan-India usage of facial authentication at vaccination centres could begin after scaling the same up to 50,000 to 60,000 on pilot basis.