Face-based Aadhaar authentication must for medical college staff

CHENNAI: Faculty members of medical colleges across the country will soon use mobile phones to mark attendance, as the National Medical Commission (NMC) has announced a transition to face-based Aadhaar authentication from May.
Currently, faculty members use Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS) with fingerprint scanners for logging entry and exit.
NMC, the regulatory body for medical education in India, stated in a public notice issued by its IT wing and signed by secretary Dr Raghav Langer that the face-based Aadhaar authentication utilising the Unique Identification Authority of India Registered Device (UIDAI RD) is already used in various govt offices through NIC. The move aims to adopt the latest technology and offer a more user-friendly attendance process. "From May 1, the current system of marking attendance using fingerprint authentication devices on the NMC AEBAS will be discontinued. Only face biometric authentication, through the mobile-based app or wall-mounted devices, will be permitted," the notice stated. Senior NMC officials said this new technology will reduce the possibility of attendance tampering.
To facilitate a smooth transition, the NMC has instructed medical colleges and universities to share the GPS coordinates of designated attendance marking points within their campuses, within a 100-metre radius, with the commission. The Directorate of Medical Education said the heads of institutions in govt hospitals will be sending details to the regulatory body along with contact details of a designated nodal officer by April 20.
Rajiv Gandhi Govt General Hospital dean Dr E Theranirajan said the govt will instruct faculty members to install the 'face-based Aadhaar authentication app' on their mobile phones. "The face authentication app will be activated from April 24. The NMC has advised institutions facing any technical difficulties to report them before April 30," he said.