The number of face authentication transactions jumped by a whopping 692% from 4.67 lakh in September 2022 to over 37 lakh in October 2022, according to the UIDAI's (Unique Identification Authority of India) Monthly Progress and Achievement Report, as per a press release. What are these face authentication transactions? According to UIDAI's website, face authentication "is a process by which an Aadhaar number holder's identity can be verified. A successful face authentication confirms that your physical face which is being scanned for verification matches the one which was captured at the time of enrolment when your Aadhaar number was generated. A successful face authentication confirms that you are who you claim to be. What services is Aadhaar-based face recognition used for? Although we do not have the list of all services for which such face authentication is being used, the government press release said, "Face authentication is facilitating pensioners to generate digital life certificate at home by using their mobile phones without visiting banks or common service centers, thus promoting ease of living of the senior citizens". Some other services for which Aadhaar is used Aaddhaar is used for things like e-KYC (Electronic Know-Your-Customer), AePS (Aadhaar-enabled Payment Systems) for last-mile banking, Directed Benefit Transfer and more. As many as 1,100 welfare schemes run by the State and the Centre have been notified to use Aadhaar. Why it matters: While the use of Aadhaar for availing essential services is rising, as indicated by the UIDAI report, it is important to note…
