All candidates appearing for recruitment examinations conducted by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) will now be required to undergo mandatory facial authentication at examination centres, officials confirmed on Saturday.

The Commission stated that the measure is intended to further enhance the integrity and security of the examination process. As per a notification published on the UPSC website, facial authentication will be compulsory for every candidate at the exam venue.

UPSC conducts several high-profile recruitment examinations for central government services, including the Civil Services Examination, which selects officers for the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Indian Police Service (IPS), among others.

The decision comes after the successful rollout of a pilot project that tested an artificial intelligence–based facial authentication system during the NDA and NA II Examination 2025 and the CDS II Examination 2025, held on September 14 last year. The pilot was implemented at select examination centres in Gurugram.

Under the new system, facial images captured at examination centres are digitally matched with the photographs submitted by candidates during the application process. UPSC Chairman Ajay Kumar noted that the technology significantly improved operational efficiency, reducing verification time to approximately 8–10 seconds per candidate, while also adding an extra layer of security to prevent impersonation.