MP News: To Check Impersonation, Employee Selection Board Plans To Use Face Recognition Technology

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): In a bid to check impersonation in entrance and recruitment examinations, the Employee Selection Board (ESB) is considering adopting face recognition technology across all its exams. For the first time, the board deployed face recognition during the police recruitment examination, which was held on Monday (December 15).

During the exam, 30% of candidates appearing for the written test were randomly subjected to face recognition verification before being allowed to enter the examination hall. Around 9.50 lakh candidates had applied for the police recruitment exam, and of them nearly 6.50 lakh appeared.

The board will next deploy face recognition technology in the Subedar (Stenographer) and Assistant Sub-Inspector Recruitment Test–2025, scheduled to begin on Wednesday. About 40,000 candidates have applied for this exam.

Similarly, the Subedar and Sub-Inspector Recruitment Test–2025 will be conducted from January 16, 2026. In these exams, 30% of candidates will undergo face recognition verification on a random basis..

PHQ insisted on securing exams

In the last police recruitment exam, around 100 candidates had used impersonators to appear in the exam on their behalf. These impersonators had changed their thumb biometrics and appeared for the exam. The fraud came to light during the joining process, following which FIRs were registered against those involved. To check such impersonation at the initial stage, PHQ has asked the ESB officials to deploy more secure verification system.

Aadhaar biometrics, face recognition implemented

The Aadhaar card incorporates biometric data, fingerprints and iris scans, captured during enrolment. The UIDAI also provides face authentication, a process through which an Aadhaar holder’s identity is verified by matching the live facial scan with the image captured at the time of enrolment. In the recent police recruitment exam, ESB used iris scan and face recognition technology for candidate verification.

Proposal to implement in all exams

ESB Director Sanket Malviya told Free Press that face recognition technology has currently been used in the police constable recruitment exam, but a proposal is pending to make it mandatory for all examinations conducted by the board. He added that this would be a major step towards preventing impersonation in recruitment and entrance examinations.