The Aadhaar regulatory body UIDAI's (Unique Identification Authority of India) CEO in an interview with the Times of India has confirmed that it is seeking to mandate facial recognition as a new measure for any authentication process that requires Aadhaar.

On-the-spot live pictures will become an additional feature of the usual authentication process that identifies an individual based on iris and fingerprint scans. Common places where Aadhaar authentication is required is at the issue of mobile SIM, opening a bank account, public distribution systems and to provide office attendance at government offices. The feature will be introduced in a phased manner. Failure to follow the process will be a criminal offence by these authentication agencies.

The new measure is being introduced to make it more inclusive for individuals whose fingerprints have been worn out due to old age or from doing manual labour. The UIDAI had informed the authentication agencies of the implementation of the feature with official circulars sent on 19 June and 17 August. Telecom operators have been directed to perform at least 10 percent of their total monthly authentication transactions using facial recognition from 15 September.