Aadhaar-linked biometric attendance for Central staff

System seeks to improve work ethics in departments

Seeking to ensure punctuality and better work ethics among government employees, the National Democratic Allia­nce (NDA) government has decided to instal Aadhaar-enabled biometric attendance systems (AEBAS) in all Central government offices.

The primary aim of the system is to check absenteeism, measure the time an employee spends in office, and the time he or she checks in and checks out at work, an official from the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) told Deccan Herald.

The government has fixed October as the deadline to instal the system in all its offices in the national capital. By end of this fiscal, the system should be in place in all its offices across the country, covering 30.98 lakh employees, the official said.

The DoPT has issued a circular to all the ministries, asking them to collect details of the employees, their ranks and contact details (email ID, residential address, telephone and personal mobile phone numbers).

The order is binding on all employees, including those in the armed forces.  Public sector undertakings have also been told to implement the system at the earliest.

To implement the system, all offices will have to instal fingerprint scanners with WiFi internet connection. The Departm­ent of Electronics and Infor­mation Technology (Deity) has installed the system in its headquarters, Electronics Niketan on Lodhi Road, while the Ministry for Urban Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation has started the process.

Eight such AEBAS systems have been installed at six gates of Nirman Bhawan, which houses the Urban Development Ministry. The Unique Identification Authority of India has provided the machines, the software and the authentication devices for the wall-mounted systems, said a senior Urban Development Ministry official.

Employees have to use last four digits of their respective “Aadhaar” numbers as “Personal Identity Number”, besides using their finger for authentication.

The DoPT has asked the ministries and departments to hold special Aadhaar registration camps in their office to help employees get their unique ID numbers at the earliest. 

Besides, the government has also asked the departments to procure required equipment by placing online tenders. Cabinet Secretary Ajit Seth has already instructed the secretaries to crack down on government employees found to be “habitually late” in reaching office.