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3w ago

India to Require Facial Recognition for Anganwadi Rations and Attendance

Defending the measure as a fraud deterrent, the government faces criticism that scans will shut out the poorest through bias or technical glitches

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Overview

  • The Ministry of Women and Child Development’s May 30 order makes facial recognition mandatory for take-home ration distribution and child attendance in Anganwadi centres from July 1, with new beneficiary registration added on August 1.
  • Union Minister Annapurna Devi asserts that integrating scans into the Poshan Tracker will boost transparency and expand access to welfare benefits.
  • Congress leader Jairam Ramesh warns that earlier biometric systems cut maternal scheme participants from 96 lakh to 27 lakh and predicts facial scans will exclude pregnant women and marginalized groups.
  • Experts and activists cite global studies showing facial recognition bias against darker skin tones, women and non-dominant ethnicities and raise privacy and data security concerns.
  • Anganwadi workers report that the Poshan Tracker app suffers from poor connectivity and a non-user-friendly interface, heightening fears that technical failures could deny rations to eligible beneficiaries.