Mounting another level of identification, the government has decided to make biometric system compulsory for Maharashtra public service commission (MPSC) candidates. According to a recent circular, the candidates preparing to sit for the MPSC examinations will have to provide biometric identification to be eligible to sit for the test. The decision was taken to prevent cases of cheating and malpractices during the examination.
Earlier, candidates had to produce at least two original ID proofs along with five photocopies of either passport, PAN card, driving licence or Aadhaar card. Now, the authentication procedure will be based on Aadhaar-based biometrics, by recording the thumb or finger impressions of candidates, barcodes or QR codes and photographs using the biometric machines.
The steps were taken by the commission to crackdown the cases of dummy candidates that surfaced in March this year.
“The commission had already instructed the candidates to register their respective Aadhaar numbers a few months back. The candidates will be allowed to sit for the exams only if all their credentials are verified and found to be original, including their biometric, which will be taken during the exams at each and every sub-centre. This level of authentication is to ensure that no candidate up for the government positions, make it to that through false tampering and malpractices. The exam should be fair at all levels and these measures are taken to make sure of that,” said Sunil Awatade, deputy secretary with the MPSC.