The central government on Monday announced that facial recognition systems will be installed at airports in Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Kolkata, Varanasi, and Vijayawada by March 2023.
Facial recognition is part of the government’s ‘Digi yatra’ initiative, which aims to provide passengers with a smooth experience at airports, said Minister of State for Civil Aviation VK Singh in the Lok Sabha.
The previously mentioned airports have completed preliminary testing of these systems, as well as registration for the ‘Day of Travel.’ He stated that the civil aviation security regulator, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), frequently reviews airport security provisions and improves them as needed by consulting with other agencies and shareholders.
Singh previously addressed the issue during the previous parliament session, which took place in December of last year, he said, “The Digi Yatra Central Ecosystem envisages assessments (by independent teams to assess he level of security and system resilience to protect PII) and periodic audits by government or regulatory bodies twice every year.”
The facial recognition system adheres to industry ISO standards, with best-in-class National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) listed algorithms that meet the government’s data privacy and data protection requirements.
The information provided by passengers will only be used for the stated purpose and will not be shared with any other external shareholders
