Under the leadership of the new Modi government, India has launched a new program to use biometric technology to track government employee job attendance, and is going to post that information online, according to a Tech2 article by Nimish Sawant. Dubbed the Biometric Attendance System, or BAS, the initiative will see fingerprint- and iris-scanners installed at government facilities, with government staff required to sign up for the program in advance using their Aadhaar identity cards, and to check in via the biometric scanners upon arrival for government duties.
It’s a bold move to improve government transparency, led by a controversial Prime Minister. Despite concerns about his Hindu nationalism, Narendra Modi was elected to office earlier this year largely on the strength of his perceived economic expertise and a strong cult of personality, having run an effective, technology-advanced campaign that featured concerted social media efforts and even holographic public appearances.
The BAS initiative is part of Modi’s larger Digital India program, which aims to connect all Indian citizens to online government services via the new Aadhaar digital identity cards. So far, over 49,000 government employees have registered for the BAS program.
—
October 8, 2014 – by Alex Perala
Follow Us