The Odisha government has mandated the use of biometric attendance systems across all revenue offices in the state. The directive, issued by the Revenue and Disaster Management Department, aims to improve employee punctuality, enhance service delivery, and increase overall accountability in government operations.
The order applies to all district, sub-divisional, and tehsil-level revenue offices. Officials have been instructed to install Aadhaar-enabled biometric devices to track staff attendance, recording both entry and exit times. The department’s Additional Secretary, Diganta Routray, OAS (SAG), signed the mandate and noted that implementation will be actively monitored.
Digitizing Attendance Across Government Offices
This move aligns with India’s broader efforts to digitize workforce oversight in the public sector. The central government reinstated biometric attendance in November 2021 following a pandemic-induced suspension, only to pause it again briefly in January 2022 amid renewed COVID-19 concerns. States and municipalities have since adopted their own protocols. In July 2025, the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram also made biometric attendance compulsory for its workforce.
Odisha’s latest directive reinforces the expectation that public employees adhere to fixed working hours. District Collectors will oversee the rollout within their jurisdictions and are required to submit regular reports on compliance and system effectiveness. The state government has indicated that employees who fail to comply with attendance protocols may face administrative consequences, although the specific language of the directive focuses on monitoring and monthly reporting.
Supporting Essential Public Services
The biometric attendance initiative covers key government offices responsible for services such as land records, mutations, caste and income certifications, and various citizen-facing administrative processes. By addressing irregularities in attendance, the system is expected to reduce service delays and promote better efficiency at the local level.
The Odisha government has also emphasized that this initiative is part of a larger modernization strategy to streamline governance and improve public service outcomes. The move builds on lessons from other jurisdictions and reflects a growing consensus among Indian states that biometric tracking can help strengthen transparency in government workforces.
Sources: Ommcom News
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By Cass Kennedy
