Congress Criticizes Mandatory Face Recognition for Anganwadi Benefits

New Delhi, Jun 23 (PTI) The Congress party criticized the Modi government on Monday for mandating face recognition authentication for anganwadi beneficiaries, accusing it of systematically using technology to exclude vulnerable groups from welfare programs. Digital India should empower, not marginalize, and shouldn't be just an "Inclusion by Preaching, Exclusion in Practice" (PIPE) dream, said the opposition party.

The Women and Child Development Ministry has instructed states and Union territories to implement face recognition for distributing take-home rations and monitoring child attendance at anganwadi centers.

A letter from the ministry last month mentioned the integration of face recognition within beneficiary profiles on the Poshan tracker app, where beneficiaries can also self-register through the app for e-KYC and photo capture.

Reacting to this move, Congress general secretary in-charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, accused the government of using technology to exclude those most in need from social welfare programs. "Before this, Aadhaar was used to block crores of workers from accessing MGNREGA. Acid attack survivors had to fight in court for Aadhaar enrolment. Adivasis are still losing rations due to tech glitches," he stated on X. "Now, pregnant women face the barrier of facial recognition technology (FRT) for their NFSA entitlements!"

Ramesh highlighted global evidence suggesting FRT discriminates based on class and skin color. This follows the failure of other technologies such as the Aadhaar-based Payment System (ABPS) and the National Mobile Monitoring System (NMMS), he claimed.

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth, and Sports, in its 365th Report, noted that the introduction of ABPS in the Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana affected the eligibility of beneficiaries, such as pregnant and lactating women, he pointed out. According to him, the number of beneficiaries receiving payments fell from 96 lakh women in the FY19-20 to 27 lakh in FY23-24.

The Modi government, despite this, brings in another discriminatory technology, Ramesh said. "Digital India must enable, not disempower. It should not remain a Preach Inclusion Practice Exclusion (PIPE) dream," he asserted.

From July 1, recording attendance and hot cooked meal consumption for children aged 3-6 at anganwadi centers will become mandatory alongside face recognition for take-home rations. From August 1, face recognition will be necessary for new beneficiary registration. Pregnant women, lactating mothers, and adolescent girls will need e-KYC and facial recognition via Aadhaar, while children aged 0-6 will require an Aadhaar number from a parent or guardian. For children 3-6 years old, a photo with liveliness detection will be mandatory, which will be used during service delivery.

Children transitioning from the 0-3 age group to the older one must update their photos. The ministry has requested state officials and field workers to assist with beneficiary onboarding and encourage updating Aadhaar-linked mobile numbers and photos for seamless authentication.

The directive aligns with the ministry's previous communications on phased implementation of the face authentication module under the POSHAN tracker system, dated November 12, 2024, and March 5, 2025.

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