The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has taken a significant step towards ensuring the integrity of its examinations by implementing Aadhaar authentication for candidate registration and exam appearances. This move comes in response to a growing concern about forgery and malpractice in competitive exams.
In a notification, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) stated that the UPSC is now authorized to perform Aadhaar authentication on a voluntary basis. Candidates will have the option to use the ‘Yes/No’ or ‘e-KYC’ authentication facilities for verifying their identity during registration on the ‘One Time Registration’ portal and at various stages of the examination process.
This new measure is directly linked to the recent probe against Puja Khedkar, a former IAS probationer. Khedkar has been accused of multiple instances of cheating, including wrongly availing the OBC and disability quota, and exceeding the permissible number of attempts for the Civil Services Exam (CSE).
According to reports, Khedkar initially took the exam under the name ‘Puja Diliprao Khedkar’ until 2020-21. However, in 2021-22, she allegedly made two additional attempts using the name ‘Puja Manorama Dilip Khedkar’, exceeding the allowed attempt limit. While Khedkar has denied the charges, the UPSC, after a thorough investigation, found her guilty of violating the CSE-2022 Rules.
The UPSC has canceled Khedkar’s provisional candidature and barred her from participating in any future examinations or selections. This case, the commission highlighted, is unique in the last 15 years, as the candidate managed to evade detection due to her manipulation of her name and parents’ names.
The introduction of Aadhaar authentication for UPSC exams signifies a proactive approach to combatting exam malpractice and ensuring fair play for all candidates. By leveraging the robust verification system of Aadhaar, the UPSC aims to deter fraudulent activities and foster a more secure and transparent examination process.
