Bengaluru, April 2026: The Government of Karnataka is set to roll out an AI-based selfie attendance system for its employees starting May 1, replacing the existing biometric mechanism in a bid to enhance transparency and efficiency.
Selfie-Based Attendance System
Under the new system, employees will be required to:
Upload a selfie through a dedicated mobile application to mark attendance
Use AI-powered facial recognition for identity verification
Enable geo-tagging to confirm presence at the designated workplace
Attendance will only be registered if both identity and location are verified, minimizing chances of proxy attendance.
Large-Scale Implementation
The initiative will cover a vast workforce, including:
More than 5 lakh government employees
Around 15 lakh contractual and outsourced staff
Officials say this makes it one of the largest deployments of AI in workforce attendance management in the country.
Reason for Transition
The government has decided to phase out biometric attendance systems due to:
Frequent technical and maintenance issues
Instances of misuse and proxy attendance
Limitations in scaling across departments
The new system is expected to offer greater accuracy, speed, and reliability.
Objectives of the Move
The key goals of the initiative include:
Strengthening employee accountability
Ensuring physical presence at workplaces
Improving administrative monitoring
Enhancing overall governance efficiency
Concerns and Challenges
The rollout has also raised some concerns:
Privacy issues related to facial recognition
Dependence on smartphones and stable internet connectivity
Potential technical glitches during initial implementation
Way Forward
The state government is expected to:
Issue detailed operational guidelines
Provide training to employees
Closely monitor implementation and address issues post-launch
