The UIDAI is set to roll out facial authentication by July 1 this year to help individuals facing difficulty in using other biometric authentication like fingerprint and iris.

“This facility is going to help in inclusive authentication of those who are not able to biometrically authenticate due to their worn out fingerprints, old age or hard work conditions,” the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) said in a statement.

The service, however, will only be available in a “fusion mode” which means that it will be used along with other existing means of authentication.

“The face authentication provides an additional option for all residents to have inclusive authentication. It shall be allowed only in fusion mode along with one more authentication factor combined with either fingerprint or iris or OTP to be able to successfully authenticate an Aadhaar number holder,” UIDAI said.

Currently, UIDAI allows only two modes of biometric authentication: fingerprint authentication and iris authentication. The new method will also be allowed “on need basis”.

Last week, the UIDAI added a new layer of security mechanism to prevent misuse of Aadhaar numbers and secure databases against leakages. It allowed individuals to create and use a virtual ID to avoid sharing their unique identification numbers when using government and other services.

From March 1, Aadhaar card holders will have the option of generating a 16-digit virtual ID which is linked to their Aadhaar number.