The National Medical Commission (NMC) has announced a shift in its attendance system for all medical colleges and institutions. Effective May 1, 2025, the NMC AEBAS (Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System) will exclusively utilize face-based Aadhaar authentication for marking attendance, discontinuing the use of fingerprint authentication devices. This public notice was issued on April 16, 2025.
This transition to face-based Aadhaar authentication aims to leverage the latest technology and provide a more user-friendly attendance process for faculty members. The NMC highlighted that this technology, utilizing UIDAI RD (Registered Device), is already successfully implemented in various government offices through NIC (National Informatics Centre).
To ensure a smooth transition to the new system, all medical colleges and institutions are required to follow these steps:
- Colleges must share the GPS coordinates of designated attendance marking points within their campuses with the NMC. Attendance will be permissible within a 100-meter radius of these specified locations via a mobile application. The required format for sharing GPS locations is provided in Annexure-I of the official notice.
- This GPS location information, bearing the signature and stamp of the Dean/Principal, must be emailed to [email address removed] by April 20, 2025. The subject line of the email should follow the format: “Face AEBAS – [Name of College] – [Name of City]”.
- The email must also include the contact details of the designated Nodal Officer from the college who will oversee the implementation.
- All faculty members will be required to install the FACE-based Aadhaar Authentication App on their mobile phones. The app is available on both the Android Play Store and the Apple App Store. A user manual for app installation is enclosed as Annexure-II of the official notice.
The FACE Authentication App will be activated starting April 24, 2025. Any college or institution encountering difficulties during the installation or initial usage phase is urged to bring it to the notice of the technical team before April 30, 2025.
From May 1, 2025 onwards, the marking of attendance on the NMC AEBAS using fingerprint authentication devices will be completely discontinued. Only face biometric authentication, through the mobile-based app and/or wall-mounted devices, will be permitted on the NMC AEBAS.
The NMC has directed the Deans/Principals of all medical colleges and institutions to take necessary action to ensure the installation of the face authentication application on the mobile phones of all faculty members within their respective institutions. This proactive step is crucial for the successful implementation of the new attendance system.
