India plans to build the world's largest facial recognition system, similar to the one being developed in China . The Indian government has extended the deadline to get more bids from companies that will help create a central repository of surveillance data.
Bidding will begin next month and the company selected will be responsible for equipping India's police force with aggregated data linked to citizens' passports, fingerprints and other identification records.
India has one of the smallest police forces, with just one police officer for every 724 citizens. This is well below global standards for police force per citizen.
The project jeopardizes the country's already deteriorating cybersecurity standards . There have been several cases of data leaks related to the Aadhar card - a unique identification code for Indian citizens. The country lacks a structured cybersecurity and the development of a facial recognition system would put the private sector at risk.
According to documents obtained by the Internet Freedom Foundation following a request for information, several unnamed companies have asked the government for more details about the plan. The companies have sought answers to questions such as whether the facial recognition system should be able to identify people who have had plastic surgery and whether the database should be integrated with an existing government database.
Atul Rai, CEO of Staqu Technologies, an Indian startup that offers AI-based tools, says most Indian companies will not be able to participate in the bid, as the bid states that the system must comply with standards set by the US National Institute of Science and Technology.
India certainly has a long way to go before it can develop a mass surveillance system as advanced as China's. Before that, the country needs to ensure it has the right laws in place to secure such a large database and infrastructure to fully utilize technology .
