Govt extends bidding deadline for facial recognition project a third time

This is even as the government faces legal notices over privacy violation and legality of the project

The Union Home Ministry has said, in response to a legal notice, that its proposed National Automated Facial Recognition System (NAFRS) does not violate privacy of citizens because it only “automates the existing Police procedure of matching suspects’ photos with images stored” in law enforcement agencies databases. 

It also defended “legality” of the NAFRS, saying the project had the Union Cabinet’s approval, even though India did not yet have a law to regulate the use of facial recognition technology. 

The NAFRS is a proposed national-level platform of digital facial images that will help police identify persons by automatically matching facial