CISF Proposes Facial Recognition Grid Linked to National Security Database

From Aadhaar to passport and travel details, CISF's newly proposed airport facial recognition system can access critical information about domestic and international passengers alike, raising concerns about mass surveillance.

The Wire Staff

cisf proposes facial recognition grid linked to national security database

Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty

New Delhi: The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has requested facial recognition cameras to be set up at all major airports to help identify fugitives using the governmental database. CISF director general Praveer Ranjan said on Monday (June 22) that the cameras will be linked to a data fusion centre, which will be set up in Delhi, reported the Hindu.

Talking about the integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) at the foundation-laying ceremony of the new CISF headquarters at central government offices (CGO) complex in Delhi, Ranjan said, alongside airports, footage from nearly 1.5 lakh cameras under CISF's security cover will be linked to the central database.

While details about the facial recognition system are yet to be specified, cameras with the requisite software will first be installed at six primary airports – Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Kolkata. A senior CISF official told the Hindu that the collected data would be connected with the ICCC and matched with existing records of national security agencies such as the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID) to improve "real-time monitoring, suspect identification and support to law enforcement agencies."

NATGRID is a secure intelligence-sharing platform that links various governmental agencies' and ministries' databases into a centralised system and is used by police and investigating agencies to access data in real-time. Implemented after the 2008 Mumbai attacks, the interface operates under the Ministry of Home Affairs, which is headed by Union minister Amit Shah.

As per the Hindu report, the home ministry has encouraged states to "liberally" use the platform to access databases, including personal details such as driving license, Aadhaar card, vehicle registration, airline data, bank records, FAStag – used by vehicles at tolls – and passport and travel details of airline and railway passengers. The system can also access data from social media posts and contains information regarding transactions flagged by the Financial Intelligence Unit.

"The CISF also proposed installing the system at Hyderabad and Bengaluru because of the high volume of passenger traffic…Not all cameras will require this system. It will be placed at locations such as entry or exit points where suspects must pass when entering the airport. It will help monitor suspects who use airports for transit," an officer told Hindustan Times. The cameras have not yet been installed, the officer said.

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) already uses the National Automated Facial Recognition System (AFRS), a centralised AI-powered system, to track criminals, identify the deceased and locate missing persons. It also integrates existing law enforcement tools, like the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), to combine facial recognition with other biometric data such as fingerprints.

The Delhi Police has previously employed the AFRS for mass surveillance initiatives. According to an Indian Express report, the software was used during the 2019 Delhi riots to identify protesters who were present at more than one location at during the unrest. The Internet Freedom Foundation sharply condemned this move, highlighting the abhorrent abuse of rights of assembly, speech and political participation enabled by surveillance and predictive policing of public protests and rallies.

This article went live on June twenty-third, two thousand twenty six, at forty minutes past one in the afternoon.

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