From June 2025, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is planning to introduce Aadhaar-based biometric verification and artificial intelligence (AI)-based monitoring in its recruitment exams. This move is to enhance security during exams and prevent impersonation and other malpractices.But these enhanced protocols will not be implemented for the Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2025, to be held on Sunday, May 25, which will witness participation of close to 9.5 lakh candidates at 80 centers.Major Security Features to Be ImplementedAccording to media reports, the new security features will comprise:- Fingerprint scanning and facial recognition- QR code verification of e-admit cards- Live AI-enabled CCTV monitoring to detect suspicious movement and impersonationThese systems are aimed at increasing transparency and integrity in one of India's most competitive tests.Background: Puja Khedkar Case and the Campaign for ReformThe move comes in the wake of a scandal centred on Puja Khedkar, an former IAS probationer who was charged with employing multiple identities to surpass the permissible number of attempts in the Civil Services Examination. Investigations found that she had changed major personal details, including the names of her parents, across applications.The UPSC revoked her 2022 candidature, and she filed legal challenges and a wider review of verification procedures. The case became a major spur behind the commission's action to switch to more stringent identity verification systems.Implementation and Policy ApprovalThe Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) sanctioned UPSC's proposal to adopt Aadhaar authentication on a voluntary basis. Preparatory to that, the UPSC had even invited bids from public sector undertakings to install the technology last year.The Commission has also made arrangements to modify its Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to avoid such incidents in the future, further demonstrating its adherence to fairness and accountability.UPSC CSE 2024 Prelims Answer Keys ReleasedIn other news, the UPSC published the answer keys for the 2024 Civil Services Preliminary Examination.Important points: -Released for General Studies Paper 1 and Paper 2 -Three questions dropped from each group (A, B, C, D) of Paper 1 -No questions dropped from Paper 2 -Final marking to be done on 97 questions