PMO steps in after doctors flag concerns over Aadhaar-based attendance system

The Andhra Pradesh Government Doctors’ Association has received a response from the Prime Minister’s Office to its objections over the Aadhaar-enabled Biometric Attendance System. The association had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention in the new attendance mechanism introduced for medical teachers by the National Medical Commission. The members said the system imposed unfair restrictions on medical professionals and warned that unless their concerns were addressed promptly, their ability to discharge duties would be affected.

In a public notice issued on April 16, 2025, the NMC announced a shift from the finger-based attendance system to a face-recognition Aadhaar authentication process. Attendance is to be marked through a mobile app or a wall-mounted device, applicable to all government and private teaching hospitals nationwide. Under the new norms, attendance must be recorded within a 100 metre radius of a designated GPS point in each college.

According to association president D. Jayadheer Babu, this rule severely restricts doctors’ mobility, forcing medical teachers to apply for leave even when attending examination duties, official meetings or conferences in other States or colleges. Attendance is logged only if the app is accessed within the 100 metre zone of the Superintendent’s or Principal’s office, he said, adding that the system had been implemented without consulting stakeholders.

He noted that although medical teachers are permitted to take seven or more days of leave in a month, they are now being asked to submit medical leave applications. The association had written repeatedly to the NMC but received no response. Doctors from Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu raised similar objections, prompting a national-level discussion on widespread complaints regarding the system.

With no reply from the NMC, the APGDA approached the Prime Minister. The PMO responded promptly and directed the Commission to examine the concerns, Dr. Jayadheer Babu added.