UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Union Public Service Commission Developed Face Authentication Protocol; Used Successfully in the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2026 to Enhance Examination Integrity

Q1. With reference to the Face Authentication Protocol (FAP) deployed by the Union Public Service Commission during the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2026, consider the following statements:

1. The protocol was developed indigenously with technical support from the National e-Governance Division (NeGD) of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
2. It was deployed across all 2,072 examination venues spread over 83 cities on the day of the examination.
3. The system relies on Aadhaar-based iris recognition operated by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) at the venues.
4. Invigilators used mobile-phone-based real-time face matching against the candidate's photograph submitted with the application form.

• A. 1 and 2 only
• B. 2 and 4 only
• C. 1, 2 and 4
• D. 3 only

Q2. The Face Authentication Protocol used for real-time candidate verification at the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2026 was indigenously developed primarily with the technical support of which one of the following bodies?

• A. Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)
• B. National e-Governance Division (NeGD) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
• C. Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC)
• D. National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC)

Q3. The Face Authentication Protocol indigenously developed by the National e-Governance Division (NeGD) for the UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2026 was reported by the Press Information Bureau to have processed approximately how many face authentications per minute at peak entry time?

• A. About 6,000
• B. About 9,000
• C. About 12,000
• D. About 15,000

Q4. With reference to the Face Authentication Protocol (FAP) used for the first time in the UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2026, which of the following were officially identified as the agencies that developed or supported the development of this protocol for UPSC?

1. National e-Governance Division (NeGD)
2. National Informatics Centre (NIC)
3. Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)
4. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)

• A. 1 and 2 only
• B. 1, 2 and 4
• C. 2, 3 and 4
• D. 1, 3 and 4

Q5. Which of the following is/are NOT a function assigned to the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) by the Constitution of India?

1. Conducting examinations for appointments to the All India Services and the Central Services.
2. Being consulted by the President on disciplinary matters affecting persons serving the Union in a civil capacity.
3. Recommending to the President the names of persons for appointment as the Chief Election Commissioner of India.
4. Removing members of the State Public Service Commissions on the ground of misbehaviour.

• A. 1 and 2 only
• B. 2 and 3 only
• C. 3 and 4 only
• D. 1, 3 and 4

Q6. Under the Constitution of India, the Chairman and other members of the Union Public Service Commission are appointed by which one of the following authorities?

• A. The President of India
• B. The Prime Minister on the recommendation of the Union Cabinet
• C. The President on the recommendation of the Chief Justice of India
• D. A collegium consisting of the Prime Minister, the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India

Q7. With reference to the Aadhaar-based Face Authentication ecosystem of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI), which of the following statements are NOT correct?

1. Aadhaar Face Authentication transactions crossed the 200 crore cumulative mark in August 2025, doubling from 100 crore in about six months.
2. UIDAI conducted a Proof of Concept of Aadhaar Face Authentication during the NEET (UG) examination in collaboration with the National Testing Agency (NTA) and the National Informatics Centre (NIC).
3. Use of Aadhaar Face Authentication is currently restricted to Central Government ministries and is not available to financial institutions or telecom service providers.
4. The face authentication technology used by UIDAI has been developed and is operated by the World Bank's ID4D programme.

• A. 1 and 3 only
• B. 3 and 4 only
• C. 2 and 4 only
• D. 1, 2 and 3

Q8. With reference to the UPSC's Face Authentication Protocol (FAP) used in the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2026 and the UIDAI's Aadhaar Face Authentication exercise carried out for the NEET examination, consider the following statements:

1. The UPSC's FAP was deployed across all examination venues of the CSE (Prelims) 2026, whereas the UIDAI's NEET face authentication exercise was a Proof of Concept conducted only at select centres.
2. The UIDAI's face authentication exercise for NEET was carried out jointly with the National Testing Agency and the National Informatics Centre.
3. Unlike the UPSC FAP, UIDAI's Aadhaar Face Authentication has never crossed 100 crore cumulative transactions till date.

• A. 1 only
• B. 1 and 2 only
• C. 2 and 3 only
• D. 1, 2 and 3

Q9. The National e-Governance Division (NeGD), the agency that developed the Face Authentication Protocol used in the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2026, functions under which one of the following Union Ministries?

• A. Ministry of Home Affairs
• B. Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
• C. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
• D. Ministry of Communications

Q10. With reference to the biometric traits currently used by the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) for Aadhaar-based authentication, which of the following is/are NOT recognised modes of biometric authentication?

1. Iris pattern
2. Fingerprint minutiae
3. Voice print
4. Gait pattern

• A. 1 and 2 only
• B. 3 only
• C. 3 and 4 only
• D. 1, 3 and 4 only

Q11. With reference to the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, consider the following statements:

1. All offences under the Act are cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable.
2. Candidates appearing in the examination are directly liable to the punitive provisions of the Act.
3. The Act covers computer-based examinations conducted by the National Testing Agency, including NEET, JEE and CUET.
4. The minimum fine prescribed for persons convicted of organised crime offences under the Act is one crore rupees.

• A. 1 and 3 only
• B. 2 and 4 only
• C. 1, 3 and 4
• D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q12. Under the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2024, the most severe punishment — imprisonment up to ten years together with a minimum fine of one crore rupees — is prescribed for which one of the following categories of offence?

• A. Use of unfair means by an individual not acting as part of any group
• B. Breach of confidentiality of question papers by examination-centre staff
• C. Organised crime committed by groups or institutions in relation to a public examination
• D. Failure of an empanelled service provider to report knowledge of an unfair means offence

Q13. With reference to the Face Authentication Protocol used by the Union Public Service Commission in the Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination, 2026, the system was indigenously developed for the Commission by which one of the following organisations?

• A. Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)
• B. National Informatics Centre (NIC)
• C. National e-Governance Division (NeGD) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
• D. Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC)

Q14. In the context of Digital India initiatives executed by the National e-Governance Division (NeGD), which one of the following best describes 'DigiLocker'?

• A. A cloud-based digital wallet platform for issuance, storage and Aadhaar-linked verification of authentic government-issued documents
• B. A secure encrypted email service offered by the Government of India to citizens for official correspondence
• C. A blockchain-based registry that stores citizens' biometric templates for inter-departmental authentication
• D. A unified mobile application that aggregates State and Central government services on a single sign-on platform

Q15. Under the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, which one of the following is the designated appellate authority against the orders of the Data Protection Board of India?

• A. Supreme Court of India
• B. Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT)
• C. National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT)
• D. Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT)

Q16. Which one of the following Union ministries is the nodal ministry for the administration of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023?

• A. Ministry of Home Affairs
• B. Ministry of Law and Justice
• C. Ministry of Communications (Department of Telecommunications)
• D. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology