Three ways biometric identity is safeguarding government services

The mandate for civil servants is shifting from merely managing records to orchestrating seamless, secure and inclusive citizen experiences.

At the heart of governance lies biometric identity, which becomes the critical “single source of trust” that bridges the gap between physical individuals and digital services.

Governments worldwide face the challenge of preventing identity fraud, meeting the increasing public expectations for efficient service delivery, and upholding trust through the highest standards of data privacy.

From the monumental task of deduplicating India’s national digital ID programme for over one billion residents to reimagining the traveller’s journey through Japan’s busiest aviation hubs, we show how biometric technology ensures that security and convenience are no longer a zero-sum game.

1. Prevent duplicate identity and fraud

For any government, the reliability of a national digital ID system is the bedrock of effective governance. Without a “single source of truth” for society, public resources risk being diverted through fraud, impersonation or duplicate enrolments - particularly in large, diverse populations.

In India, its national digital ID system, Aadhar, faced the challenge of preventing duplicate identities across a population of over one billion people to ensure that every citizen has a unique identity.

This demands more than traditional verification methods.

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) managed a project of this magnitude by turning to NEC’s multi-modal biometric identification system. This allows UIDAI to cross-reference fingerprints, face images, and iris scans to ensure accurate, large-scale deduplication.

To further enhance the identification accuracy of its biometric system and strengthen the integrity of the national ID system, the identification algorithms were specially adjusted.

The system has helped the government avoid fraud by filtering out impersonation attempts.

Additionally, a robust digital ID system fosters a more inclusive and equitable society by ensuring that citizens are securely enrolled in the system to access their social welfare, healthcare, education, among other public services.

Read more about the case study here.

2. Enable more secure, user-friendly and efficient delivery of public services

For agencies that manage high-traffic public infrastructure, the challenge is often a zero-sum game where increasing security often means increasing delays and poorer user experiences.

Under the DigiYatra initiative (Government of India's initiative for digital processing of passengers at airports), the four airports in Varanasi, Pune, Kolkata, and Vijayawada tapped into NEC’s solution, making a case that robust security and operational efficiency could co-exist.

By integrating the digital identity platform with global aviation standards, the Ministry of Civil Aviation introduced a more seamless traveller experience through the nation’s busiest airports.

Passengers register for a digital ID via a selfie on a mobile app, which allows them to turn their face into a boarding pass. Also, shifting from document- to identity-centric processing allows the airports to verify passenger identities almost instantaneously.

Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport’s Director Aryama Sanyal noted that the processing times have been reduced from 10 seconds to four seconds.

NEC also reported that on a global scale, passenger check-ins at airports that have deployed its solution could be achieved 94 per cent faster than with traditional methods.

The broader implication is not just speed but operational resilience.

Identity-centric systems allow governments to improve service efficiency without lowering security standards - a critical consideration as passenger volumes rise and infrastructure capacity remains finite.

Read more about the case study here.

3. Strengthen citizen trust through privacy-conscious, integrated governance

The gold standard for digital transformation in the government is the ability for different agencies to share data securely to improve the citizen’s experience.

But this requires a high degree of public trust.

At the Haneda and Narita Airports in Japan, NEC’s implementation of one-stop kiosks is a clear example to illustrate how biometric identity could help breakdown departmental silos while enhancing data privacy and security for citizens.

Previously, travellers had to submit passports and declaration information multiple times to different authorities. The Immigration Services Agency and Japan Customs partnered to synchronise their frameworks, reducing redundancy across agencies.

Additionally, they tapped on NEC’s solution to allow travellers to use their biometric data as a “digital token” to securely clear them through the immigration with a facial recognition process.

This reduced the manual handling of sensitive information, minimised opportunities for data loss or interception, and streamlined the overall traveller experience.

Crucially, the system demonstrates that convenience does not have to come at the expense of data protection.

By designing identity systems that minimise data duplication and support secure inter-agency collaboration, governments can improve services while reinforcing public confidence in how personal data is managed.  

Read the case study of Haneda Airport here and Narita Airport here.

Identity as public infrastructure, not just technology

Biometric identity is increasingly forming the backbone of how governments secure systems, deliver services and build public trust at scale.

The examples above show how it can prevent fraud, streamline high-traffic operations and enable secure data sharing across agencies without compromising privacy.

When implemented thoughtfully, biometric systems support public services that are not only efficient and secure but also trusted by the citizens they serve.

To see how these biometric identity applications are being implemented in practice, visit the NEC’s booth at Milipol TechX 2026 from April 28 to 30 at Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Singapore.