Right to Food Campaign condemns facial recognition mandate for nutrition access

By A Representative 

The Right to Food Campaign has issued a strong condemnation of the Ministry of Women and Child Development's (MWCD) directive mandating facial recognition authentication for accessing nutrition services under the Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP). Calling the move exclusionary and unconstitutional, the Campaign has demanded the immediate withdrawal of the requirement and a return to universal, dignified, and non-discriminatory access to nutrition entitlements.

According to the Campaign, the Ministry’s circulars dated 5 March and 30 May 2025 have enforced mandatory facial recognition and OTP authentication via Aadhaar-linked mobile numbers through the POSHAN Tracker app. This two-step verification applies to vulnerable populations, including children aged six months to three years, and pregnant and lactating women receiving Take-Home Rations (THR), as well as children aged 3–6 years receiving hot cooked meals at Anganwadi Centres (AWCs). Anganwadi workers were instructed on 30 June to reinstall the POSHAN Tracker app, which had removed the option to bypass facial recognition, effectively making biometric authentication a prerequisite for accessing nutrition.

The Campaign argues that this shift undermines both the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013, and Supreme Court orders in the ongoing Right to Food case (PUCL vs Union of India & Ors., CWP 196/2001). These legal frameworks mandate universal access to nutrition for pregnant and lactating women, and all children under six years of age, without any proof of identity, residence, or technological requirement. The ICDS, which delivers these services through 1.4 million Anganwadi Centres and covers 70 million beneficiaries, is meant to be unconditional, they noted.

The Right to Food Campaign expressed alarm over the practical implications of the mandate. In many rural and tribal areas, rightsholders lack personal smartphones, Aadhaar-linked mobile numbers, or internet connectivity, making it impossible to comply with the new authentication system. This, the Campaign argues, turns a legal right into a conditional privilege and leads to large-scale denial of entitlements. Reports from the ground indicate widespread exclusion, technical failures, harassment of Anganwadi workers, and disrupted services.

Additionally, the Campaign highlighted that Anganwadi workers, who are already overburdened, are being forced to use their personal phones without compensation, often spending up to 30 minutes per beneficiary to resolve authentication issues. They noted that the Ministry has failed to provide evidence that facial recognition has reduced leakages or improved efficiency, while introducing new avenues for data misuse and fraud.

Calling the measure "mass exclusion by design," the Campaign urged the MWCD to engage with Child Development Project Officers (CDPOs), Supervisors, and Anganwadi Workers across states to assess the real-world impact. It warned that the mandate is likely to deny the most marginalised women and children—including migrants lacking address proof—their legal right to food.

The Campaign's key demands include the immediate withdrawal of facial recognition requirements for nutrition access, restoration of universal entitlements without biometric or Aadhaar-based conditions, provision of proper digital infrastructure for Anganwadi workers, and the public release of data on exclusions from pilot implementations of the facial recognition system.

With over a third of children in India suffering from stunting, the Campaign said it is unacceptable that access to essential nutrition be made dependent on unreliable and exclusionary technology. It has resolved to oppose the mandate through all democratic means. The statement was issued by the national conveners of the Campaign—Atendriya Dana, Aysha, James Herenj, Mukta Srivastava, Raj Shekhar, and Sameet Panda—on behalf of the Steering Committee.