Telangana police tender a big biometric upgrade with a short turnaround

The Indian state of Telangana has published a rushed tender call to upgrade the police’s automated multimodal biometric identification hardware and software.

The state’s Finger Print Bureau wants to hear from service firms interested in updating the OEM system in place. Submissions have to be on the government’s procurement portal by March 18.

Officials want an overnight changeover, at least during a five-station pilot.

The automated print ID system, made by Russia-based Papillon, is used in state districts to process chance fingerprints collected at crime scenes. It is off warranty and legislation subsequent to its purchase mandates a massive update in capabilities.

A 2022 law governing police processing of biometrics including faces, dual irises and footprints, all functions beyond the Papillon software and hardware in place, according to the document.

The tender calls for a system, entirely or largely based on Papillon products, that complies with the law and that also performs voice, handwriting and facial recognition.

Telangana’s system consists of hardware including SAN storage, blade servers, a tape library, 700 Papillon palm scanners and 1,600 Papillon single-finger mobile devices.

The state also has 125 Papillon AFIS expert licenses, Papillon version 9 print-ID software, the vendor’s mobile app and express ID software.

A legal challenge of Telangana police’s use of facial recognition was filed by a local resident with the support of the IFF back in 2021, and accepted by the Telangana High Court. The IFF still lists the case as open.

Article Topics

ABIS - Automated Biometric Identification System  |  biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  India  |  Papillon  |  police  |  tender