The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has introduced a new feature of Aadhaar authentication for those facing issues in authenticating their biometrics through the existent process of fingerprint and iris scans. The new service will be rolled out starting July 1, the UIDAI said in a statement on Monday.

As per the UIDAI, the new feature will provide an additional avenue for residents facing difficulties with their fingerprint or iris authentication. However, this new feature will only be available along with one or more authentication factor.

“Face authentication provides an additional option for AUAs (Authentication User Agencies) to ensure that inclusive authentication is offered to all residents,” a UIDAI circular dated January 15 read. The UIDAI believes that since face photos of residents are already available in its database, there will be no further need to capture any further reference data. Moreover, with cameras available on most laptops and phones, the process will not require any additional hardware for the authenticating agencies.

“Authentication via facial photo matching builds on the principle of inclusion and delivers on the promise of evolving with the times!” said Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilekani.