Andhra Pradesh brings back biometric attendance in govt offices

State chief secretary Aditya Nath Das issued a memo to this effect on Tuesday, directing all department heads to track the biometric attendance of the staff and take appropriate measures as per rules. He directed the information technology department to make operational the biometric devices in the state Secretariat and other offices immediately.

Biometric attendance for all government staff has been mandatory in AP since September 2017.

Following the outbreak of COVID-19, the system was discontinued in March 2020 as it had the potential to cause the spread of the virus.

At a meeting with all special chief secretaries, principal secretaries, and chief secretaries conducted on 13 August, it was decided to reintroduce the mandatory biometric attendance system in the state Secretariat, offices of the heads of departments, autonomous organizations, state unit offices, and district collectorates.

Accordingly, the chief secretary issued the memo on Tuesday and directed the IT department and the general administration department to ensure that all biometric devices are functioning properly. He also directed that an integrated report on biometric attendance should be submitted on a monthly basis.