Bengal government tightens attendance rules with biometric facial recognition from June 15

The state secretariat Nabanna has announced stricter attendance regulations for government employees, including the introduction of a mandatory facial recognition biometric attendance system from June 15. The system will initially be implemented at Nabanna and subsequently extended to all state government offices in phases by July 31. Under the new rules, all officers and employees, except department heads, will be required to record attendance through facial recognition both at entry and exit.

According to the new attendance policy, employees arriving between 10:15 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. will be marked as “Late”, while those reporting after 11:00 a.m. will be treated as “Absent”. Employees leaving office before 5:15 p.m. will be recorded as having made an “Early Departure”. The government has also specified that if an employee both arrives late and leaves early on the same day, one day of Casual Leave will be deducted.

The revised guidelines further state that employees who fail to register their departure through the biometric system will be considered absent. In addition, for every three instances of late arrival or early departure within a month, one day of Casual Leave or Compensatory Casual Leave will be deducted. The attendance records generated through the biometric system will form the basis for monitoring compliance with the new rules.

The government has provided limited flexibility for employees engaged in official duties outside their offices. If an employee arrives late or leaves early because of official meetings or government work, the concerned office head may make necessary adjustments. Existing exemptions applicable to employees residing within eight kilometres of the headquarters office will continue. The government stated that the new attendance framework is intended to improve punctuality, accountability, administrative efficiency and digital record-keeping across departments.