AI-driven facial recognition is denying food to some of India's most vulnerable.
From July 2025, women and children under Integrated Child Development Services in India must pass facial recognition scans to access rations. The scheme serves 4.73 crore (47.3 million) people.
By the end of 2025, nearly half of eligible beneficiaries were not receiving rations, with authentication failures leaving many without food.
Supported by the Pulitzer Center, Decode reported from Bihar, Jharkhand and Karnataka to understand how this plays out on the ground.
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