Recently, Standardisation Testing and Quality Certification (STQC) Directorate, an office of the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, Ministry of Communications & IT, Govt. of India, granted STQC certification to DigitalPersona, Inc’s DigitalPersona Eikon Touch 500 with TouchChip TCS1 Sensor, and U.are.U 4500 Reader UID edition USB-based single fingerprint scanners.

DigitalPersona is an expert in developing biometrically-based authentication and access management solutions. Its fingerprint biometric hardware, strong authentication software and developer tools provide the widest choice of solutions.

Many companies in India and around the world use DigitalPersona biometric verification solutions to identify and authenticate entities and individuals.

Officials at the company said they are one of the first to weather the  rigorous accuracy, durability, safety and usability tests conducted at STQC laboratories for both optical and silicon fingerprint scanners.

Now that the DigitalPersona's Eikon Touch 500 with TouchChip TCS1 Sensor and U.are.U 4500 Reader UID edition fingerprint scanners are approved biometric devices for India's Unique Identification (UID) project, the integrators and OEMs have a unique and proven technology to choose from.

"We are very pleased to have worked with Smart ID to receive STQC certification," said Richard Agostinelli, president and CEO at DigitalPersona. "We now look forward to supporting the commendable goals of the UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) program and working in close partnership with Smart ID to integrate our proven fingerprint identity solutions throughout India."

The new DigitalPersona U.are.U 5100 family of fingerprint modules and readers essentially simplifies high-efficiency and standards-compliant biometrics, used in handheld ID terminals. Use of handheld ID devices is currently on the rise across the globe, as they’re used in Civil ID applications like voting, benefits-checking, as well as micro-finance where power and a compact size are critical.

“Through our close partnership with DigitalPersona, we have received STQC certification which is critical to participate in the historic UIDAI program. This is also a very important achievement towards the Govt. of India's Direct Cash Transfer scheme that launched 1st January 2013 using an Aadhaar number and finger authentication," said Nirmal Prakash, managing director at Smart Identity Devices Pvt. Ltd.

Prakash said they are excited to combine the skills and resources of both companies to offer world-class fingerprint biometric solutions throughout India.