By EB Bureau
Tuesday, April 22, 2014: Due to large scale imports, the biometrics market is flooded with low-cost, low-quality devices, which often fail to meet quality standards
India is emerging as a fast-growing market for biometric hardware and software, as the number of applications and solutions are increasing significantly. According to a report from TechNavio called ‘India Biometrics Market: Forecast & Opportunities, 2018’, the biometrics market in India is expected to cross US$ 2 billion in revenues by 2018. This, according to the forecast, will be a CAGR of 44.22 per cent over the period 2013-2018.
Apart from financial and educational organisations, government organisations are also using biometric solutions on a large scale, as in the national ID project (Aadhaar/UID) and the e-passport project. Biometric border control security is also being implemented across the region. Hence, a lot of potential business is brewing in this market.
Biometric technology has advanced significantly over the years with modern technology and the advent of computerised databases, leading to the digitisation of analogue data.
Currently, implementing biometric solutions is expensive, but as adoption of biometrics applications is picking up fast, and various companies are offering automated biometric software or systems, it is likely that costs will soon come down, leading to further demand.
However, despite the market’s potential, poor awareness, lack of a unified standard for biometric readers, as well as inadequate expertise and investments are restraining the market. India has not yet started manufacturing biometric devices domestically because the sensors have to be imported. Due to large scale imports, the market is flooded with low-cost, low-quality devices. As these devices often fail to meet quality standards, customers’ confidence in the technology is fast eroding.
