Sikkim Mandates Biometric Attendance for Government Staff Starting October 1

Gangtok: Sikkim is tightening its grip on worker punctuality. Starting October 1, the government will mandate an Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS) for all staff. Regular and temporary employees must use the system to log their hours. This tech comes from the National Informatics Centre. It links directly to an employee's Aadhaar or UID.

Employees will clock in using smartphones near their workplaces. Failure to record attendance triggers automatic consequences. The government will treat missing data as extraordinary leave. The PRANALI system will automatically pull pay from the next month's salary for these absences. Temporary workers face wage deductions under a leave without pay policy. “No additional procedure would be required in cases of unauthorised absence recorded through AEBAS,” the circular notes.

Monthly reports will track every worker. Nodal officers will verify authorized leave against these digital records. By the seventh day of each month, the system retrieves data on net absences. Officials will then issue digital orders for pay cuts, which hit service books and personnel files. Rule 20(2) of the Sikkim Government Service (Leave) Rules, 1982, backs this move. Secretaries must now appoint nodal officers at the Additional Secretary rank to run the show. The system launches first at state and district headquarters before expanding to the rest of Sikkim.