Indian Railways deploys AI-driven, tamper-proof attendance system for 1.2 mn employees

New Delhi: India's largest employer begins deployment of offline facial verification and tamper-proof blockchain records across its 1.2 million-strong workforce, building on technology that cut ghost employee fraud by 90 percent in prior government deployments

Indian Railways has commenced the implementation of DRISHTI, an AI and blockchain-powered Smart Workforce Management System that uses facial recognition and tamper-proof digital records to verify worker attendance and prevent fraud, being rolled out across the railway network, beginning with operations in Prayagraj.

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The system, developed by ChainCode Consulting LLP in collaboration with Billions Network, the universal human and AI verification platform, and Aptos Foundation, can verify entire teams from a single group photograph, works without internet connectivity, and creates permanent, tamper-proof records of every attendance event. It is designed for both field and office personnel across Indian Railways' operations.

Indian Railways is one of the world's largest employers, with more than 1.2 million personnel operating across 7,300 stations and 18 zones. The rollout begins in Prayagraj, with completion of the initial regional deployment expected within three months and expansion across the wider network to follow.

Where previous government deployments of the same technology, eliminated ghost employee fraud by up to 90 percent, reduced payroll costs by 30-40 percent and halved payment delays, the Indian Railways implementation brings those proven standards to a new, high-profile use case with the potential to set a global precedent for workforce governance at scale.

Managing attendance verification across a workforce this large and geographically spread has historically been vulnerable to ghost employee fraud and administrative inefficiencies, challenges that DRISHTI is designed to address directly.

The system works offline, a critical requirement for railway operations in remote and rural areas where internet connectivity is unreliable. It can identify multiple workers simultaneously from a single photograph and locks every record on the Aptos blockchain, making it impossible to alter after the attendance data. The platform also handles supervisor approvals, real-time reporting dashboards, task allocation, and leave management.

"AI-driven smart solutions with blockchain security are key to good governance. By combining facial recognition with blockchain's permanent, traceable records, we eliminate major security risks and give organizations greater control over workforce data integrity," said Alok Gupta, Founder and CEO, ChainCode Consulting LLP.

ChainCode Consulting has previously pioneered blockchain-based attendance and identity platforms for different India's government bodies and contributed digital verification infrastructure for MahaKumbh 2025, one of the world's largest gatherings.

"Every worker in a system this vast deserves to be accurately identified and fairly compensated without that requiring handing over sensitive personal data. That's the problem we're solving: identity verification that works for people. What India is building here shows how the world's largest institutions can operate with both accountability and dignity," said Evin McMullen, CEO and Co-Founder of Billions Network.

Billions provides the decentralised identity and reusable identity infrastructure underpinning DRISHTI, building on the company's proven track record in high-stakes verification, including joint proofs-of-concept with Deutsche Bank and HSBC for advanced KYC solutions.

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Ashwin Pampati, SVP and Head of Ecosystem at Aptos Foundation, added, “Reliable, high-performance blockchain infrastructure is essential for nation-scale public-sector systems like DRISHTI, where data integrity, security and auditability are non-negotiable. Aptos provides a strong blockchain foundation that supports exactly these requirements.

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