National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS)

National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS): Recently, the Central Government revised the procedure for the Foreigners Identification Portal (FIP) under the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS).

• About NAFIS: A centralised digital system that stores and matches fingerprints of criminals across India.

o It allows real-time access for police and law enforcement agencies to upload and search criminal fingerprint records.

o Working: Each criminal is assigned a unique 10-digit National Fingerprint Number (NFN) based on their biometric data.

ü The first two digits denote the state code, followed by an individual number.

ü This ID stays the same for life, allowing all future crimes linked to that person to be traced under one number.

o All fingerprint data is stored digitally and can be instantly matched during investigations. This makes it easier to find connections with past crimes, active warrants, or alerts in other police databases.

o Managed by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) at the Central Fingerprint Bureau in New Delhi.