Chandigarh, January 8:
As part of its ongoing efforts towards campus security and digital transformation, Panjab University today rolled out Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)-based unique Smart Identity Cards for its employees, including teaching staff, non-teaching staff, daily wagers and retirees.
The first RFID-based Smart Identity Card was presented to PU Vice Chancellor Prof Renu Vig and Registrar Prof Y.P. Verma by Committee Chairperson Prof Sonal Chawla, Prof A.S. Naura, PUTA President, Dr Parveen Goyal, NSS Coordinator, Dr Anuj Sharma, Chairperson, DCSA, and Honey Thakur, PUSA President.
The initiative aims to ensure authorised access to the Panjab University campus by authenticating bona fide employees and preventing unauthorised entry. The RFID cards have been designed to strengthen security while supporting the university’s broader modernisation agenda.
Speaking on the occasion, PU Vice Chancellor Prof Renu Vig stressed the need to extend RFID-based Smart Cards to PU students, beginning with pilot projects in university hostels. She appreciated and lauded the efforts of the Smart Card Committee members.
Registrar Prof Y.P. Verma said the RFID-based Smart Identity Cards would help establish a robust and reliable system of employee authentication and enhance campus security.
The RFID Smart Identity Cards feature encrypted personal data and photographs encoded into an official QR code and RFID tag using intelligent applications. The encoded data is unalterable, and any attempt to generate counterfeit cards renders the code unreadable. On scanning, only verified and correct information is displayed.
The cards operate on advanced security algorithms and comply with ISO/IEC 14443 standards. They communicate with RFID readers through a secure three-pass authentication process before any data exchange takes place. The system links RFID-tagged data with the university’s employee database through multiple identification layers and decoding modules.
Chairperson of the committee Prof Sonal Chawla said that once all cards are issued, they will be mapped and integrated with boom barriers at university gates through RFID technology. She added that the project would later be extended to students by linking RFID Smart Identity Cards with mess cards, library cards and other services through a single digital interface.
