NEC India, integrator of IT and network technologies, today officially launched its first NEC Biometrics Excellence Centre in India (N-BEC) here.

As one of the key engineering competency centre, N-BEC will support NEC'S engineering operations worlwide and enable the company to quickly respond to the wide variety of customer requirements from proposal drafts and specifications to product development, customization, deployment and support engineering.

It will also develop and deploy solutions for the India market and play a role in expanding NEC public safety market in India, said Kris Ranganath, CTO, Government and Public Global Solutions, NEC Corporation.

"The core R and D work would continue at Tokyo but some of the work would be offloaded here", he said.

"The public safety market in India has a huge potential and setting up of this biometric centre, is indicative of our commitment to the India market. We foresee greater adoption of biometic solutions in India, particulary in civic amenities and various social schemes", said Koji Oda, MD, NEC India.

The centre currently employs 50 engineers but would be ramped up in future, said Kris.

NEC India which is the wholly owned subsidary of NEC Asia Pacific and NEC Corporation, had deployed its Automated Finger Print Identification System in Karnataka and Bangalore Police in 2003 and was in talks for upgradation.

The solution has so far helped nab 1500 criminals through trace evidence of criminal finger prints, he said.

NEC India has also deployed its solution with a state health insurance corporation.

"We are also definitley looking at the UID project and will bid for it", said Kris. .

NEC India is also in talks with airports, especially new airports for their airport solutions, including video surveillance, smart cards for frequent travellers, automated clearances. Several banks have also evinced interest in biometric ATMs, an avenue which it is exploring, according to Vikas Singh, Country head, Services and SI NEC India.

The company is also in pre-productions stage for a solution that not only helps identify the finger prints but also the blood vessels of a person.

The solution currently being tested would help in double checking the identity of the person. Fingerprints can be altered through surgery but blood vessels can not. Hence the solution is a better device compared to a simple biometric solution, he said.

The company is also in talks for a high sensitive camera which could capture footage even in the dark. "It could be used for border surveillance, to detect smuggling or shady transactions on the border, monitor critical infrastructure", said Kris.

The camera is currently being used in Singapore. In India, there are still some export issues that have to be sorted out for deploying these sensitive cameras.

Currently, the biometric market in India is "way behind" said Kris and is yet to mature. "The biometric solution is still restricted as an access system to gain entry", he said.

However, with plans to modernise security and police systems, the potential for biometric solutions is huge, he said. As per one study it was expected to grow at 256 percent in next four years.

The social schemes of the government, the increased need for security systems are expected to be growth drivers for the biometric solutions market in India in future, said Vikas.

The application of the solutions in terms of issuing pancards, drivers' licence and UID is very big, he said.

Globally, the biometic solution market is expected to touch five bn US dollar in next five years, said Kris.