New Delhi, Sept. 8 -- In South Asia, identity has gradually become one of the most contested assets. Eligibility for things like opening an account, crossing a border, or legally using a different name is now determined by Aadhaar, a passport, or bank KYC. This proves that these documents are worth more than just being called paperwork.

The region's land area, unrestricted borders, and a pivot to digital-first identity systems have genuinely become central issues in India. Researchers are continually debating whether forensic science and biometric security should work together to enable early fraud detection (Tiwari et al., 2022).

India is moving rapidly towards digital identity systems. From Aadhaar-linked bank accounts to DigiLocker a...