Yes, that is on purpose. By adding additional identifying elements, it's easier to track people as being unique individuals, to track them more collectively, and to frustrate the activities of people whom the government wants to frustrate in some way or another.

But there may also be some benefits for the passport holder in having such a data field on an accepted identity document. The more identification data that is captured about an individual, the more unique the individual may be perceived and the more easily the person can be tracked as an individual. That's for better and for worse for the passport holders.