Table of Contents
DigiYatra- Relevance for UPSC Exam
- GS Paper 2: Governance, Administration and Challenges- Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.’
DigiYatra in News
- Recently, the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), run by GMR announced the soft launch of the Centre’s DigiYatra initiative, rolling out the beta version of its app for android platforms.
- DigiYatra, the passenger processing system based on facial recognition technology, has been piloted at the Delhi airport and has had the required infrastructure set up at the airport’s Terminal 3.
National Strategy for Sustainable Tourism, Responsible Traveller Campaign
DigiYatra
- About: DigiYatra envisages that travellers pass through various checkpoints at the airport through paperless and contactless processing, using facial features to establish their identity, which would be linked to the boarding pass.
- Implementation: The project is being implemented by the DigiYatra Foundation.
- Airports Covered: In addition to the above airports, DigiYatra will be rolled out at Varanasi and Bengaluru this month, and at five airports- Pune, Vijayawada, Kolkata, Delhi and Hyderabad- by March next year.
- The Airport Authority of India (AAI) will identify the airports where DigiYatra will be implemented in a phased manner.
- Significance: With DigiYatra technology, the entry of passengers would be automatically processed based on the facial recognition system at all checkpoints – including entry into the airport, security check areas, aircraft boarding, etc.
How to use DigiYatra Facility?
- Download DigiYatra App: Passengers will need to first download the DigiYatra app to use Digiyatra Facility.
- Registration: Users can register on the app using Aadhaar credentials, followed by a selfie with the Aadhaar card.
- After this, vaccination details using CoWIN credentials will have to be added to the app.
- Seamless Travel: After above, the person will have to scan his or her boarding pass with the QR code or Bar code, after which the credentials will be shared with the airport.
- For entry into the airport, passengers will need to scan their boarding passes at the e-gate and look into the facial recognition system camera installed there.
- A similar method will be applicable for entry into other checkpoints.
DigiYatra Foundation
- About: DigiYatra Foundation is a joint-venture company whose shareholders are-
- The Airports Authority of India (26% stake) and
- Bengaluru Airport, Delhi Airport, Hyderabad Airport, Mumbai Airport and Cochin International Airport, equally holding the remaining 74% of the shares.
- Key Role: The DigiYatra Foundation will be the custodian of the passenger ID validation process.
- It will also define the criteria for compliance and guidelines for the local airport systems.
- Audit System: There will be regular audits of the various compliances and guidelines (including guidelines on security, image quality, and data privacy) defined by the DigiYatra guidelines for the local airport Biometric Boarding Systems.
Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)
